Many of us are trying to make better choices in our diets. I’m currently enrolled in a nutrition program and the subject of wild or farmed fish came up. So what’s better? I guess it just depends…what I learned is that there is more to each point of view than simple blanket statements. To make a choice, we have to put in a bit of thought and educate ourselves.
Yes, I suppose ‘wild’ may be better but you have to check that the fish is not on a seafood watch list that indicates that particular species is overfished. You can find this information online at various sites such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium. But then, you do still have to worry about fish from polluted waters that may be contaminated with mercury or pesticides. What’s the alternative?
So what about ‘farmed?’ Our instructor brought up a good point here…there are farms with good practices and there are farms with bad practices. Gosh, there sure is…so don’t lump all farmed fish into the same basket. Chickens are raised on farms after all and we can make a good choice by buying organic or free range chicken so why not with fish?
‘Wild’ or ‘Farmed?’ It just depends…for myself I only buy fish from a reputable fish market – a market who’s staff can tell you exactly where the fish is from. And I do try to read up on what’s on the “Best Choice” list from the Monterey Aquarium site. I do prefer wild fish for the flavor but recently tried an organically fed salmon and it was good.
My instructor’s feeling is that one to two servings of fish a week is more beneficial than detrimental to your health as long as the fish is from a good source.
What are the benefits of fish? Fish is a great source of protein, fish is low in saturated fat, fish from cold ocean waters are high in Omega 3 fatty acids which the typical diet is severely lacking, and fish is a good source for trace minerals. One caveat is that the farmed fish may not have significant amounts of Omega 3’s depending on their diet – some farmed fish are fed a lot of grains along with fish meal where as wild salmon eat other fish.
So with a bit of knowledge you can go out there and enjoy a few servings of fish a week without harm.
