EXPOSÉ – LICE-NSED TO KILL

LICE-NSED TOParasitic sea lice are invading salmon and trout farms, feasting on the skin and blood of captive fish. Viva! took to the streets to warn fish-eaters that some lice might still be attached to their purchases. Campaigner Alice Short reports KILL

Throughout April, we headed to five different cities to warn the British public what’s really eating the fish they ’re eating – sea lice.

We travelled to Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Nottingham, Exeter and Cardiff armed with a giant sea louse and some amazing vegan fish alternatives, kindly provided by Future Farm, with the aim of shocking the public and showing how delicious alternatives are!

Over the last 50 years, global production of sea food has more than quadrupled and as a result, wild fish populations have suffered. In 2017, over a third of the world's fish stocks were reported as overfished compared to 10 per cent in 1974.

To combat the dwindling supply of the world’s ‘natural resources’ the seafood industry has come up with a so-called solution – aquaculture.

Aquaculture, put simply, is underwater intensive factory farming. Fish are held captive and cramped together in filthy sea cages in their thousands. As they are often fed wild fish, this adds to the pressure on wild fish populations rather than supposedly reducing it.

For salmon and trout, this means they are cruelly robbed of their natural journey from sea water to fresh water to spawn. In the wild, sea lice attach themselves to salmon and trout whilst at sea but are dislodged when the fish enter fresh water where the lice are unable to survive.

Factory farms in sea water provide the perfect environment for lice to rampantly reproduce, infesting captive salmon and trout to gorge on their skin, literally eating them alive.

Our new sea lice video shows the natural journey of a salmon, highlights just how much intensive fish farming has disrupted the life of these magnificent creatures and the threat sea lice pose to the fish themselves and surrounding populations of fish. Infestations of sea lice are contributing to the rapid decline of the majestic wild salmon.

Few of the public were even aware that sea lice exist let alone that they are feasting on their fish dinners before they make it to the supermarket. After watching the footage from our fish investigation they squirmed with revulsion. Henry from Sheffield was horrified and said it has “put me off eating fish for life” .

Our video also shows the range of treatments introduced by the fish farming industry. These include chemicals, hot water baths, freshwater jets and the introduction of cleaner fish who eat the lice directly from the fishes skin. Each one poses different ethical and environmental concerns.

Left: shoppers enjoying ‘Tvna ’ samples in Nottingham

Despite these multiple treatments to rid fish of lice, the problem persists and it is impossible to guarantee that fish sold for human consumption will be lice-free.

Nick from Nottingham said: “The thought that lice may be still hanging on to the fish I buy is disgusting. I’ll think twice before buying fish again. ”

Future Farm’s fish alternatives were a hit with everyone who tried them! Becky in Sheffield said she “couldn’t taste the difference” between Future Farm’s Tvna and the fish she would usually buy. Once Becky knew of the catastrophic damage intensive fish farms are causing to fish, the environment and surrounding wildlife, she said she would now swap her fish products for vegan alternatives!

Viva! staff and volunteers were on hand to talk about our fantastic V7 meal plan and encourage visitors to give it a go! Lots of people downloaded our Vegan Recipe Club app, discovering recipes such as our delicious 10-minute Tofish and healthy ‘Tuna’ Sweetcorn Sandwich – made using almonds!

A huge board of our favourite fish swaps showed the public just how easily accessible vegan fish swaps are. There are alternatives for tuna, shrimp, squid, calamari, fish fingers, smoked salmon and scampi – and the vegan options just keep on coming!

Rebecca in Stoke-on-Trent had no idea there were now so many options available. She decided she would take part in our V7 pan and try vegan for a week!

We would like to thank all the volunteers who made each event such a success and thank Future Farm for kindly donating their Tvna. Discover more of Future Farm’s vegan alternatives at Sainsbury ’s.

Find out more about sea lice’s parasitic invasions and watch our Lice-nsed to Kill video at viva.org.uk/sealice, or learn more about our salmon investigation at viva.org.uk/salmon.

Left: a salmon literally being eaten alive by sea lice (photo: Corin Smith). Below: a typical salmon/sea trout farm showing the pens where fish are held – from Viva!’ s undercover investigation. Below left: grossed out by a giant sea louse

Left: an interested consumer tucking into our ‘fish’ samples in Stokeon-Trent. Below: the full Viva! team at our Cardiff Vegan Action

lifescience Long-Covid Plants to the rescue

Viva! Health dissects the latest scientific research and makes it easy to understand. Here we update you on recent findings…

BY DR JUSTINE BUTLER, HEAD OF RESEARCH, VIVA!

Diabetes in focus

VEGAN DIET HELPS WEIGHT LOSS

Up to 80 per cent of Covid patients develop long-term symptoms such as fatigue, sleeping problems, anxiety, depression, stiffness and muscle weakness. Long-Covid, as it’ s become known, may last weeks or months. Studies show that plant-based diets lower the risk of moderate-to-severe Covid by as much as 73 per cent. Inflammation is a key feature in many patients, especially those with severe Covid. Plant-based diets tend to be anti-inflammatory and may help improve physical and mental conditions often seen in longCovid.

