It’s called “tomato sushi” and it’s a dead ringer for bluefin tuna. Chef James Corwell creates it by skinning tomatoes, removing the seeds, and then vacuum sealing them in sturdy plastic bags. After that, the tomato is cooked in hot water for about an hour using a technique called sous-vide. The process provides a similar texture to that of bluefin tuna and when paired with nori, ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi it tastes like a sushi roll, according to a story on NPR.

It’s an overall effort to reduce the impact on our oceans, and especially on at-risk species like bluefin tuna, the largest species of tuna, which can live up to 40 years in the wild. Their populations have declined severely, largely driven by demand for the fish at high-end sushi markets. All three species of bluefin tuna: Northern (or Atlantic) bluefin tuna, Southern bluefin tuna, and Pacific bluefin tuna have suffered in massive overfishing. Since bluefin tuna are late to mature and slow-growing, they’re especially vulnerable.

Other chefs and food manufacturers have also experimented with vegan sushi and faux fish like Sophie’s Kitchen, which makes vegan calamari, scallops, and fish fillets. They also sell a product called VeganToona, a canned faux fish made from pea protein, potato starch, seaweed powder, and olive oil, according to NPR.

But it’s a question of whether the demand is there to support a blossoming industry. Today 3.2 percent of Americans or 7.3 million people follow a vegetarian-based diet, according to a Vegetarian Times study. Additionally, .5 percent of Americans or 1 million people choose a vegan diet. These are growing, but still relatively small numbers.

Veggie burgers, tofu, and other meat substitutes have gotten better over the years, but there’s still work to be done.

“So much of sushi is visual, and using vegetables gives us the opportunity to use so many beautiful colors,” says Casson Trenor from Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar and Izakaya, reported on NPR. “We have some dishes that feature the bright color of tuna meat. Are we trying to mimic maguro? No. Are we trying to put purple and red into the menu? Yes.”

What do you think? Would you add faux fish or vegan sushi to your diet?

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Image of giant bluefin tuna from Shuttershock

The post Endangered Species Like Bluefin Tuna Could Find Protection in the Growing ‘Faux Fish’ Market appeared first on EcoSalon.

Climate change and our insatiable appetite for seafood could lead to mass extinctions of marine life and some pretty crazy new oceanscapes.

That’s the finding of a recent analysis that looked at data from hundreds of different sources on marine life and changes to the world’s oceans.

“We may be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event,” Douglas J. McCauley, ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an author of the new research, told the New York Times.

The research, published in the recent issue of the journal Science, says the oceans could rebound from current conditions, probably better than the mass extinctions happening on land. But it’s significantly more difficult to track the health of sea animals than those on land.

“There are clear signs already that humans are harming the oceans to a remarkable degree,” the Times notes. “Some ocean species are certainly overharvested, but even greater damage results from large-scale habitat loss, which is likely to accelerate as technology advances the human footprint.”

One such example is the loss of coral reefs, which have declined by 40 percent, due mostly to climate change.

Fish are facing a number of challenges as well. “Some fish are migrating to cooler waters already. Black sea bass, once most common off the coast of Virginia, have moved up to New Jersey,” reports the Times. “Less fortunate species may not be able to find new ranges. At the same time, carbon emissions are altering the chemistry of seawater, making it more acidic.”

Mangroves are being replaced with fish farms, which already account for a significant percentage of fish in the food supply, and experts estimate they’ll provide most of the fish consumed by humans in the next 20 years. Fish farms bring their own set of consequences to oceans much in the same way factory farms pollute land – and there are other issues. Again, the Times:

“Bottom trawlers scraping large nets across the sea floor have already affected 20 million square miles of ocean, turning parts of the continental shelf to rubble. Whales may no longer be widely hunted, the analysis noted, but they are now colliding more often as the number of container ships rises.

“Mining operations, too, are poised to transform the ocean. Contracts for seabed mining now cover 460,000 square miles underwater, the researchers found, up from zero in 2000. Seabed mining has the potential to tear up unique ecosystems and introduce pollution into the deep sea.”

There are also issues being caused by all the plastic debris in the oceans—much of it winding up in the digestive systems of fish and birds.

But the analysis also found there is much we can do to reverse the damage.

“We’re lucky in many ways,” Malin L. Pinsky, a marine biologist at Rutgers University and another author of the report told the Times. “The impacts are accelerating, but they’re not so bad we can’t reverse them.”

The scientists say reducing our carbon emissions is going to make a huge difference in the health of the oceans.

“If by the end of the century we’re not off the business-as-usual curve we are now, I honestly feel there’s not much hope for normal ecosystems in the ocean,” Stephen R. Palumbi of Stanford University, an author of the study told the Times. “But in the meantime, we do have a chance to do what we can. We have a couple decades more than we thought we had, so let’s please not waste it.”

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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The U.S. is putting new rules on commercial fishing of bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico and parts of the Western Atlantic known to be breeding grounds. Giant bluefin tuna over 81 inches long will be protected under a new 750 page National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration amendment in an effort to rebuild the population.

