Farmed Salmon is a Bust for Your Health, Pocketbook and the Environment

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http://www.mercola.com/2004/feb/14/farmed_salmon.htm

 

 

Farmed Salmon is a Bust for Your Health, Pocketbook and the Environment

 

 

Most studies conducted on farm-raised salmon have come to the same conclusion:

the salmon contain toxins and cancer-causing pollutants. In this commentary, the

author asks the questions, why are consumers still eating it knowing the

damaging effects on their health? And, why is industrial salmon aquaculture so

widely used?

In the article the author asks the readers to consider the following:

 

 

Current production methods adopt maximum economies of scale. Thus, feedlot

style, open net-pens in the oceans simultaneously maximize consumption of marine

(read: public) resources (i.e. fresh, oxygenated water) while offloading

production wastes (feces, uneaten food) and byproducts (toxins, antibiotic

residues, escaped fish, bioamplified parasites and pathogens).

 

 

Each net-pen (numbering in the hundreds on both of Canada's coasts) is

tantamount to an untreated sewer outfall introducing solid and dissolved wastes

directly into the marine environment. This is in every way " industrial waste, "

disposed of at no charge.

 

 

The unnaturally high densities of animals in the feedlot environment of net-pens

make that environment a breeding ground for disease and parasites. Recently in

British Columbia, farm-derived parasites were implicated as the causal agent

leading to the largest salmon cohort collapse on record anywhere in the world,

ever.

 

 

Three to five kilos of edible fish are used to make one kilo of farm salmon; a

net loss of protein badly needed by humanity.

 

 

The contribution of the salmon aquaculture industry to British Columbia's gross

domestic product in 2001, as calculated by the Canadian Centre for Policy

Alternatives, was $87 million. Marine-based industries directly jeopardized by

salmon farming, including commercial and sport fisheries and marine tourism,

contributed $582 million, or 51 percent of the provincial total.

 

 

Salmon farming in Canada is dominated (greater than 80 percent of B.C.

production) by foreign-owned multinational companies seemingly intent on

liquidating Canada's natural marine capital for a very small profit. A similar

arrangement characterizes the Washington state industry.

 

 

Farm salmon overproduction (principally from Chile and Norway) has driven the

price of all salmon to all-time lows. This forces Canadian and American farms to

slash jobs to remain competitive and has brought ruin to coastal fishing

communities across the Northern Hemisphere (which depend on a fair price for

their wild catch).

 

 

The “to-the-point message” that we should all see is that what is bad for the

environment is bad for our health. However, it seems that either people are not

being informed of the damaging effects of farm-raised salmon or people are

opting to ignore it. There are options out there and we should be taking

advantage of them, the author stresses.

 

 

Seattle PI January 25, 2004

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Farmed salmon typically have at least 10 times more cancer-causing persistent

organic pollutants than their wild counterparts. Sadly, it takes three to five

pounds of fish to produce one farmed salmon.

 

Remember that just about any salmon you purchase in a restaurant or the grocery

store is farm-raised. However, many people will choose to eat store-bought fish

or fish at a restaurant because they believe it is one of the healthier choices,

but the sad reality is technology has transformed fish into an unhealthy choice.

Traditionally caught fish are a problem due to the mercury and PCBs they receive

from polluted waters. Farm-raised fish, which are often raised in the same

water, have the same issues with PCBs and mercury.

 

Although I don’t advocate eating fish unless it has been tested and found to be

free of mercury and other toxins, the best type of omega-3 fats are those found

in fish. This omega-3 is high in two fatty acids crucial to human health, DHA

and EPA, which are pivotal in preventing heart disease, cancer, and many other

diseases.

 

If you enjoy the delicious taste and immense health benefits of some of the

world's finest salmon--Alaskan wild red--but you are concerned about the PCBs,

mercury and other toxins now found in dangerous amounts in almost all fish, then

please consider trying the Alaskan wild red salmon.

 

Additionally, routine consumption of fish oil, rich in EPA and DHA, is highly

encouraged as it is in pure form and does not pose the mercury risk of fresh

fish. It is important to obtain a high-quality oil to ensure that it is pure. I

have tried various brands, but the one brand my patients and I have experienced

outstanding success with, You may also be able to find it at your local health

food store.

 

The main difference between cod liver oil and fish oil is that cod liver oil is

high in vitamin D. In warm weather, the sunshine produces high and usually

sufficient levels of vitamin D without any supplementation necessary; I do not

recommend consuming cod liver oil in the warm weather months, as this can result

in an excess of vitamin D in your system and consequential complications.

Conversely, in cool weather, your body needs more vitamin D, and so I recommend

cod liver oil versus fish oil in cool weather months.

 

 

 

 

 

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