Representative Press Blog

Fish Talk

An AOL article "7 Rules to Stop Worrying About" Mentions the don't "Drink Red Wine with Fish" rule. They write "Choose wisely and these heretofore anathematized combinations will not ruin a meal. A light red, such as a Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais, works well with "meatier" fish, like tuna, salmon, and swordfish." It is good to know the rational about the rule and how lighter red can work better since I don't like white wine and never concidered getting it just to go with my fish. it is good to know that this has nothing to do with getting cancer and dying.

A more serious fish related topic is the deal with farm raised salmon. That apparently does have to do with getting cancer and dying. I like salmon but now they say the farm raised salmon, the kind most Americans eat (Farmed salmon now makes up 80 per cent of fresh salmon sold around the United States), isn't safe, "The study concluded that consumers should not eat farmed salmon from some regions more than once a month." globeandmail

The weird thing about the coverage of this is the matter of fact nature with which it is reported. Specifically the matter of fact nature with which the fact that people have so poisoned our enviorment that restrictions of the consumption of some food are being issued. This is just seen as a given?

The PCBs get concentrated in the feed that is given to the farmed raised slamon. The bottom line is the polution is in our evoroment and that is how it gets into the feed whcih is given to the salmon. Do we have to live with these poisons in the source food forever?? The reports I have read don't deal with it as far as I can see. I don't see any sort of reporting to the effect of "look what these companies have done to our envioroment", like I said the PCBs are seen as a given and I don't see anyone in the reports saying that it is a travasty that our enviornomet is poluted with them REGARDLESS OF THE DEGREE. Isn't living in a world that says don't eat too much of something becasue it could give you cancer kind of crazy? Becasue we have contibuted to poisoning the enviorment it is unsafe to eat someting more than once a month?

The LA Times article described it this way "Levels of contaminants are higher than in wild fish. Industry officials dispute conclusions." This is the emphasis? The concerns of Industry officials! This is from the LA Times which I am told is "liberal".

healthfinder.gov actaully warns that with some salmon the "don't eat window" should be four months: "Using the EPA standard, "to avoid an excessive risk of cancer, one should reduce consumption of farm salmon," Carpenter says. "On average, one meal of farmed salmon a month is what one should not exceed," he adds. "And some European farmed salmon should be eaten only once every four months."" healthfinder.gov