“NOAA Fisheries deserves great praise for significantly increasing protections for bluefin while allowing fishing for yellowfin tuna and swordfish to continue,” said Lee Crockett, director of U.S. ocean conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts. “This historic action will help western Atlantic bluefin tuna rebuild to healthy levels.”

The amendment deals directly with surface longlines. The longlines average 30 miles long and use hundreds of baited hooks left unattended for 18 hours at a time. As a result, countless marine species get caught and die including bluefin tuna, hammerhead sharks, and leatherback sea turtles. It’s a sad practice that wastes  445,338 pounds of bluefin tuna, more than before a U.S. ban on targeting the massive species went into effect in 1982.

These new guidelines seek to change all that by restricting the use of surface longline fishing in certain parts of the Gulf of Mexico and Cape Hatteras. It also establishes a new annual limit on incidental catch and says that the use of longlines must be monitored 100 percent of the time.

According to NOAA:

Under these proposed measures, fishermen will have a strong incentive to avoid catching bluefin tuna incidentally when pursuing swordfish and other Atlantic tunas, since bluefin tuna catch (landings and dead discards) are proposed to be counted against individual longline vessels. Reaching the bluefin quota could result in prohibition of further longline fishing.

Western bluefin tuna weigh upwards of 550 pounds and can reach more than 6 feet in length. They are also particularly valuable on the commercial market which makes them subject to unreported and illegal fishing. But NOAA has yet to list them as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

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The post Bluefin Tuna Breeding Grounds Protected by NOAA Amendment appeared first on EcoSalon.

President Obama recently announced an ocean conservation initiative to tackle seafood fraud and illegal fishing. The announcement was made at the global Our Ocean Conference hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.

Seafood fraud has become a growing problem outlined in a recent nationwide study which found that 33 percent of 1,200 seafood samples were mislabeled, according to the FDA. Seafood fraud hinders ocean conservation and opens the door to overfishing.

“President Obama’s announcement is a historic step forward in the fight against seafood fraud and illegal fishing worldwide. This initiative is a practical solution to an ugly problem and will forever change the way we think about our seafood,” said Oceana campaign director Beth Lowell.

Our seafood travels along an increasing long, complex, and non-transparent supply chain. Tracing our fish from boat to plate will provide consumers with the necessary information to make good purchasing decisions. Last year Oceana launched a interactive map that shows the far reach of global seafood fraud.

Oceana’s seafood fraud investigation collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states to determine if they were honestly labeled. The most common example of seafood fraud was red snapper–7 of 120 red snapper samples purchased nationwide were not actually red snapper. Another study found that 20-32 percent of seafood imports of wild caught seafood crossing our borders came from illegal fishing often called pirate fishing.

“Tracking where, when and how our seafood is caught, and ensuring that this basic information follows the product through each step in the supply chain, will help to eliminate seafood fraud and the illegal fishing it can disguise,” said Lowell.

Seafood fraud can impact human health because consumers may be allergic to the mislabeled fish or it may be filled with toxins. It’s also problematic for those trying to make sustainable seafood choices, purchasing fish that aren’t overfished and caught in a humane manner. Finally, it opens the door to the environmental repercussions of illegal fishing.

Additionally, President Obama proposed the world’s largest ocean sanctuary. Initially created by George W. Bush, the proposal would expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument from 87,000 square miles of protected ocean to 782,000 square miles of ocean surrounding seven U.S. controlled islands in the Pacific Ocean.

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The post Overfishing and Ocean Conservation: President Obama to Tackle Seafood Fraud appeared first on EcoSalon.

World Oceans Day is today and we celebrate that which sustains us.

Welcome to World Oceans Day 2011. Since 2008, the United Nations has recognized June 8th as a day to celebrate, learn about, and take action on behalf of the oceans that cover three quarters of our planet and sustain all life on Earth – what author Julia Whitty calls our Deep Blue Home.

Last year at this time, oil was still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico from the mangled riser pipe of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig. All told, more than 4 million barrels of oil were spilled, and nearly 800,000 gallons of the chemical dispersant Correxit were injected deep into the Gulf. On the one-year anniversary of the explosion that killed eleven men and started what President Obama called “the greatest environmental disaster of its kind,” oil spill researcher Chris Reddy told me it was still too soon to know how much oil and dispersant remains in the Gulf and what the long-term ecological impacts will be.

This year, as we recognize World Oceans Day, we wait for news of another environmental disaster – the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan. Yesterday, Japan’s nuclear agency doubled their estimate of how much radioactive material has been released from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant that was crippled by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. In the weeks immediately following the disaster, levels of radioactivity in surrounding ocean waters skyrocketed. Now Bloomberg has reported that radioactive water may once again begin flowing into the ocean as it overflows service trenches. The announcement adds to the urgency of a research expedition now underway to map the location, type, and levels of radioactive contamination in the Pacific Ocean.

And yet, despite their devastating effects, these dramatic environmental disasters are not the greatest threats to our ocean.

Studies released in the past year have trumpeted dire news: nearly 60% of the world’s coral reefs are at risk of being lost in the next three decades, 85% of natural oyster reefs have already been lost, and it’s estimated that large fish have declined by two-thirds in the past century. These declines are largely the result of five human-driven processes that slowly but surely chip away at ocean ecosystems.