Storz MA. 2021. Lifestyle Adjustments in Long-COVID Management: Potential Benefits of Plant-Based Diets. Current Nutrition Reports. 10 (4) 352-363.

This review looked at seven studies in which meat-eaters with type 2 diabetes switched to a vegetarian or vegan diet for six or more weeks. They found that vegan diets significantly reduced body weight, BMI and waist measurement and suggested that this study provides evidence supporting vegan diets to help manage body weight in people with diabetes.

Austin G, Ferguson JJA and Garg ML. 2021. Effects of Plant-Based Diets on Weight Status in Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials. Nutrients. 13 (11) 4099.

VEGAN DIET SHOULD BE PRESCRIBED

A healthy vegan diet reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and is highly effective in its treatment. This review found that diets emphasising whole grains, pulses, fruit and vegetables, while eliminating animal products, reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In those who already have it, a low-fat, plant-based diet improves body weight, glycaemic control, blood fat levels and blood pressure, while reducing the risk of cardiovascular complications. “Health care providers should feel confident in counselling their patients to follow a plant-based eating pattern, ” say the authors.

Jardine MA, Kahleova H, Levin SM et al. 2021. Perspective: Plant-Based Eating Pattern for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention and Treatment: Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Practical Considerations. Advances in Nutrition. 12 (6) 2045-2055.

Vegan diets

The seal of approval

A review of current research found that eating plantbased diets and avoiding lots of processed foods is safe and effective for all stages of life, from pregnancy and lactation to childhood and old age. These diets are high in fibre and polyphenols that benefit our gut bacteria, producing anti-inflammatory compounds that combat disease. They suggest vegans pay attention to calcium, iron, vitamins D and B12. Health professionals should be familiar with this research, they say, and be able to provide helpful information. Finally, they add that plantbased diets are also more sustainable than diets based on animal products since they use fewer natural resources and produce fewer emissions.

Craig WJ, Mangels AR, Fresán U et al. 2021. The Safe and Effective Use of Plant-Based Diets with Guidelines for Health Professionals. Nutrients. 13 (11) 4144.

Deafened by silence

Scientists call out government inaction

A global switch from animal foods to a plantbased diet over the next 15 years would have the same effect as a 68 per cent reduction in CO₂ emissions through to the year 2100. That’ s around half the amount needed to limit global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels –regarded as the minimum required to avert disastrous climate change. Given how effective ditching animal foods could be, the authors say: “It is surprising that changes in food production and consumption are not at the forefront of proposed strategies for fighting climate change. ”

Viva! has them up front and centre!

Eisen MB and Brown PO. 2022. Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO2 emissions this century. PLOS Climate. 1 (2) e0000010.

Vegan diet and re-wilding –a double dividend

It’ s a win-win for the environment

Over a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, with livestock in 54 high-income countries being responsible for 70 per cent of that figure. Switching to a plant-based diet and allowing land to revert to its natural state, with wild plants and trees sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, would reduce agricultural emissions in richer countries by 61 per cent and capture the equivalent of 14 years of global agricultural emissions by the end of the century. This ‘double climate dividend’ could be achieved through linking land, food, public health and climate policy. "It’ s a double whammy, " said Dr Paul Behrens of Leiden University in The Netherlands, who led the research.

Sun Z, Scherer L, Tukker A et al. 2022. Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend. Nature Food. 3, 29-37.

TROPICAL FORESTS ARE COOL

… and do more than just store carbon

Tropical forests cool the planet by over 1°C but not just by storing carbon. Trees help combat global warming by reflecting sunlight back into space and cooling air by releasing water vapour from their leaves. Canopy roughness (think of giant broccoli) also disperses heat enabling forests to mitigate the impact of extreme temperatures. Deborah Lawrence, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, said: “We should be working very hard to grow and maintain forests in the tropics and looking to sustainably manage forests outside the tropics. ”

Lawrence D, Coe M, Walker W et al. 2022. The Unseen Effects of Deforestation: Biophysical Effects on Climate. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. Volume 5.

AMAZON RAINFOREST NEARS TIPPING POINT

Deforestation has to end

Deforestation and climate change have pushed the Amazon close to a critical threshold. More than threequarters of the world’ s largest rainforest is at a tipping point, beyond which it may not be able to recover. There have been marked losses in forest resilience since the early 2000s, especially in areas close to human activity. Drier conditions, including three severe droughts, combined with increased human land-use, have played a crucial role in this. The south-eastern part of the Amazon has become a carbon emitter rather than a carbon sink. Risking further dieback has profound implications for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate change on a global scale.

BoultonCA,LentonTMandBoersN.2022.PronouncedlossofAmazon rainforestresiliencesincetheearly2000s.NatureClimateChange.12,271-278.