Greetings fellow Carnivores.
First, I want to apologize for being absent from my Blog this past week and a half. I was away on vacation skiing (yes it was wonderful, thank you!) I didn’t mention this tidbit because, THAT would effectively announce to the internet masses that my house was going to be sitting here empty while I was away. Call me paranoid but, I KNOW there are lots of bad guys out there, willing to take full advantage of ‘found’ information like that. It STILL amazes me when I see people posting ON FACEBOOK, specific dates they will be away on Vacation and in so doing, letting everyone know their home is an empty, wide open invitation for thieves but, I digress.
Anyway folks, today I want to talk about a ‘Hot Button’ topic that’s front and centre. The raging debate over Wild vs. Farmed Salmon.
I personally LOVE Salmon whether it’s poached, baked, BBQ’d, fried, smoked or even canned but, in the past few years it has become more and more difficult to ignore the growing mountain of information supporting the Wild choice over the farmed one.
I NEVER wanted to use this platform for spouting political views or issues BUT, I believe if given the choice, we ALL want to support a method that is ‘SUSTAINABLE’ vs one that adversely affects the overall health of the food we eat and the industry it comes from. Hopefully you’ll find the following helpful.
In order to understand the industry a little better, you need to first know there are TWO types of “Farmed” Salmon: Open Pen, and Closed Pen. Open pen refers to floating pens usually found in protected Bays or close to coastlines and, Closed pens are huge tanks, usually found on dry land although they can be situated in the water but are sealed from the outside elements meaning: they do NOT contribute to the growth of parasites like Sea Lice nor do they allow fish waste and antibiotics to be washed into the surrounding ‘wild’ environment.
Consider this: Farmed Salmon, has the ‘potential’ to escape their pens and in doing so, pressure is put on Wild Salmon stocks competing for food. Also, because of the Open pens proximity to rivers and streams, parasitic outbreaks such as Sea Lice or Infectious Salmon Anemia can be catastrophic to wild Salmon fingerlings returning to the sea after spawning.
Farmed Salmon has a lower concentration of Omega 3 Fatty Acid (the good stuff) than it’s Wild counterpart and, because of it’s relatively ‘sedentary’ life style, farmed fish have been found to be higher in fat and lower in protein than their Wild brethren.
Closed pen farming on the other hand is SUSTAINABLE and healthier for both the fish and the people who consume them. The fish waste can be collected and used as farm fertilizer, there is no danger to Wild stocks from infectious contamination, the Wild stock would be free to forage for food without competition from tens of thousands of escapees, the Pens could be located close to processing facilities, further benefiting the communities surrounding them and let’s not forget about the job creation too.
As of this writing, Closed Pen farming is still NOT the preferred method simply because of the cost involved in converting but, there is a ground swell and all of us can help.
I know I’ve already spouted off too long here but, I believe it’s an important choice we all can help make. If you really want to make a difference, contact your local politicians and make your case for CLOSED PEN Salmon farming over the current Open pen method.
Until then my fellow Carnivores, you’ll find me eating the Wild stuff.
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Carnivore Confidential 