1. Climate Change: The ocean has absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Rising water temperatures are driving commercially important fish species offshore and toward the poles in search of cooler climes – bad news for fishermen and seafood lovers alike. Warmer water also holds less oxygen, and that spells trouble for marine animals who – like us – breathe oxygen. Scientists recently warned that low-oxygen ‘dead zones’ are expanding, and that we could be in for a repeat of the mass extinctions triggered by prehistoric warming events.

 

Carbon dioxide emissions pose a double threat to the ocean, raising water temperatures and increasing acidity.

2. Ocean Acidification: Carbon dioxide doesn’t just build up in the atmosphere; about a third of it gets absorbed by the ocean. The inevitable chemical result is the production of carbonic acid that, in sufficient quantities, disrupts the acid-base balance of the ocean (thus, the term ‘acidification’). That, in turn, throws off a whole host of other chemical processes. Corals and shellfish can’t get the calcium carbonate they need for their skeletons and shells. And the microscopic marine plants upon which the entire ocean food chain depends may not be able to get the nutrients they need to grow. Scientists have generally considered ocean acidification to be a problem of the future, but a study published last fall forced a revision of that thinking by demonstrating that scallops and quahogs are already feeling the burn.

3. Pollution: Plastic, nutrients, pesticides, hormones, oil. The list of things we dump into the oceans is disconcertingly long. Last summer, a team of researchers from Woods Hole, MA, confirmed what many had long suspected – that plastic debris is accumulating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, just as we’ve known for decades that it does in the Pacific. Another recent study confirmed that the vast majority of plastic releases estrogenic chemicals when soaked in saltwater and exposed to sunlight.

But not all pollutants are chemicals. Some experts include ‘biological pollution’, or invasive species – plants and animals that are introduced by human activities, like global shipping, into areas they have never been before. These species often out-compete or outright kill native species. This year, we learned that rising water temperatures may be making a bad situation worse, giving invasive species a competitive edge over their native counterparts.

4. Overfishing: Ecosystems are like jigsaw puzzles: remove one piece and you can’t complete the puzzle. Remove several, and the puzzle may not hold together or form a recognizable image. In this way, overfishing and its cousin, by-catch, wreak havoc on ocean ecosystems. Of course, collapsed fisheries take a human toll as well, causing economic hardship and threatening food supplies.

Counting fish is no easy matter, and there is always controversy about the status of fish populations. This year was no different. A high-profile presentation at a high-profile scientific conference set off a renewed debate, with one side claiming that large, predatory fish could be virtually extinct by 2050 and the other arguing that the reductions in large fish are exactly what would be expected of well-managed fisheries. But scientists on both sides of the overfishing debate have agreed that more than half of fish populations worldwide need rebuilding.

Still, there’s some good news on the overfishing front today. Federal officials are optimistic that the 2010 fishing season may go down in history as the year U.S. fisheries set – and stayed within – science-based, sustainable fishing limits. The U.S. is just one country, but this is evidence that we have the tools necessary to end overfishing. The challenge is putting them to work in the places – like Asia – that need them most.

5. Ignorance: Less than 10% of the ocean has been explored by humans. We have better maps of Mars than the seafloor, and some oceanographers have compared their research to shining a flashlight into an immense, dark cavern. Last fall, scientists announced the completion of the Census of Marine Life – a decade-long, global effort to shine a light on the amazing diversity of life that inhabits the ocean. The efforts of more than 2,000 scientists raised the total number of known marine species to almost a quarter of a million. Still, they estimate that’s less than a quarter of what’s out there; the vast majority of ocean life remains unknown to science. That means that, even for the ocean scientists who know the most, the ocean is largely a big blue bag of mysteries. Susan Avery – Director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – says that the greatest threat facing the ocean is our limited ability to see what’s beneath the surface, to truly grasp our impact on the vast expanses of ocean.

Lest you think this doom and gloom doesn’t affect you, let me remind you of a few key facts.

It is no exaggeration to say that the ocean sustains all life on Earth. To quote W.H. Auden: “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” The oceans contain 97% of all water on the planet and drives the global water cycle. We’d also be hard-pressed to live without air, and microscopic marine plants produce more than half the oxygen we breathe.

Almost half of the world’s species live in the ocean. That rich biodiversity is not only an ecological wonder, it’s a treasure trove of chemicals that show up in everything from ice cream to toothpaste, and could hold a cure for cancer.

And in the age of globalization, when what you’re wearing, eating, or driving is more likely to be made in China than made in the U.S.A., it’s worth remembering that more than 90% of international trading is conducted via the ocean.

Just as we all benefit from the ocean, we all contribute to the threats facing the ocean, and we can all do something to help.

The greatest threats facing the ocean start in our homes and workplaces, whether we’re five minutes or 500 miles from the beach. While beach clean-ups are a tried and true way to repair some of the damage we inflict, they’re far from the only way.

• Learn more about what the ocean does for us, and what we’re doing to it.

