Evening Edge

By Tiffany Hilman

Aug 15, 2008 12:40 PM | Link to this

Chris,

While I appreciate that you are encouraging customers to know where their salmon is coming from, the benefits and risks that you present between wild and farmed fail to take into consideration the deadly impact salmon farming has on wild salmon.

Industrial salmon farming uses open net-cages, which allow the farmed fish wastes, diseases, antibiotics, and parasites (most notably, sea lice) to spread from the net-cages to the marine environment. This has devastating impacts on ocean ecosystems and marine life, particularly on wild salmon. Open net-cages also cannot adequately control escapes of non-native Atlantic salmon into waterways where they can compete with wild Pacific salmon for food and habitat. Not to mention that many marine mammals have died by becoming entangled and drowned in the nets of these farms or by being shot by farm workers.

The impacts of eating farmed salmon do not simply go away just by removing the skin before eating.

Tiffany Hilman
Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform

By Robert Brown

Aug 14, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this

Daily Recommendation Omega 3

There are a range of recommendations by different agencies and doctors.

Some recommendations are for individual members of the Omega 3 family eg.DHA or EPA others are just for all Omega 3s as a family.

I have seen it reported that the NIH recommend 2% of calories, so depending on calorie intake and how many calories to the gram, 5 grams total of all Omega 3s would be on the high side of the NIH recommendation but possible.

Some recommendations go as high as 2.7 grams a day total EPA and DHA combined.

The Omega 3s in salmon will be a mix of the Omega three 3 DHA, EPA, DPA, ALA and others.

Wild salmon have lower fat levels but a much better omega 3:6 ratio, 1:10 maybe. Figures for the total of all Omega 3s in an 8 ounce salmon vary according to variety, and probably how they are feeding. Nutritiondata.com figures range from 2.4 to 3.3 grams total Omega 3s http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/ethnic-foods/10460/2 http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4107/2

Farmed salmon have higher Omega 3s and much higher Omega 6s. The omega 3:6 ratio will depend on how the fish are fed. Farmed carnivorous fish are dependent on largely on fish meal to get their Omega 3. Like us they ultimately cannot make Omega 3. More grain in their diet will increase the Omega 6 content.

The need to feed farmed fish small wild fish based foods is becoming a problem. Sea fish farming uses 75% of the world's fish consumption and is predicted to rise to 90%. It takes 4-6 tons of wild fish to make a ton of carnivorous fish.

Small wild oily fish offer a higher Omega 3:6 balance than farmed fish and represent a more efficient use of a scarce wild resource, but I cannot deny eating farmed salmon occasionally.


Robert Brown

Author: Omega Six The Devils Fat

www.Omegasixthedevilsfat.com

By Wooleybare

Aug 14, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this

You also failed to mention that earlier this year it was reported that a virus called infectious salmon anemia, or I.S.A., is killing millions of salmon destined for export to Japan, Europe and the United States at salmon farms in Chile. Safeway stores (a(Western grocer equivalent to Kroger in size) has banned sale of all Chilean salmon. Farm-raised salmon from Chili seems to be all that local Krogers are selling. So you need to do some further research on this matter and include the damage that salmon farming is doing to the environment as well as our bodies.

By Chris Rosenbloom

Aug 13, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this

Thanks for pointing out that the amount of DHA + EPA should be 500 milligrams, not 5 grams. The American Heart Association recommends that people with heart disease should aim for 1 gram or 100 milligrams/day. The salmon information should read about 4 grams total EPA and DHA, not 4 grams of each.

By Susan Buckley

Aug 13, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this

A lot of misinformation in this article. What a shame, since people believe what they read. First of all 8 oz of Atlantic salmon does not have 4 grams each of EPA and DHA. That would mean 8 oz has 8,000 mg of Omega 3 fatty acids and it does not.
Health experts do NOT recommend 5 grams or 5,000 mg per day for consumers - more like 1,000 for healthy individuals. Please do your research more carefully and pass on correct information.

By Mel

Aug 13, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this

To clarify your statements, the recommendations (for EPA+DHA) are generally in milligram quantities, which are on average around 500 MILLIGRAMS per day. It would be quite difficult to consume 5 grams per day, with the exception of supplement forms, and this level of intake has not been tested for safety. There is some evidence that excessive omega-3 intake interferes with coagulation, so it is important to clarify these amounts.