Over
60% of the
consumer, making us more antibiotic resistant. Wild salmon have a varied diet and along with their free roaming, their Omega 3 concentrations are high. Man-raised salmon are fed toxic fish pellets also containing unsanitary and genetically modified foods. The color of a farmed fish is gray due to its diet and confinement. To make it look pink/red, the fish are fed chemical dyes. Man cannot however raise the levels of Omega 3 as this is only produced in free roaming fish. We are encouraged to eat more fish for their health giving Omega 3’s. As wild fish cost more, we think we have a good deal in farm-raised fish: cleaner and cheaper. As
Farmed Salmon
What are some of the things that you should know about manraised salmon?
1.
have seven times the levels of PCB’s as wild salmon
2.
have 30 times the number of sea lice
3.
are fed chemicals to give them color
4.
are fed pellets of chicken feces, corn meal, soy, genetically modified canola oil and other fish containing
By Dennis Ekisola
fish eaten in the United States is farm-raised.
usual, you get what you pay for. Mother Nature still does it best. She doesn’t confine, inject or concentrate toxins in her wild salmon. Fish that have roamed freely, eaten their natural, wild diet, and have no intervention by man are the fish that are healthy. Now that you know the difference between man-raised fish and wild fish, is saving a dollar or two worth it to your long-term health?
ORGANIC FARM RAISED SALMON
concentrations of toxins 5.
are administered antibiotics at higher levels than any other livestock
6.
have less omega 3’s due to lack of wild diet
7.
are crowed into small areas inhibiting movement, and causing disease
Wild salmon may only eat a bite or two of other fish. Mostly they feed on krill, giving them their rich red color. Krill are mostly toxin-free. Man-raised fish are fed pellets containing high concentrations of fish. It is this concentration of fish that increases PCB levels as concentrating the fish, concentrates toxins, mercury etc. Because putting more fish into a smaller area means more money to the companies raising the fish, it also means more diseased, susceptible fish. Lice are prevalent in man-raised fish. To combat lice and other diseases, the man-raised fish are given antibiotics. The quantities of antibiotics given are in higher concentrations than any other ‘livestock’. Those antibiotics are passed on to the
The use of the term organic in conjunction with salmon is not in violation of USDA policy because there are no standards for salmon and because the USDA regulates only the use of the organic seal and, in the case of salmon, not the use of the word organic. In fact, there is no regulatory agency in the United States that sets organic standards for salmon. European standards In Europe, however, regulations for organic aquaculture, or fish farm operations, have been in place for at least five years. Most salmon labeled organic originates in the chilly waters of the north Atlantic Ocean, off the coasts of Ireland, Nova Scotia and Scotland. For salmon to be labeled organic, the farm must operate in strict adherence with standards set forth by any of several organic-certifying agencies in Europe. These standards are stricter than those applied to conventional aquaculture operations. Under the rules of the Soil Association, a British-based agency, the number of salmon per pen is half that of conventional farms to minimize crowding and resulting disease; the salmon are fed fish meal containing the trimmings of fish fit for human consumption rather than industrial fish meal, and the amount of fish oil is lower than that in conventional fish meal (fish oil is a suspected source of cancer-causing contaminants); the use of pesticides to treat sea lice is strongly restricted; the synthetic pigment, canthaxanthin, which mimics the pink coloring crustaceans impart to wild salmon, is prohibited. All organic aquaculture operations are inspected at least once a year.