• Tell others what you’re learning.
• Eat fish responsibly: Buy local, if possible, and know how the fish you eat was caught. Look for the Marine Stewardship Council label or check with a consumer guide, like Seafood Watch or the Smart Seafood Guide. None of the guides or labels are perfect, but they’re better than nothing.
• Ditch disposable plastic: We may only use it once, but it stays in the ocean forever. Plastic shopping bags and water bottles are particularly egregious offenders. Invest in a reusable water bottle and some canvas shopping bags.
• Reduce your carbon footprint: Don’t know where to start? Try an online carbon footprint calculator or a home energy audit to pinpoint areas where you can reduce.

This story was originally published in Climatide.

Image: Nasa Goddard Photo, Mike Baird, rkraemer, laszlo photo

The post Celebrating The State of the Oceans 2011 appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.

Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.

1. Food Safety

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Big players in the meat, dairy, eggs, and bagged greens industries are unsafe at any speed. Nobody paying attention to the news over the past few years could have missed the biggest food recall stories, nor the very real harm and deaths that have resulted from many of them. E-coli in beef has sickened many, killed some, and ruined lives. Recently, salmonella tainted pasteurized milk was pulled from shelves. Nobody could have missed the recent recall of about a half a billion eggs, and there have been numerous recalls of bagged greens – the most recent in June. These stories are becoming nearly every day occurrences, leaving us to wonder if our food system is DESIGNED to kill us. The problem is a direct result of lax food safety enforcement laws and lack of inspectors. This is at least partially because industry lobbies make sure that inconvenient regulations are not passed. Concentration in the industry also leads to over-crowded, sadistic farm operations requiring the use of massive doses of non-therapeutic antibiotics and grown hormones, and resulting in air and water pollution that contribute to a host of environmental and public health nightmares, and misery for the animals trapped in the system.

What can you do about it?

Know your farmers, ask about their practices and support what they are doing. You’ll eat better, you’ll worry less and you’ll support a better food system. When bagged spinach was first recalled a few years ago, I knew that the spinach in my CSA box was fine. Likewise, during the recent egg recall, I worried not a whit about the pastured eggs I buy at the farmers’ market.

2. Declining Wild Fish Stocks

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As Taras Grescoe pointed out in Bottomfeeder and Paul Greenberg most recently outlined in Four Fish, we eat too many of a very few species of wild fish – mostly the ones that are higher on the food chain. Continuing in this vein will cause the eventual decimation of our oceans.

What can you do about it?

Branch out and try something new. Eat bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators.

3. Poor Aquaculture Practices

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Aquaculture may be an important food source in the future (see above) but much of it is practiced in ways that are unhealthy for eaters, native species and the environment. If GMO salmon is approved, (still pending at press time) it will only add to the list of everything that is wrong with farming carnivorous fish in the open ocean. Don’t replace that salmon on your plate with shrimp. Ever wonder why the shrimp is so cheapat restaurants like Red Lobster?

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself on sustainable aquaculture. In general, only eat farmed fish that are natural vegetarians and only buy from suppliers that are transparent about the origins of their fish.

4. Genetically Modified Crops

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Besides being untested for their effects on human health, genetically modified seeds don’t necessarily produce greater yields, and can lead to over-application of pesticides that in turn can cause super weeds which have the potential to threaten overall biodiversity, and to contaminate non-gmo crops with their genetic material. The most recent case involving GMOS ended badly when the USDA issued permits allowing GMO sugar beets to be planted in defiance of a federal judge. The judge had issued a decision to stop the planting of GMO sugar beets on the grounds that they may cross-pollinate table beets and Swiss chard. Despite the fact that most other countries have laws outlawing or requiring the labeling of GMO foods, our government continues to bow down to industry.

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself about which crops are commonly genetically modified and only buy organic versions. Better yet, support the companies involved in the non-GMO project. These are the companies willing to go out on a limb and actually test their organic ingredients to make sure they are not contaminated. Also, raise your voice and let the USDA and our legislators know that you don’t want GMOS!

5. Exploitation of Workers

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From actual documented slavery in Florida’s tomato fields, to daily pesticide exposure in farming communities, to the fact that America’s lowest paying jobs are in fast food restaurants – our food system crushes workers, ruins their health, and keeps them in poverty so that they need the cheap, processed, industrialized food to survive.

What can you do about it?

This is a tough one, because buying from local, organic farms isn’t necessarily the answer. Even the nicest local, organic farms don’t pay their workers much and require long hours of backbreaking work. The farmers often work just as hard and can’t even afford health insurance for themselves or their families, so even if they want to do better by their workers, they can’t. This is where raising your voice for a more fair government policy that benefits small farmers equally can help. The new USDA is doing a better job clamping down on the big guys and supporting small-scale farmers than ever before, but we’ve got a ways to go.
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6. Lack of Equal Access

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You’ve no doubt heard the term food desert. Our food system is unjust because it does not provide healthy, affordable food to everyone. People in urban areas often have no access to any fresh food at all because there are no grocery stores. Likewise, rural residents in the heart of agricultural areas sometimes cannot afford to buy the very food they may help to harvest. According to a survey of farm workers in Fresno, county – conducted by The California Institute of Rural Studies – in 2007, 45 percent faced food insecurity. Also, children who are hungry at home are more likely to depend on school lunch programs for most of their nourishment. Even the kids know what a disaster that is. A society that allows such a large percentage of its citizens to go hungry or rely on unhealthy foods that make them sick is shameful.

