Now that we’re able to get out to our favorite seafood restaurants, it’s important to know what’s not only good to eat, but what was caught or raised in a sustainable way with an eye toward protecting the health of the food supply and consumers. “People in the United States are much more likely to eat fish out than cook it at home.” she says. “I get a lot of texts from my friends asking me which fish are okay to eat,” she laughs.Ĭufone will likely be getting that question more and more: In the last couple of years, with the pandemic keeping us at home, fish consumption took a hit, she says. “There are lots of ways to identify a so-called 'Dirty Dozen' of fish, and it’s crucial to be aware of overfishing, pollution, and bycatch,” which is when other creatures (even some protected species) are caught unintentionally. Practices like these affect not only your health, but also the future of wild fish stocks, which we and countless other species depend on for our survival. These smaller scale, local systems can avoid problems of open-water finfish farms and industrial agriculture altogether, which can include use of drugs and chemicals, unnatural feeds and cause environmental pollution. The Healthiest Fish Options for Dinner TonightĪnd part of the reason fisheries are in trouble is that consumers don’t always know the impacts of their choices - many of us still make fish-buying decisions based on taste, price and texture - rather than perceived sustainability, according to a study on British Columbian consumer habits.īut it’s extremely important to think about where the fish comes from, says Marianne Cufone, Executive Director of Recirculating Farms Coalition, an organization dedicated to creating local land-based produce and fish systems using hydro- and aquaponics.“Fisheries can absolutely be sustainable,” he says. “The oceans are in some ways the last source of truly wild products, and we need to be careful with those.” Samuels and Son sponsors Sustained Seas, an organization dedicated to promoting sustainable fisheries via labeling and education. “That’s because it’s the ‘Last of the Buffalo Hunters,” when it comes to seafood says Joe Lasprogata, Vice President of Samuels and Son Seafood Co, referring to a longtime lack of stewardship of fisheries on the part of those who ran them. And although the journey to a healthy sustainable terrestrial food system is far from over, it is well underway. From food co-ops, farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA), to stores devoted to natural, organic, local and sustainable fruits, veggies and other agricultural products - shoppers and advocates have pushed for legal protections to avert the worst problems of industrial agriculture. It was not long ago that we rarely thought about where our food came from, let alone the how our choices impacted the environment, but these days many of us want to know not only what we’re eating, but where it’s from and if it was grown and harvested in sustainable way.
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