It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:36 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Salmon Contaminated
PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2004 4:47 pm 
Offline
Moderator
Moderator

Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:18 pm
Posts: 1093
Location: McKinney,TEXAS
Cancer-causing agents, PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides dieldrin and toxaphene are found to be much higher in farmed salmon than in wild salmon. On average, 37 parts per billion PCBs is found in farmed salmon compared to 4.8 parts per billion in wild salmon. Farmed salmon contains at least 2 to 10 times higher toxins than wild salmon. The EPA claims 50 parts per billion equals one extra cancer case among 100, 000 people, and recommends a limit of one meal a month. FDA's standard is 40 times looser. Consumers are advised to restrict intake of the farmed fish.

Read more at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 46KRV1.DTL

Also a good reference about the comtamination is the Environment WOrking Group website at http://www.ewg.org/reports/farmedPCBs/es.php


We have been encouraged to add more fish to our diets, especially those high in Omega 3's like salmon.

Well, guess what big agriculture has done to satisfy our demand. They've given us more salmon, "the un-natural way".

Ever wonder why we can go to Sams and get salmon for $3.00/pound?

I know farm raised has its supporters because it takes a lot of pressure off wild fish. However, I think it creates another opportunity to use government subsidized grain.

Also, because they concentrate the fish in such huge numbers the cost goes down but the pollution and problems go up.

The last problem I have is that they supplement the captive fish diet with ground up fish that contains contaminants to begin with. Let's see, feeding cows to cows = mad cow disease. Feeding fish to fish?

Farm raised shrimp has the same problem as farmed salmon does.

Tony Manasseri


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 9:24 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat May 03, 2003 10:48 am
Posts: 241
Location: Arlington
You can purchase wild caught salmon at better stores. Central Market is one good source of wild cought fish. The taste/texture/appearance of the wild caught salmon is much better than the farm raised fish. I would assume that there may be similar problems with farm raised catfish. There was an earlier question about organic catfish food for use in a catfish farm. I only found one reference to an organic catfish farm, and it was in Alabama. This could be a nice little area where an industrious person could make a decent dollar :D


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 9:58 pm 
Offline
Moderator
Moderator

Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:18 pm
Posts: 1093
Location: McKinney,TEXAS
jrosto-
I agree, I just bought some wild salmon at whole foods today and it was delicious.
It really is scary what is happening to food. There is such c*** out there. All the big grain producers are GMO and treated to death, our meat is grown in the worst of conditions, the cows are milked three times a day and never move, "downers" - about 30% of the dairy herd - are sent to the packing plant, the fruits and vegetables are sprayed to death in 3rd world countries, and the catfish, shrimp and salmon are joining the mess. Chickens are stacked 5 high and 50 cages deep, the lucky ones are the hens at the top. There are many more stories.
I eat only beef and chicken and pork from two farms. I'm cutting way back on grain, even organic grain. We use our own raw goats milk, cheese, soap and eggs and freeze as many of our fruits and vegetables as possible. We're lucky, how many people are able to do what we do? There are few alternatives for the average person.
A friend of mine says we are painting ourselves into a food corner, I couldn't agree more.
Tony M


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:34 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2003 10:59 am
Posts: 277
"Industrial meat production causes more problems than it solves

Friday, January 16, 2004
By Dr. David Suzuki

A massive new scientific study that found high contamination levels in farmed salmon made headlines last week, but the results shouldn't really be surprising. Applying industrial production methods to raising food animals has caused problems at every turn.

Both beef production and salmon farming have been in the news recently — and not in a favorable light. According to a study published in the journal Science, farmed salmon contains up to 10 times as many contaminants such as PCBs and dioxin as do wild salmon. Many of these contaminants are believed to be cancer-causing agents. In fact, contamination levels are high enough that the report authors recommend people eat no more than one serving of farmed salmon per month.

The salmon farming industry had criticized a previous study that found similar contamination levels because it used a small sample size. This time, researchers tested some 700 fish — totaling more than two tons — from markets and wholesalers all over the world, including Vancouver and Toronto. They consistently found high levels of contaminants in farmed fish.

The source of the contamination is likely the food fed to farmed salmon.

Salmon chow is made from other, less profitable fish, harvested from all over the world. This fish is then ground up and made into fish meal. The problem is that organic contaminants like PCBs "bioaccumulate" in the food chain through animal fat. This means that, as one fish eats another, the contaminant concentrations get higher and higher. All wild fish, including salmon, suffer from this problem, but farmed fish fare the worst, likely because concentrating fish into meal accentuates the bioaccumulation process.

Proponents of fish farms will likely regard this as a minor setback for a growing industry. But salmon farming faces a host of other problems, from site pollution to sustainability issues. Right now, three to four kilograms of wild fish are needed to be ground up into food to produce one kilogram of farmed salmon. So we are depleting wild fish stocks to produce contaminated fish.

Beef production has also been in the news again due to the discovery of another case of BSE — "mad cow disease" — in North America. While the risk to humans is relatively low, the incident again exposes the problems associated with mass-producing meat with a focus on profits rather than human or animal health and welfare. BSE would likely have never been a problem if factory farms did not try to increase the growth rate of cattle (and therefore, profits) by feeding them meat products — including other cattle — essentially turning herbivores into carnivores.

Factory farming, whether it's for pork, beef, chicken, or salmon, treats animals like raw materials that are processed and turned into an end product — meat. Animals in these systems are treated like inert matter. Little thought is given to their welfare. They are crammed into small spaces, sometimes by the thousands, and fed antibiotics to increase growth rates and reduce infections. Salmon farms use pesticides to kill off parasites. Hog farms create so much waste that they pollute surrounding groundwater, rivers, and ocean shorelines.

By trying to force industrial factory-style processes that focus entirely on profit and efficiency onto agriculture, we've created huge problems for ourselves. Is it really worth jeopardizing human health, polluting our water, and depleting our ocean fish stocks just to have 99 cent hamburgers, cheap pork rinds, and fresh salmon year round? It's time to take a good hard look at our priorities and consider more than profits in the way we produce meat.

To discuss this topic with others, visit the discussion forum at the David Suzuki Foundation: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/."

_________________
In theory, theory and practice are the same; in practice, they aren't -- lament of the synthetic lifestyle.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by eWeblife