What can you do about it?

It’s not enough to vote with your fork. Volunteer with and give money to organizations that work on food access issues. There are many. A good place to start is The Community Food Security Coalition.

7. Not Enough People Engaged in Agriculture

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Somebody’s got to grow all that food, but farmers are getting older and farming has long been in decline as a career choice. That’s because the system favors machine over man and profits over everything. This means lack of opportunities for farmers to earn a living wage that allows them to buy food and health insurance (see point five from last week). And it’s also unsustainable. (See point number 9 below). If we want to continue to eat, we’re going to have to get more people engaged in farming and we’re going to need to integrate agriculture into society.

What can you do about it?

One way is to grow your own, support neighborhood and school gardens, and urban agriculture. But the real change has to happen at the policy level, so speak up. Now is the time to start working with groups engaged in guiding policy for the next farm bill, such as The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

8. Monocrops

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Monocropping is bad for the environment because it’s chemical dependent, harmful to wildlife and ecosystems, and kills the soil. It also increases the chances of famine due to lack of crop diversity. It makes communities dependent on imports of other needed crops, instead of fostering self-reliance. Processed packaged foods depend on monocrops, like palm oil, that cause deforestation and push indigenous people off their land, and soy, which is often genetically modified. (See point 4 from last week). In particular, soy monocropping is causing tensions in Argentina, as it displaces other types of farms.

What can you do about it?

Don’t buy packaged, processed food. Buy fresh, local foods grown by farmers with diverse operations. Cook real food from scratch in your own kitchen.

9. Finite Resources

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Our modern, industrialized food system is dependent on fossil fuel based inputs and an unlimited supply of water and soil. All of these things are finite. Add to that that the food system is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, and it’s clear that we cannot continue the way we are going. We have to find a better way.

What can you do about it?

This problem is bigger than all of us but you can keep voting with your fork for the food system you want. And if you get into an argument with your uncle about how we can possibly feed the world with organic agriculture, say what Michael Pollan has said, “how do we know? We’ve never tried.” (paraphrased)

10. Biofuel Production

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Of course it would be easier to simply continue doing things the way we have been and just find another way to fuel our wasteful ways, but that’s not going to work. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels made from virgin agricultural crops (as opposed to recycled vegetable oil) could devastate our food system and environment. Biofuels, which are made from corn, palm oil, sugar cane and other agricultural products, are monocrops (see point eight) so they have the same potential to cause deforestation and other environmental problems. They also displace people and cause the price of basic commodities to rise, which is devastating to poor people who spend a large proportion of their income on food.

What can you do about it?

This is another bigger-than-all-of-us problem, but you can do your small part by reducing energy use, driving less, and speaking up for sane urban and suburban planning and smart energy policies.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: chronos-tachyon, Danielle Scott, Muffet, Jonathan Assink, avlxyz, unanoslucror, lucianvenutian, ebruli, Jeffrey Beall, Daisy Double Oh, MSVG, Calc-Tufa, 91RS

The post The 10 Biggest Issues With the Global Food System appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you ask food experts like Michael Pollan, Marian Nestle, Gary Nabhan, Vandana Shiva, and numerous other writers and scholars what the biggest problems in our global, industrialized food system are, you’ll end up with a lot to chew on.

It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.

Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.

1. Food Safety

Big players in the meat, dairy, eggs, and bagged greens industries are unsafe at any speed. Nobody paying attention to the news over the past few years could have missed the biggest food recall stories, nor the very real harm and deaths that have resulted from many of them. E-coli in beef has sickened many, killed some, and ruined lives. Recently, salmonella tainted pasteurized milk was pulled from shelves. Nobody could have missed the recent recall of about a half a billion eggs, and there have been numerous recalls of bagged greens – the most recent in June. These stories are becoming nearly every day occurrences, leaving us to wonder if our food system is DESIGNED to kill us. The problem is a direct result of lax food safety enforcement laws and lack of inspectors. This is at least partially because industry lobbies make sure that inconvenient regulations are not passed. Concentration in the industry also leads to over-crowded, sadistic farm operations requiring the use of massive doses of non-therapeutic antibiotics and grown hormones, and resulting in air and water pollution that contribute to a host of environmental and public health nightmares, and misery for the animals trapped in the system.

What can you do about it?

Know your farmers, ask about their practices and support what they are doing. You’ll eat better, you’ll worry less and you’ll support a better food system. When bagged spinach was first recalled a few years ago, I knew that the spinach in my CSA box was fine. Likewise, during the recent egg recall, I worried not a whit about the pastured eggs I buy at the farmers’ market.

2. Declining Wild Fish Stocks

As Taras Grescoe pointed out in Bottomfeeder and Paul Greenberg most recently outlined in Four Fish, we eat too many of a very few species of wild fish – mostly the ones that are higher on the food chain. Continuing in this vein will cause the eventual decimation of our oceans.

What can you do about it?

