Fish. A generic term for many species many of which
are heavily threatened by overfishing practices and
pollution.
Whether you eat animals from the sea or not, you have
to read Bottomfeeder .
Its author, Montreal-based Taras Grescoe, likes to
investigate his subject thoroughly before couching his
findings and thoughts down for us to read. Much to our
enjoyment because his style is like no other. Much to
our chagrin, because the topic at hand is rather alarming.
Many chapters will leave you stunned, just like the
fish caught using dynamite, a practice otherwise called
blast-fishing.
The Montreal Gazette described Bottomfeeder
as "a much-needed wake-up call and education not
only for ethically-minded seafood lovers, but chefs,
waiters, fishmongers, food writers and home cooks -
in short, all consumers."
If you don't know how the fish sticks or sashimi landed
in your plate, read Bottomfeeder. If the terms
'bottom-trawling' and 'long-liners' evoke a vague idea
in your mind, read Bottomfeeder.
If you think $4.99 is the only price tag attached
to a pound of frozen shrimps in your supermarket, think
again and next time you enjoy a plate of shrimp remember
the list of ingredients which will come along for the
ride:
Commonly used agents in shrimp farming:
diesel to kill insect larvae at the surface of
the fish pond; (and you thought it was only meant
for your truck);
piscicides (to poison any other competing aquatic
life in the shrimp pond) such as chlorine and rotenone,
the latter being strongly linked to Parkinson's disease;
antibiotics used to prevent disease in the shrimp;
those are carcinogenic.
Commonly used agents after shrimp harvesting:
sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is used to soak shrimps
(and scallops) to prevent dessication and enhance
product weight during transit. STTP is a suspected
neurotoxicant.
borax is used to preserve colour in the shrimp;
(ever heard of rat poison?)
caustic soda is sometimes used for the same reason
(yes, that is the same agent used as a drain cleaner)
Shrimp cocktail anyone?
So, here is what you can do, easy as 1, 2, 3:
1. read Bottomfeeder; the
book is available in French (La Mer Engloutie - "The
Lost Sea"), German (Der letzte Fish im Netz -
"The last fish in the net") and in traditional
Chinese characters (Hai xian dì mei wèi
wan ge - "The delicious seafood elegy");
hopefully, it will get translated in Japanese soon.
2. perouse the following websites to find out the
current recommendations around fish consumption and
why:
SeaChoice
(Canadian guide) which has published an easy to
download alert
card.
