Yesterday I was happy to catch NPR's Terri Gross on Fresh Air talking to Paul Greenberg about the future of Wild Fish. It was a very informative program and while much of it is alarming, I wanted to make sure to share the information that Mr. Greenberg had to offer us on the program. Among other things he talks about Farmed Salmon vs. Wild Salmon, if this is a concern to you this program is something for you to listen to - it's encouraging, at least a bit.
Mr. Greenberg says "Fish were different 35-odd years ago, when I was a kid, and I would often visit fish markets no matter where I was," he explains to Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "By and large, what we would see would be entirely wild fish. Forty-odd years ago, everything we ate from the sea was wild. Pretty much everything. Today almost half of what we eat is farmed. So it's a huge, huge shift."
The story will give you a new outlook on your total fish consumption. Mr. Greenbergs big message, or at least what I took away from this, is that let's eat more vegetables, daily, and save the fish for a couple of times a week! We can't continue to eat it every day and expect the population to continue to grow, that just can't happen. He suggests, and this should not be new to you, that we should be eating more Herring, Mackerel, Anchovies and Sardines in this country. We should start to consider these as the four fish in our diet.
Then finally, Mr. Greenberg gives us an overview on what we have in store for us as far as fish are concerned after the oil spill in the Gulf region. It's not now that we should be worried about, in two to three years down the road, when the fish that were supposed to spawn this summer have NOT and so in 2011-2013 there will be trouble. It also has a lot to do not with the oil but the dispersant.
The interview is extremely enlightenting and he speaks in a very open and intelligent way on all issues of farming and eating fish, he will answer most of your concerns and then help you to ask yourself new questions as far as how you want to feed your family fish in the future. He is optimistic as to the future of fish and fishing, but I think it also comes with a lot of responsibility on our part to make the right choices. SHOW your kids that eating Sardines is delicious, order them the next time you are in a nice restaurant (believe me they are on the menu most of the time and if they aren't ask for them!) and start the conversation of eating fish that is better for the future of the fish.
Four Fish: the Future of the Last Wild Food - by Paul Greenberg
Listen to the interview by clicking here on NPR
click here to read the highlights of the interview
scroll down and you will be able to read in excerpt from his book
click here to buy the book