Branch out and try something new. Eat bait, or smaller fish, like anchovies, sardines, and small Spanish mackerel. These fish are more sustainable, more plentiful, more resilient, and healthier for you than the larger predators.

3. Poor Aquaculture Practices

Aquaculture may be an important food source in the future (see above) but much of it is practiced in ways that are unhealthy for eaters, native species and the environment. If GMO salmon is approved, (still pending at press time) it will only add to the list of everything that is wrong with farming carnivorous fish in the open ocean. Don’t replace that salmon on your plate with shrimp. Ever wonder why the shrimp is so cheapat restaurants like Red Lobster?

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself on sustainable aquaculture. In general, only eat farmed fish that are natural vegetarians and only buy from suppliers that are transparent about the origins of their fish.

4. Genetically Modified Crops

Besides being untested for their effects on human health, genetically modified seeds don’t necessarily produce greater yields, and can lead to over-application of pesticides that in turn can cause super weeds which have the potential to threaten overall biodiversity, and to contaminate non-gmo crops with their genetic material. The most recent case involving GMOS ended badly when the USDA issued permits allowing GMO sugar beets to be planted in defiance of a federal judge. The judge had issued a decision to stop the planting of GMO sugar beets on the grounds that they may cross-pollinate table beets and Swiss chard. Despite the fact that most other countries have laws outlawing or requiring the labeling of GMO foods, our government continues to bow down to industry.

What can you do about it?

Educate yourself about which crops are commonly genetically modified and only buy organic versions. Better yet, support the companies involved in the non-GMO project. These are the companies willing to go out on a limb and actually test their organic ingredients to make sure they are not contaminated. Also, raise your voice and let the USDA and our legislators know that you don’t want GMOS!

5. Exploitation of Workers

From actual documented slavery in Florida’s tomato fields, to daily pesticide exposure in farming communities, to the fact that America’s lowest paying jobs are in fast food restaurants – our food system crushes workers, ruins their health, and keeps them in poverty so that they need the cheap, processed, industrialized food to survive.

What can you do about it?

This is a tough one, because buying from local, organic farms isn’t necessarily the answer. Even the nicest local, organic farms don’t pay their workers much and require long hours of backbreaking work. The farmers often work just as hard and can’t even afford health insurance for themselves or their families, so even if they want to do better by their workers, they can’t. This is where raising your voice for a more fair government policy that benefits small farmers equally can help. The new USDA is doing a better job clamping down on the big guys and supporting small-scale farmers than ever before, but we’ve got a ways to go.

Be sure to come back next week for parts 5 – 10!

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: Danielle Scott, Muffet, Jonathan Assink, avlxyz, unanoslucror, lucianvenutian

The post The 10 Biggest Issues With the Global Food System: Part 1 of 2 appeared first on EcoSalon.

We’ve been trolling around for news and netted some doozies. From fish oil, to updated Seafood Watch recommendations, here’s a sampler platter of recent food news morsels.

Restaurant Greenwashers: We are watching you

Developed by intrepid journalist Charles Clover, who brought us the film End of the Line, Fish to Fork is a spanking new online rating system and interactive website that rates restaurants according to their seafood sourcing policies.

You may be surprised by what you find. There’s a lot of assuming going on out there and I’m guilty, too. Just because your favorite tower of gastronomy serves artisan meats and organic produce from local farms doesn’t mean you can assume their seafood sourcing policies are anything to brag about. And yes, it’s pretty disturbing that there is a restaurant named Bluefin on the list. It reminds me of the subdivisions all over California named after the orchards that once stood in their places.

You can send in information about any restaurant you frequent as well, making Fish to Fork a growing and valuable resource.

Fish Oil Is a Fishy Business

As part of your resolution to eat more sustainably, you’ve downloaded those little seafood wallet cards and now you carry them around and refer to them religiously at the fish counter and in restaurants. Good for you!

You may also have stopped eating certain types of fish due to overfishing concerns and begun taking fish oil pills instead. Whoa there, Nellie! Do you know where that fish oil comes from? There’s no wallet card for that, now is there?

Recently, Time Magazine reported on a little known fish called menhaden that is being overfished for the burgeoning fish oil supplement market. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart, brain, joints, and other important body parts.

Though menhaden is a tiny fish, it is nonetheless important for two reasons: It’s a source of food for larger predators (many of which are already endangered) and it’s a filter feeder. It eats algae and can help prevent dead zones caused by algae blooms. Scientists have been working on algae-based Omega-3 supplements that have the same properties as fish oil. It’s my understanding that they don’t have all the same components. My advice: Eat more sardines.

New Salmon and Shrimp Rankings from Seafood Watch

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program released new wallet cards this month and there are some important changes you should know about.

If you’ve diligently given up farmed salmon and shrimp due to environmental concerns, you might be happy to know that a certain type of farmed shrimp and a specific type of farmed salmon have been added to the “Green List.”

Responsible aquaculturists have been working hard to improve their practices and the new rankings are proof. US Farmed freshwater Coho salmon is now produced in closed systems that don’t pollute the environment and producers have gotten the feed ratio down to a point that is acceptable to scientists.

