After writing about seafood, and my concern over what to eat and where and how it is caught, comes this article in the Globe and Mail. . . .
"Before you bite into that fish and chips or spend $30 on halibut at the supermarket, you may want to take a second look: 25 per cent of fish is mislabeled, according to a University of Guelph study published today that used DNA analysis to determine the true identity of fish sold in Toronto and New York.
One sample sold as tuna turned out to be tilapia; halibut was really hake; and red snapper was, on different occasions, lavender jobfish, Labrador redfish, perch and cod.
"There's not a lot of regulation around fin fish; it's basically been ignored," says study co-author Robert Hanner, associate director for the Canadian Barcode of Life Network and an assistant professor of biology at the University of Guelph.
"Now that we have the tool to do it, we probably have an obligation to start testing."
He and co-author Eugene Wong tested 96 samples of fish from grocery stores, markets and restaurants in New York and Toronto. They analyzed the DNA of each fish and compared it with a global database of species. They intended simply to test the database, which performed well, identifying each piece of fish they found. Discovering so much fish fraud was a surprise."
Now I need to worry that even when they tell me that the fish is from a sustainable, ecological source I will have to question. . .
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Today there is a choppy wave and wind. The sun comes and goes. . .
There is a hurricane hitting Florida but that is too far away to be affecting this wind. I have tried to understand the visual and infra-red maps on the environment canada site but the meaning often eludes me.
Here in Nova Scotia the weather seems particularly hard to predict - really we are an island sticking out into the Atlantic - and the weather affects a lot of micro-climates. So today it was supposed to be sunny, but it has been overcast for large portions of the day.
Today I am worrying about seafood. . . it is better, especially at my age and weight to eat fish than meat, but it is difficult to know what to eat. . . I know that mussels farms are sustainable and environmentally OK. Today I had clams that are supposed to be from Digby "Fresh whole Digby Clams" but I also know that the Digby area clam beds were closed this year (just checked they opened Aug 2nd - whew) but I am uncertain about lobster although I think there is still lots of it.
I have little reminders on my fridge about sustainable seafood. One card from seafoodwatch (my card is from 2006 - but it has been updateed since then) has categories Best, Good Alternatives and Avoid. That would be great - but it says, for instance to avoid shrimp that are imported - farmed or wild caught; and that a good alternative is US farmed or wild caught - but I have had to give up shrimp because there is no US shrimp for sale.
I also know that the Ecology Action Centre of Halifax, has a similar program on making seafood choices to sustain biodiversity and the ocean -- it is called Seachoice but it still makes decisions difficult. They also have three columns - Best Choice, Some Concerns and Avoid - There are additional PDF pages about Pacific (BC) salmon and which are OK. I am still trying to figure out whether "wild caught" pacific salmon from China is OK.
Also, although I do ask, I usually cannot determine how a fish was caught -- so for instance the instructions are that harpooned Atlantic swordfish is OK but pelagic longline swordfish is not, unless it is US Atlantic pelagic longline and then it is in the "some concerns" column. I also know I need to avoid anything dredged or trawled. My friend John who used to work on fishing boats as an inspector/observer says that if we could see what we do to the bottom of the ocean - like we can clear cut forest - there would be a hew and cry.
The only places that I can find out about the fish's origins are at Pete's in downtown Halifax and at the Saturday morning market also in downtown Halifax - I live out of town so this is inconvenient - so we just don't eat salmon, mostly don't eat big shrimp(occasionally as party food, I admit it), don't eat tuna except occasionally from a can, don't eat red snapper or orange roughy . I would like to eat Haddock but cannot find out usually if it has been bottom longlined or caught some other way. . . so I ask in Sobey's and the Superstore week after week the source of the fish and they tell me that they don't know (usually) or they tell me - oh yeah it is longline caught - oh yes. . . whatever it is they think I want to hear.
So, I try, but the wholesalers and retailers have got to get on board here - they don't want to know because it might eat into profit margin, availability or perceived choice in their stores. As consumers we have to demand it! You can write to Sobeys right now at: sobeys or to the Superstore at: Superstore
Now just in case you don't understand the problem with farmed salmon - this video helps explain it.
This is the actual view from deck this morning. I live in a lovely spot. It is calm (except when it storms), it is picturesque and it changes constantly. In previous years there have been many herons, but they have abandoned this particular cove this year. I don't think it is climate change, perhaps the changes from tropical storm Noel last fall, but there are just fewer birds this year.
Every morning, I worry, though, about wars, and genocide, about poverty and the comodification of all I hold dear. Most of the land I see from my door is parkland - but that could change. I worry about the ravaging of the ocean, and sea level rising, and loss of bio-diversity. I worry about how we have created countries with great wealth and incredible resources and yet govern them for the benefit of the few (wealthy and corporations) rather than the many. I wonder why there are no AIDS drugs for Africans, and why, in Nova Scotia, there is no supervision of children at school for lunch when the vast majority of children come from either single parent or two parent working families.
I wonder about the selling of water, and land, and energy - like oil - and I wonder what really holds up the development and distribution of alternatives to oil. I wonder why Canadians allow the tar sands to so pollute the environment and then send all that oil to the US for a royalty that is less than most other places and that benefits only a few Albertans (probably the wealthy ones - though I cannot prove that) . . . I wonder why we would consider turning water into a commodity and how to stop it.
