Farmed Salmon Is One Of The Most Toxic Foods In The World
Farmed Salmon Should be Avoided as it is One of the Most Toxic Foods
In the documentary “Fillet-Oh-Fish,” you can see a critical look at the fish industry, focused on fish farms and factories across the globe.
The fisheries in nowadays are facing huge problems, from overfishing to chemical pollution and genetic mutation. According to the producers of the film, “through intensive farming and global pollution, the flesh of the fish we eat has turned into a deadly chemical cocktail.”
Despite those problems, the fish business is booming, successfully keeping the dirty underbelly of modern fisheries from public sight.
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Even though the aquaculture promotes itself as a sustainable solution to overfishing, in reality, fish farms cause more problems than they solve.
Farmed Salmon — One of the Most Toxic Foods in the World
From the film, you can see Kurt Oddekalv’s view of fish farming. He is a respected Norwegian environmental activist who believes that salmon farming is a disaster for the human and environment health.
He based his view on the fact that the salmon farms spread across the Norwegian fjords are located on a layer of waste some 15 meters high, crowded with bacteria, pesticides, and drugs. He stated that the entire sea floor has been destroyed and that farms cause pollution, too.
The crowded conditions of the salmon in farms (upwards to 2 million salmon in a relatively small amount of space), result in spreading a different kind of diseases.
The most common diseases, according to Oddekalv, are sea lice, Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISA) and Pancreas Disease (PD). The farms use numerous dangerous pesticides in an effort to stave off disease-causing pests.
Adderall’s claims of the salmon toxicity were confirmed by the toxicology researcher Jerome Ruzzin, too. His testing of a number of different food groups, sold in Norway for toxins, showed that farmed salmon contains the greatest amount of toxins of them all.
Genetic Mutations and Other Crazy Facts
As it is shown in the film, the pesticides used for keeping pests like sea lice in check, also affect the fish’s DNA, causing the genetic mutations. Oddekalv, also pointed out that about 50 percent of farmed cod are deformed in this fashion.
Comparing the nutritional content of the farmed with the wild salmon shows the abnormal content of fat, 3-5 times bigger in favor of farmed salmon, due to the toxin accumulation.
So, what’s wrong with the fish feed, why is it so toxic?
The problem begins with the pollution of the Baltic Sea. According to governments of Baltic countries, you should not eat fatty fish like herring more than once a week. It is highly recommended that the pregnant women should avoid the Baltic fish completely.
Because of the dumping the toxic waste into the closed body of water, dioxins bind to fat, which is why salmon, herring, and eel are particularly vulnerable.
One of the Most Dangerous and Best Kept Secrets of the Fish Industry
The farmers add to the protein powder an “antioxidant” called ethoxyquin, which is one of the best-kept secrets of the fish food industry. This component was developed by Monsanto in the 1950s — as a pesticide and it has been used in strictly regulated procedures.
Recently, a Swiss anti-fraud laboratory was surprised because of the high levels of ethoxyquin found in farmed fish (10 to 20 times higher), and that discovery began to unravel the secret. Ethoxyquin was originally designed for use on fruits and vegetables, but the fish feed industry uses it, too by adding it to the feed to prevent the fats from oxidizing and going rancid. However, for this procedure manufacturers have never informed health authorities. Which makes the situation worse is the effect of this chemical on human health.
Are You Eating Fish or Fish Waste?
Fish supposed to be one of the healthiest foods you can eat, but having that information of the mind, you have to be even more careful about choosing the right type of fish. By watching this film to the end, you’ll completely understand why you should avoid the processed foods and this farmed fish.
Here is one serious warning: if you cannot find on the product’s list of ingredients that it’s made with a fillet of fish, it’s usually made with fish waste pulp.
Additionally, investigations have shown that 1 in 3 fish labels are false or misleading. Usually, that happens with an inexpensive fish.
Best Seafood Options: Wild Alaskan Salmon, Sardines and Anchovies
Unfortunately, most major waterways in the world are contaminated with heavy metals, mercury, and chemicals like PCBs, dioxins, and other agricultural chemicals, which come from the environment.
Even though many experts do not recommend getting your omega-3 requirements from the fish, but there are two exceptions, an authentic, wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon and sardines, and anchovies.
The risk of sockeye accumulating high amounts of toxins is reduced because of its short life cycle, which is only about three years. Alaskan salmon is always wild-caught, as it is not allowed to be farmed. Canned salmon labeled “Alaskan Salmon” is a less expensive alternative to salmon fillets.
The second exception is smaller fish with short life cycles, such as sardines and anchovies. In this case, you have a win-win situation — lower contamination risk and higher nutritional value. A general guideline:
– The closer to the bottom of the food chain the fish is, the less contamination it will have accumulated (avoid fish from the Baltic Sea).
– Other good choices are herring and fish roe (caviar), which are full of important phospholipids that nourish mitochondrial membranes.
Source:
[1] Upside Distribution. (n.d.). Filet Oh! Fish – In the Troubled Waters of the Fish Industry
[2] Merck Animal Health. (2015). Pancreas Disease