Similarly, U.S. farmed freshwater prawns are raised in small-scale operations inland where they cannot escape or pollute the ocean environment. The prawns consume plants and insects rather than large amounts of fish and the water is recirculated for extra green points.

But you still have to do the hard, dirty work of asking questions. Make sure you ask your server or fishmonger if the salmon or shrimp you’re ordering is US freshwater farmed and make sure the salmon is Coho. If you ask those questions and the answer is no, and then you don’t order it, restaurant and store owners will take notice. Remember your power as a consumer.

Pressing the Flesh

You know that pink stuff called krab that you find in cheap sushi? What about fish sticks? Did you ever wonder what that was? It’s pollock, most likely. And pollock is having the certification equivalent of an existential crisis.

On the one hand, The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has just recertified pollock the pollock fishery as sustainable. On the other hand, the Seafood Watch program has downgraded it from “green” (Best Choice) to “yellow” (Caution). Seafood watch is concerned about bycatch and damage to the ocean floor caused by the fishing methods used.

What should you do? Think about what you’re eating. If you’re going to eat fish, know what it is and appreciate it. Wild foods like fish should not be turned into protein pucks and eaten mindlessly.

Image: SauceSupreme

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

The post Catch of the Day: Food News from Around the Web appeared first on EcoSalon.

Called “the Inconvenient Truth” for the oceans, The End of the Line asks viewers to imagine a world without fish and then proceeds to show them exactly how commercial fisheries are decimating hundreds of wild species that we take for granted as food.

This is the film for people who don’t respond to dry, measured environmental messaging focusing on intangible future effects of current fishing practices. This film uses powerful footage and dramatic music to punch the viewer where it hurts: in the stomach.

The film asks viewers: if you like that fish and chips dinner, or that succulent tuna sushi, or watching your children play in the surf without worrying that the water will cause open sores on their delicate skin, or perhaps enjoying a little snorkeling on your annual vacation, you better sit up and pay attention – now.

In addition to the usually documentary tools – graphs, charts, statistics, and scientists explaining the effects of overfishing – the film is full of exciting, cinematic moments of man (and they are men) vs. fish. Knives flashing and nets heaving in the blood soaked waters of the Mediterranean, as fish are literally beaten to death. It’s gruesome, to be sure, and effective.

There’s also plenty of nourishment for the brain in the form of statistics illustrating just how much fish is caught and eaten worldwide:

Did you know?

The number of long lines set globally every year is enough to circle the globe more than 550 times.

1/10 of what we catch goes overboard every year as waste.

It takes 5 kilos of anchovies to produce 1 kilo of farmed salmon. This practice takes protein directly out of the mouths of poor people in distant countries that depend on this fish for their nourishment – all so middle class people can treat salmon as an everyday commodity food, instead of as the special treat it should be.

The 4,000 ocean reserves that exist cover less than 1% of the ocean.

Bluefin tuna quotas are double what they should be to avoid collapse and triple what they should be to allow a recovery. Even these quotas are ignored. The bluefin situation is so dire that the Japanese company Mitsubishi is stockpiling frozen bluefin in preparation for a collapse.

One bluefin fisherman-turned-whistleblower hangs out on the docks and estimates catches and compares them to what is declared by countries.

He illustrates the crushing immorality of the situation by declaring: “An infamous minority of people are making millions and millions of dollars by decimating a species.”

And it’s definitely just a few people making money. The filmmakers profile artisanal, traditional fisherman who are being squeezed out by the big boats. One fisherman in Africa made $6 from his catch on the day that the filmmakers spoke to him. $4 of those $6 must go to fuel. He has $2 left to feed his family. He’s considering leaving Africa to immigrate to Europe.

If all of this sounds like a downer, it is. But I think it’s necessary to shock some people to get their attention. The best part of the film is the point it makes that, unlike many environmental problems, this problem is eminently solvable. We just need to give the fishing stocks a break and allow them to recover.

All the problem requires is political will and the cooperation of consumers, industry, and governments. We can collectively set quotas and enforce them, we can get restaurants and grocery stores to stop selling overfished species, and we can change our eating habits.

We can eat more tiny fish (they are better for you anyway!), follow the recommendations of the various NGOS like Seafood Watch and Blue Ocean Institute, and we can return to treating wild fish with the reverence it deserves as one of the last wild foods available to humans.

Debuting at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and playing in hundreds of cinemas, aquariums, and universities across the U.S. and the United Kingdom, this film by Rupert Murray was based on the book by award winning British journalist Charles Clover. Screenings are being scheduled in North America at a variety of colleges, and special venues. There’s also a Fish “˜n Flicks restaurant screening tour taking place between Jan. 10 and 24 in and around New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and San Diego. The general North American screening schedule is here.

Check back often for updates, as dates and participating restaurants in the Fish “˜n Flicks tour are still being finalized. A few highlights: Yankee Pier in Lafayette, Calif. on Jan 12, Sea Rocket Bistro in San Diego on January 14, Blue Ridge in Washington D.C. on January 15, Fishtail in New York on January 18, Oliveto in Oakland, Calif. on January 20 and 21.

The post Film Review: The End of the Line appeared first on EcoSalon.

