FARMED SALMON
The Dramatic Fall from King of Fish to the “Most Toxic Food in the World”
A thread 👑 🐟
Just look at these guys. Savages. Braving against harsh currents for their bloodline.
No wonder they're crowned Kings of Fish. Shiny Steel. Unlimited Courage.
This is what Salmon was designed for
Until we domesticated them with cages in the ocean. Sad!
What started as an experiment in the 60s has become the biggest aquaculture industry in the world
In half a century, these animals have devolved into an inferior species
Like a wolf to a pug.
The next time someone asks you why farmed salmon is bad?
Point to these 3 things:
1. The Color
2. Salmon Feed
3. Toxins & Disease
1. The Color
You've seen an image like this.
Farmed salmon = Pale Orange
Wild salmon = Deep Red
What if I told you that's not actually what farmed salmon looks like?
Farmed Salmon is completely WHITE. Not a single tinge of color.
Companies use a scale called SalmoFan to decide on the hue they want
Like choosing paint for the walls of your house
This dictates the amounts of astaxanthin needed for the color
Synthetic astaxanthin is a compound made from petroleum, similar to how artificial food dyes are made
Tl;dr — they're not good for us
If you want to know more about artificial dyes, bookmark the thread below and read it later 🥂
2. Salmon Feed
One reason why farmed salmon is extremely cheap is because of cheap feed is
Instead of fresh krill & crustaceans they fuel their salmon with pellets of the worst kind
They are made by grinding fatty industrial fish like eels, usually from polluted seas like the Baltic
To prevent the fats from turning rancid, they add ethoxyquin — a compound made in 1959 to be used as a pesticide
It's been studied that the ethoxyquin from the pellets find themselves in the flesh of farmed salmon
You do not want that in your system, it is toxic. Every other industry strictly regulates ethoxyquin.
300g of atlantic salmon contributes 15% of the "accepted daily intake"
3. Toxins
While fattier fish is usually a good thing because of Omega 3s, it's not here
Harmful toxins bind to fat in Salmon & even fish like Tuna in polluted waters
More Fat = More Toxic
Almost all Atlantic salmon has been compromised. Even the small % that's wild-caught.
"This is the most toxic food we have in the world"
When you look at the bigger picture, toxins and chemicals that pollute seas eventually find themselves in farmed salmon
Seas like the Baltic are so polluted that the fish can't be sold for consumer use
These fish are ground up to be used as pellets
So we still eat them!
Now imagine layering all the other issues that plague farmed salmon?
• Overcrowding
• Antibiotics used to fight sea lice
• Poor wastewater management
• Environmental Destruction
It's no wonder why so many harmful compounds and toxins are found in it's flesh
Aggressive farming of salmon not only pollutes and damages marine life, it poses a threat to wild salmon populations
Wild salmon population in Norway has halved from what it was in the 80s
Farmed salmon escape their cages and spread sea lice & diseases
They destroy natural ecosystems and are a threat to marine life
It's not just a small number either
Over 2 million have escaped in the last decade alone (i guess sometimes you can't stop the king in them 🤣)
It doesn't seem like quality is going to increase anytime soon either…
Recently there are companies like AquaBounty that have started to land farm salmon, in giant fishing tanks, genetically modifying them
How far will we go before we realize we've done irreparable damage?
So why isn’t everything I've written so far common knowledge?
Well, there’s too much money at stake.
Researchers like Victoria Bohne and Claudette Bethune have been silenced & have lost their jobs in attempts trying to expose the detriments of farmed salmon
As long as Big Farma get their way, they will keep parading farmed salmon as a health food
It is up to us to spread the message and change consumer sentiment
Stick to real salmon. They taste better. They've lived eccentric lives.
There are better meat alternatives, you don't have to resort to farmed salmon
Also, don't be a freak about it
Having some sashimi every now and then will not destroy you
The key is to fix what you can control and not worry about the rest
The important message is to stop people spending hard-earned money on a fraudulent product
If you find yourself eating farmed salmon, here's what you can do to minimize toxin exposure:
• Don't eat the skin
• Keep portions small
• Choose portions with more flesh than fat (wherever possible)
RT first tweet to piss off farmed salmon execs and spread the word.
Fighting the good fight
Thank you for reading Ladies & Gents 🥂
Follow @optimal_LD for more
Will post resources below in a bit 📌
One of my favorite ways of incorporating wild salmon in my diet (apart from filets) is with smoked sockeye
Elevates any breakfast up a whole new level
Here I have a sliced baguette with some scrambled eggs and caviar on top
If you’d like to learn more about the farmed salmon industry I’d recommend these 2 documentaries
1. https://youtu.be/RYYf8cLUV5E
First half is about Asian Panga (another farmed fish that’s been appearing on a lot of our plates)
Exposes a lot of the issues of the industry itself
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLIph7Ct-rQ&t=113s
Goes in depth about the farmed salmon industry in Australia, exposing how companies like Tassal have paid for stamps on their products
Victoria Bohne’s paper on ethoxyquin in the muscle of Atlantic salmon
https://sci-hub.wf/10.1016/j.fct.2008.01.028
The Importance of Ethoxyquin-Free Omega 3s
PCBs and Pesticides in Farmed Atlantic Salmon vs Wild Alaskan Salmon
https://sci-hub.wf/10.1021/es061006c
Visual guide to buying salmon
Avoid buying any forms of Atlantic Salmon
Over 2 million salmon escaped from Norwegian fish farms in the last decade
Thank you all for reading and sharing.
More people need to be aware of what they’re eating. Especially something falsely marketed to be healthy.
You don’t want to be paying a premium for meat that’s going to harm you in the long run
In my opinion, salmon farming is an incredibly pressing issue.
Aggressive, uncontrolled farming leaves devastating environmental consequences that if left unchecked, might be irreversible.
Originally tweeted by 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗬 (@optimal_LD) on October 5, 2022.
American Buddhist Net 