Health
Related: About this forumAuthor Paul Greenberg on why Americans should eat more fish - PBS NewsHour
Last edited Sat Dec 29, 2018, 02:11 AM - Edit history (1)
Americans consume about 14 pounds of seafood per person annually, compared to over 200 pounds of meat. But many try to capture the nutritional benefits of fish, such as omega-3 fatty acids, by taking fish oil supplements. Paul Greenberg, author of three books on the fishing industry, offers his humble opinion on why the fish oil trend is less environmentally responsible than eating the real thing.
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The average American eats only around 14 pounds of seafood per year, compared to over 200 pounds of meat. Yet some 18 million American adults, nearly 8 percent of the adult population, take fish oil supplements. As we think about eating light and getting healthy, my advice is to skip the pill and eat the fish instead.
First off, most omega-3 supplements come to us from little fish that big fish like to eat. Anchovies, herring, sardines, these essential creatures are the targets of what is called the reduction industry, a multibillion-dollar business that boils down tons and tons of marine life into fertilizer, animal feed and, yes, dietary supplements. If we left those little fish in the water, there'd be many more big fish to eat. No-brainer, right?
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Perhaps most surprising, seafood, both farmed and wild, turns out to have some profound ecological advantages. Carbon footprint, freshwater use and conservation of open space all come out better with a seafood-leaning diet than a land meat diet.
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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/author-paul-greenberg-on-why-americans-should-eat-more-fish
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Awhile ago spouse met with a pharmacist to go over all drugs and supplement and was told that most Omega-3 supplements do not contain the advertised amounts. So we stopped using it.
Also, many take Krill oil. Krill is the bottom of the food chain and harvesting it deprive the next level of its food. So we stopped that, too.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)pansypoo53219
(20,906 posts)i gave up fish oil. flax oil instead. more grass fed beef. options.
no_hypocrisy
(45,774 posts)I take pause with what the fish/shellfish ingest.
Mercury, pharmaceuticals, antibiotics (fish farms), and more.
If you try to buy "wild salmon" for instance, there's no way to verify its origin and it's nearly $20 a pound.
NickB79
(19,114 posts)They are far and away the most sustainable and healthy fish: https://grist.org/sustainable-food/we-catch-too-many-sardines-but-should-we-stop-eating-them/
Eat less red and white meat, as well as larger fish,to reduce the demand for fishmeal in their feed.