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When is a Farm Not a Farm?
November 17, 2006

Stu Stein

November 17, 2006
I was having a discussion recently with the restaurant-management class I’m teaching about sustainable cuisine and specifically, aquaculture.

When my publisher and literary agent were speaking with various people about providing an endorsement for my cookbook, “The Sustainable Kitchen,” I received an interesting response from a television chef from the 1970s, `80s era. His note said he would be happy to endorse my book, but only if we changed our view on sustainable seafood and aquaculture. His position was that seafood, in general, is a high-protein, low-fat food. For health reasons, people need to eat more seafood in order to increase their intake of omega-3 fatty acids (the good fat) and reduce their intake of omega-6 fatty acids (the bad fat). Now, I’m not one to contradict celebrities—of course, they must be right—but his viewpoint seems a bit shortsighted.

Yes, a recent study titled, “Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with support from the Food and Drug Administration, concluded that in spite of some concerns about environmental contaminants, overall “seafood is a nutrient-rich food that makes a positive contribution to a healthful diet.” The findings advise all Americans to eat seafood regularly and that those who eat more than two servings per week should incorporate a variety of species into their diet to benefit from the nutrients in different species and to avoid accumulated exposure to environmental contaminants.

Sounds great to me, but what about the raping and pillaging of the world’s oceans by overfishing? What about aquaculture that pollutes ground water and estuaries, or that overuses growth hormones and antibiotics, lets environmental contaminants accumulate, degrades wild stocks with escapees and can have a negative net energy and protein loss? How about habitat damage along the coast and under the water? Not all aquaculture is bad. There are sustainable fish farms. The problem is that the aquaculture industry does not have strong regulations yet. Additionally, the USDA currently does not have organic standards for any seafood.

For more information on sustainable seafood: Oceans Alive Clean Catch Seafood Choices Alliance Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch Marine Stewardship Council

No problem. Seafood is good for you and there’s plenty of it available—right?

It seems that the issue is a bit more complex than first imagined.

For me, nothing compares to the subtlety and variety of flavor of wild fish.

The real key is to educate yourself, ask a lot of questions and develop relationships with fish suppliers whether it is in a retail or a commercial environment. Ask:

•Is the fish farmed or wild caught? If it is farmed, in what type of production system is it raised?

•If it is wild caught, where was the fish caught and how was it caught (what type of fishing gear was used) and is there bycatch and habitat damage issues?

•Should the species be caught? Are there fishery-management issues? Are there more environmentally friendly alternatives, or are there other similar fish to choose?

•Is this fish really what people say it is (i.e., is it red snapper, striped bass, Pacific salmon, etc.)?

•Learn about fish substitutions.

•If you want to serve shrimp, U.S. and British Columbian trap-caught spot prawns (fresh and frozen) are the best choices. I may be biased, but wild-caught Oregon pink shrimp—currently going through MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification and rated Best by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch—is the choice for wild shrimp: sweet, delicate and slightly briny with big flavor in a small package.

In my opinion, here’s what it boils down to: It’s a mindset change more than anything else. It will take more of your time to research and find sustainable alternatives, but not necessarily more money. As the sustainability-promoting group Chefs Collaborative says, “Chefs are educators, messengers and trendsetters. As chefs learn to work with these products, incorporate them onto their menus and speak about them to their customers, consumer interest, demand, and understanding will likely increase.”

For more information on the topics discussed in this entry, check out the Web sites listed below.

After all, that’s what it’s all about.

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on November 17, 2006 | Comments (0)