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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

"DOMESTICATED" FISH-AT WHAT PRICE?


Dramatic transformation of food production methods from one that was based on open farming or open rearing of animals a few decades ago to the present input intensive operations for increasing the productivity and profitability has also brought along with it many problems of undesirable nature. These include increased green house emissions, higher inputs of energy, fertilizers, water and pesticides and to top it, the nutritional and health quality and safety of foods so produced have been under a cloud. A typical example is Salmon farming which has practically made the wild varieties extinct with more than 90% of this variety of fish contributed by the former.

"While salmon "farming" conjures an agrarian image, the industry is more akin to CAFOs -- the concentrated animal feeding operations -- used by the industrial meat industry that is responsible for most of the chicken, burgers and pork that Americans consume. They're also responsible for a lot of waste and pollution that comes with raising a whole bunch of creatures in a confined space".

As the captive aquaculture farms that raise Salmon use feed concentrates and antibiotics, some of them not permitted, at concentrations much higher than that tolerated by humans, the output from these farms cannot be said to be absolutely safe for regular consumption. Besides the high levels of poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) present in the farm grown Salmons can also pose greater health risk. In their eagerness to get Omega-3 fatty acids present in Salmon, consumers may not be aware of other dangers posed by the domesticated versions, flooding the market.
V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

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