We need to save our oceans, and quickly. The most recent and widely cited report on fisheries predicts a complete global fisheries collapse by 2048 and asserts that ninety percent of large fish such as tuna and swordfish are already gone.

Other than the people using seafood wallet cards and reading eco-blogs, does anyone care?

In a 2008 report on the US Marketplace by Seafood Choices Alliance, chain restaurant operators report that only 22% of their customers are concerned about the environmental condition of the oceans. According to retailers, 25% of their customers are concerned. They better start caring because all-you-can-eat shrimp platters might not be the only casualty of the coming catastrophe. All life on earth depends on the health of the oceans. Even ours.

Not surprisingly, if consumers don’t care, few retailers and restaurants will take action because, after all, their job is to give consumers what they want or to go out of business. If retailers and restaurants won’t take action, neither will the wholesalers. Only 37% of retailers decided not to sell a certain seafood because of environmental considerations, according to a 2007 survey.

The terribly sad thing about this nearly imminent collapse is that it’s preventable. Though pollution, ocean acidification, and global warming all play a part, overfishing is by far the largest problem. And the most fixable. According to the book Bottomfeeder, we are vacuuming the bottom of our oceans clean.

We need a multi-pronged plan:

1. Consumers (and that means everyone) need to step up and push retailers and wholesalers to do the right thing. The power of the purse truly is a force to be reckoned with, but it has to be collective to work.

2. Governments need to cooperate on regulations and enforce fishery quotas.

3. New policies need to be put in place to protect fisheries.

Point 1: How do we get consumers to care? I truly believe that people would care if they only knew how bad it was. It’s not in the seafood seller’s business plan to let their customers know. That’s why I believe in-your-face tactics like some of Greenpeace’s recent campaigns can be really effective. Their ability to raise consumer awareness can push retailers to do the right thing.

Greenpeace’s recent brilliant attack on Trader Joe’s is a case in point. They used the attack, Twitter and humans dressed as giant orange roughy outside the stores to protest Trader Joe’s sales of endangered fish. The campaign was barely out of the gate before Trader Joe’s announced it would follow Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch recommendations for purchasing seafood.

Then there was the protest against the high-end Manhattan Restaurant, Nobu. It got a lot of attention, including in the New York Times.

Lamely, Nobu chose to leave the fish on the menu but to tell customers that it’s endangered and they should choose something else.

Less well-publicized, Greenpeace also puts out a seafood scorecard that allows consumers to assess how well their favorite supermarkets do in terms of sourcing sustainable seafood.

Another novel idea is that of consumer supported fisheries. Or Seafood CSAs: These seem promising from the point of view of supporting the smaller scale fisherfolk and keeping them in business. Such schemes, though great, are likely to be adopted by so few people that they won’t make a huge difference in the future of our oceans on their own.

In addition to consumer-focused efforts and campaigns, other ideas are being floated to help save our oceans. In order to do away with what is called the tragedy of the commons, some fisheries experts and governments (including ours) are proposing a privatization plan that provides individual transferable quotas that fisherfolk bid for. The logic is that everyone will have a vested interest in conservation. The plan does seem to have worked in some places. But I suspect, as usual, the devil is in the details. Critics say that such a plan will force smaller fisherfolk out of the game in favor of the large fleets that cause most of the destruction in the first place.

Up until now, governments have been lousy at cooperating to save our fisheries and oceans. The problem with global trade is that everyone has to commit to supporting bans on certain types of equipment or fishing moratoriums on certain species. That is slowly changing. The Pew Environmental Group recently formed a coalition dedicated to reforming the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.

And even more recently, France’s President Sarkosy announced his support for a ban on the sale of bluefin tuna. The British fisheries minister joined the ban, and more are likely to follow.

It’s clear from all of this, that everyone needs to do his or her part. How can you do yours? Here are six easy recommendations:

1. Educate yourself about what is sustainable and what isn’t. Try reading a book on the subject. The wallet cards such as Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch cards are great, but a subject as complex as this deserves further study.

2. Know the big three. The three most popular types of seafood in America are also the most environmentally problematic – salmon, shrimp and tuna. Stay away from farmed salmon and eat wild salmon as a special occasion food. Find out where your shrimp was farmed or caught. If it’s really cheap, you probably shouldn’t eat it. Most species of tuna are endangered and high in mercury, too. Enjoy the small species (such as skipjack) if they are hook and line (not long line) caught, and only once in a while.

3. Give that supermarket sushi a pass. It’s full of cheap tuna, salmon, and shrimp. See above.

4. Develop a love for sardines, both canned and fresh. They are great for you (full of Omega-3s), are low on the food chain and are abundant.

5. This is the hardest one. You have to spread the word. Remember, people don’t know this information, so you have to tell them. It’s hard to talk to people about their food choices without being seen as an annoying, judgmental killjoy, but find a nice way to tell your friends and family members that they might want to lay off the canned albacore or treat it as a special occasion food.

6. Be Hopeful.

Further Learning:

End of the Line
Bottomfeeder
A Good Catch
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Fish Forever
Seafood Lovers Almanac

Image: Jonathan Assink

The post It’s Time to Get Serious about Overfishing appeared first on EcoSalon.