Genetically Modified Salmon
Here's the latest in the GMO saga: genetically modified salmon. Scary, I know. Next month begins non-GMO month, so I wanted to share this clip with you. It's a recent TV interview where Jeffrey Smith (author of Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods and Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating) talks about genetically engineered salmon:
Visit the Institute for Responsible Technology’s newly redesigned website for the latest GMO consumer news, activist tool kits, petitions, videos, studies, and an archive of Jeffrey’s blogs.
- Check out a basic GMO definition here.
KitchenKop says
Jo-Lynne,
Did you contact USWM? They’re awesome about making things right. 🙂
Kel
Musings of a Housewife says
Such an interesting conversation! I do shop at TJ for frozen fish sometimes, but I don’t like the taste very well. I try to get it at Wegmans b/c I know they have high standards for quality control, according to Ms. Planck.
FWIW, I’ve ordered wild shrimp from US Wellness Meats. The first time I ordered it, it was fantastic. The second time, it was nasty. I have no idea what changed, but that makes me wary.
KitchenKop says
I just had a “duh” moment. I’m going to check the prices on the shrimp I have on my resources page!
(https://kellythekitchenkop.com/where-to-buy-items-i-recommend the link toward the bottom)
Kelly
Stanley Fishman says
Sometimes the local Whole foods has frozen wild shrimp, but it is often expensive, but sometimes on sale. I am kind of reluctant to eat American or Mexican wild shrimp, since most of it comes from the gulf, which has been polluted terribly with the oil leak and the toxic dispersant that was dumped there.
I am looking for a good source, and I would be happy to share it with you once I find one.
Stanley Fishman says
Mr Wx, I did not think you were advocating farmed seafood. I agree, we need seafood in our diet It is really hard to find decent wild seafood, and the cost is a huge factor. The best solution I have found is to buy frozen wild fish caught in Alaskan waters. Trader Joe’s often has this at fairly reasonable prices.
I looked at the list on the link you provided, but I could not find any details as to how the farmed fish they recommend was raised or fed.
KitchenKop says
Stanley, I don’t have a TJ’s nearby, but I did recently find a guy downtown here who I believe said he has at least one type of wild fish from Alaska, so I’ll give him a ring tomorrow.
Any suggestions on shrimp??
Thanks so much!
Kel
Stanley Fishman says
I think freshwater fish farmed in the traditional manner, in a pond, with species appropriate food, is fine, but I am aware of no farmed fish like that you can get in the US.
I just cannot believe that fish that are fed soy, canola, and palm oil are the same as fish eating their natural diet.
Kelly, as for your lack of access to wild fish in Michigan, do you have the Trader Joe’s chain in your area? Though I live in California, most of the fish we eat is frozen wild fish from Trader Joe’s, caught in Alaskan waters.
The reason for that is that fish that are flash frozen shortly after being caught are usually fresher than the so called fresh fish, that have traveled a long way on ice, deteriorating with each hour that passes. Alaskan waters are less polluted than most.
My point is that the frozen wild fish you can get in Michigan is just as fresh as the frozen wild fish I get in California.
Believe it or not, this and the comment above are the short answer.
MrWx says
Thanks Stanley. I have no illusions that farmed fish are ideal, but the reason this is even a question for me is because I know (we know) that fish are too important to omit from one’s diet, but my first concern is toxicity for me and mine.
So, for example, see this list of Best Choices at KidSafe: https://www.kidsafeseafood.org/bestchoices.php
Yet again, I have had difficulty finding shrimp or scallops that are not from Thailand, given my budgetary constraints.
In any case, I’m not arguing for farming, I’m just interested in/concerned about these issues
Stanley Fishman says
Kelly, the Weston A Price Foundation advises us to avoid farmed fish. I do not knowingly eat any farmed fish. I do know that farming is a totally unnatural way to raise fish. That said, some wild fish, such as those from heavily polluted waters are worse than some farmed fish. That does not mean that farmed fish are a good choice. Soy feed, antibiotics, and chemicals are widely used in raising farmed fish. I have heard some fish farms are supposed to use sustainable practices, but there is no getting around the fact that the fish are still confined in cages, are still fed food in a form that is not the way they get it in the wild, and are not the same fish that nourished our ancestors.
Some traditional peoples did farm fish with true sustainable methods, such as the ancient Chinese technique of raising carp in ponds. The ponds themselves provided a lot of natural feed for the carp, and insects and small fish were often added to the ponds to breed and be a natural source of food for the carp. Unfortunately, almost all farmed fish are fed fishmeal and additives based on canola oil, soy, and palm oil. In fact, a number of “sustainable” fisheries use these substances as a large part of their feed. This vegetable-based feed is considered “sustainable” because they replace fishmeal that is made from wild fish. But no fish ever naturally ate soy, canola oil, or palm oil.
I have to go now, but I will complete this with another comment later tonight.
KitchenKop says
Stanley, so would you say that there is NO safe farmed fish? Seems like Nina Planck said in her book that there were a few kinds that were acceptable (even better?) if they were farmed?
Also, we don’t have access to a lot of wild-caught fish here in MIchigan, so what is your opinion in that situation?
Thanks for your help!
Kelly
Stanley Fishman says
MrWx, fish farming is a disaster for the environment, and is contaminating the oceans and rivers. The Organic Consumers Union has published an excellent article on the subject called Salmon Farms are Factory Farms: Dioxins, Pollution and Environmental Carelessness.
Farmed fish are confined in relatively small cages, which means that their wastes accumulate in huge amounts that are never seen in nature. Fish farms add many chemicals to the water including vaccines, antibiotics, and pesticides.
Farmed fish do nothing to preserve wild fish. In fact, smaller wild fish are taken and made into feed for the purpose of feeding the fish in fish farms. It is estimated that it takes 2.4 pounds of wild fish for each pound of farmed fish that is raised. In addition to depleting the ocean of the wild fish used for farm feed, farmed fish are often fed a large amount of soy, a substance that has no place in the ocean.
MrWx says
I am upset about the AquaBounty salmon as well.
On the question of farmed fish, I recognize that anything outside of it’s wild situation isn’t going to have the same quality or nutrient density, but is it not sometimes the case that for a particular type of fish, farming is a more sustainable and less polluted (the fish product itself, that is, not going to branch out into the repercussions of farms just yet) choice?
Personally, when it comes to seafood, my priorities are first low mercury, PCBs, etc., then organic/wild/natural/whatever, leaving sustainable in last place, especially when giving seafood to children with less body mass.
I’d appreciate any thoughts or expansions of the previous comments.
Pavil the Uber Noob says
Good point, Stanley, about avoiding ALL farm fish. If is doesn’t say ‘Wild Caught’, assume worse. And don’t hesitate to ask for ‘Wild Caught’ if you don’t see it.
As a rule, markets aren’t trying to push an agenda, they just want to sell stuff. They will stock whatever they can sell. If we never ask for (and buy) ‘Wild Caught’, we shouldn’t be surprised if it is poorly stocked.
Stanley Fishman says
Kelly, thank you so much for spreading the word about this abomination. The FDA is totally pro GMO, and does not seem to care about what the American people want. In fact, one of the highest officials in the FDA was working for Monsanto before the last election.
All farmed fish should be avoided, but the entire wild salmon supply could be at risk if just one of these frankenfish monsters escapes or is let loose into the ocean.