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Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
Culinary no-no #56
By Kevin Fischer
Sunday, May 25 2008, 09:00 AM
Do you know anyone who likes salmon?
I do.
This person eats salmon a lot.
Try five times a week.
If you know someone who loves salmon, do not buy them this book for Christmas:
Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe.
Canadian author Grescoe is wild about seafood, any and all kinds. He’s embarked on a long, world-wide mission to update the state of the seafood industry, everything from the Filet-O-Fish at McDonald’s to freshly caught and served seafood at 5-star restaurants.
Jennifer Jacquet writes in thetyee.ca, the website for Tyee Books, “Bottomfeeder investigates some of the biggest problems with fishing: corruption, overfishing of top predators, bottom trawling, illegal fishing, and the wasteful habits of bycatch and the fishmeal industry.”
The findings are not too appetizing.
Salon.com reports the bad news includes, “Oceanic dead zones that, because of pollution and overfishing, can no longer support organic life; salmon farms polluted by pesticides and disease; ruthless bottom trawlers with nets that can destroy entire ecosystems.”
“In a world of globalized seafood, following the trail from your fork back to the hook or the pond can lead to some pretty ugly places,” writes Grescoe.
Grescoe told Salon.com in an interview, “North Americans are quite conscious about their health, and fish is amazing for your health. There are theories out there right now that early hominids' brains were able to grow because they had a source of omega 3 [fatty acids] in their diet that is only possible with a shore-based diet. In North America we consume a lot of fish, but we eat the bad fish. Eating these fish disrupts the food chains in the ocean and creates a situation where there are all these strange trophic cascades. All of a sudden there are more jellyfish in the ocean, more bottom feeders. We're changing the very nature of the oceans.”
There are heavy overtones of environmental consciousness in Bottomfeeder (frankly, I never feel guilty about anything I eat), but there’s also plenty of culinary advice about what to and what not to eat when it comes to the ever-growing popularity of seafood. You be the judge if Grescoe is too alarmist.
Here’s Grescoe’s interview with Salon.com.
To read previous Culinary no-no’s, please click CULINARY NO-NO under my TAGS section.
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