Guest guest Posted February 25, 2004 Report Share Posted February 25, 2004 Wed, 25 Feb 2004 08:19:56 -0500 HSI - Jenny Thompson Fish Out of Water Fish Out of Water Health Sciences Institute e-Alert February 25, 2004 ************************************************************** Dear Reader, You might say that I was a little bit out of my water. In the e-Alert " Down on the Farm " (1/20/04) I tackled a nutrition issue that also happens to be a sticky environmental concern. A recent study found farmed salmon to have high levels of pollutants. But I found the study to have high levels of holes in it and defended the consumption of farm-raised salmon. And believe me - I heard about it! Several members sent long e-mails explaining the nutritional dangers and environmental problems associated with salmon farming, while other members took to the HSI Forum to express their dismay. I still stand by my assessment of the flawed study, but I've also taken a long look at the issues surrounding farm-raised salmon. And by and large, life down on this farm isn't pretty. ----------------------------- More... or less? ----------------------------- While digging for background information and verification of details in the e-mails I received, I came across this statement from William Campbell Douglass, M.D.: " Try to buy trout, salmon, tuna, etc. that have been harvested from wild, deep-water sources - not fish farms. " Dr. Douglass points out that the wild, " free-ranging " fish tend to be much lower in mercury, lead, and other heavy metals that can cause health problems. And they may also be richer in omega-3 fatty acids - the very nutrient that makes salmon such a healthy food in the first place. A member named Jay writes in the Forum: " I saw somewhere that the omega 3 profile of farmed salmon is not nearly as favorable as their wild cousins. " And Don, also posting on the Forum, agrees, noting that fish have to eat algae to get omega-3. (Most farmed salmon are raised in enormous floating pens in ocean waters where algae may not have a chance to grow.) The Sierra Club backs up Jay's omega-3 claim, but on web sites maintained by the salmon farm industry, the exact opposite claim is made; that farm-raised salmon contain higher levels of omega-3 than wild salmon. The David Suzuki Foundation - an environmental research group - is currently preparing a report on the difference in quality of omega-3 fatty acids found in wild and farmed salmon, and I'll fill you in on the results of that report in a future e-Alert. ----------------------------- Seeing red ----------------------------- While the omega-3 question may be a disputed point, not as easy to dismiss are some common salmon-farming practices. A member named Gail writes: " Farmed salmon are kept in large, overcrowded, netted pens overflowing with feces, antibiotics, artificial colorants and pesticides. " According to the Sierra Club web site, " The intense accumulation of wastes from these operations can spoil the local marine environment and spread disease. " And an HSI member named Madeson agrees. Madeson lives in British Columbia, which boasts " some of the finest habitat of Salmon populations in the world. " She writes: " These penned up farmed Salmon breed so rapaciously while confined so closely together which necessitates the use of huge quantities of antibiotics and drugs to keep them healthy. " And Jay also notes that coloring additives are put in the feed, " so their meat is not a nasty gray color. " Beyond the questionable " nutrition " that one might get from artificially colored salmon (with a side of antibiotics and pesticides), there's a larger environmental issue. Although the farm industry denies it, farmed salmon do escape and breed with wild salmon. Gail writes: " Cross breeding with wild species weakens the wild species' ability to survive in the wild contributing to its extinction. " Madeson also notes that fish farms, which are " almost always placed near spawning migration paths of healthy salmon runs, " attract " hordes " of sea lice that attack the wild salmon, reducing their strength and ability to return to spawning beds. The lice also attack and kill young salmon smolts as they return to the sea from the estuaries. ----------------------------- Organic alternative ----------------------------- Last month in The Observer (a UK newspaper), a Scottish " aquaculture expert " named James Hepburn called on local salmon farmers to develop " organic aquacrofts. " Also known as " smallholding, " this downsized farming technique is healthier for both the fish and the environment. Mr. Hepburn (a former fish farmer himself) hopes that this type of farming might reinvigorate the good reputation of Scottish salmon by refusing to use the unhealthy methods of huge Norwegian and Chilean factory farms that he feels have overwhelmed the market with inferior fish. In the same article, however, Don Staniford, a spokesman for the Salmon Farm Protest Group notes that even in Scotland's organic farms, salmon are fed with pellets made with fish caught in the North Sea, which is polluted. Furthermore, the large amount of feed required for these farms is decimating the populations of many fish species. Obviously, the difficult issues of salmon farming will not be easily resolved. But as a member named Lois observes: " Fortunately, you do have viable options for obtaining the nutritious benefits of fish, such as regularly consuming high-quality purified fish oil. " But even with fish oil supplements, you can't always be certain you'll avoid mercury and other pollutants found in both farmed and wild fish. In yesterday's e-Alert ( " Take it to Heart " 2/24/04), I noted that some fish oil supplements contain traces of contaminants. So to insure the highest quality of fish oil, look for pharmaceutical grade supplements that use molecular distillation to separate toxic heavy metals from the oil. ----------------------------- What a difference a century makes ----------------------------- In the e-Alert " Down on the Farm " I said we need to have realistic expectations about the quality of our food supply. Let's face it; we'd have to return to 1904 to find foods that are free of impurities (which is one of the reasons why detox methods are so important today). But that doesn't mean we should accept destructive farming methods that create environmental problems and unhealthy foods. ************************************************************** To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.html Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. ************************************************************** ... and another thing I received some excellent health advice from a friend of mine named Bridget who has three children - they're all boys and the oldest is only seven years old. It's a lively household, to say the least. She writes: " If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, follow the directions on the aspirin bottle: Keep away from children! " To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute ************************************************************** Sources: " Salmon Farms Urged to Rear Organic Fish " Stephen Khan, The Observer, 1/18/04, observer.guardian.co.uk " When it Comes to Salmon, Buy Wild " Sierra Club, sierraclub.org " Salmon Farming " David Suzuki Foundation, davidsuzuki.org " BC Salmon Farming " BC Salmon Farmers Association, salmonfarmers.org Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C. 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