13 Sep The Poke Bowl, how does this trend affect our planet?
This article might raise a few discussions but I feel it’s important enough for it to be ignored. Recently I have seen a few trends, hypes that are clearly turning a blind eye to our environment and we must ask ourselves the question, is it all worth it? Take this new trend; The Poke Bowl. A bowl with rice, sashimi, avocado and other vegetables. It’s a hit on Instagram and new businesses are playing into this. It’s certainly working as I recently seen an advert on Facebook promoting this new Poke Bowl restaurant in Amsterdam and the post already got more than 500 likes and hundreds of comments from people saying they cannot wait for it to open. But what most people don’t realize is that there are almost no fish left in the oceans for us to fish. Ocean overfishing is simply the taking of wildlife from the sea at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves. If we continue in the rate we are going, there won’t be any left in about 40 years! That’s soon people!
Gaining popularity; The Poke Bowl
Our supermarkets are chock-full of cod and salmon and shrimp and tuna and every other big, slimy, underwater delicacy. Sushi restaurants are multiplying exponentially. To arrive at the conclusion that there will be no more fish by 2048, Check this article posted by HowStuffWorks.com. It basically comes down to the fact they discovered that more than 90 percent of of the original water-dwelling species in those waters have lost at least half of their populations.
Some scary facts
So what about farmed fish?
The problem with breeding fish is that it’s not happening as proper as it should be. Meaning that fish will grow in small water tanks giving them skin damages and health issues so farmers must add antibiotics and other chemicals into the water. Not great for the oceans/lakes and our health..
Not mentioning the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) These are man made Chlorinated industrial chemicals that are highly toxic if eaten in high proportions. Based on the available data on PCB concentrations in fish, different organizations recommend that we have a limited intake of certain species of farmed fish. Ever wondered how your fish get’s that lovely pink or red color? That’s because farmed fish is added with synthetic pigment. Great.
Example of farmed fish
Bycatch.The result of overfishing, killing several species like turtles, dolphins and sea lions
So what now?
Yes, wild fish is a lot better for our health as it contains 20{8b669be72a7f340f9ef2d6d852585cd40ddf0e79ccf763f3ea93c1234c3d888b} more protein and 20{8b669be72a7f340f9ef2d6d852585cd40ddf0e79ccf763f3ea93c1234c3d888b} less calories than captive bred fish. That kinda sucks right? The only solution is to eat less fish or no fish at all. I started by cutting fish out my diet except shellfish. I hardly eat shellfish and I’m pretty sure I will stop eating it all together but it takes some more time to adjust I guess. (I used to be a Sushi addict so it’s already a big leap for me) Step by step we need to change the way we consume fish, meat and dairy to save our planet. This doesn’t mean everybody needs to become a vegetarian or vegan but eating a lot less would help. As consumers we are the only ones way to make a change.
To find out more about overfishing and what you can do, please visit Greenpeace or check the redlist to see which fish are most endangered.
Love,
Elke
Wanna try some tasty vegan hotspots in Amsterdam? Check:
Ruth
Posted at 13:41h, 13 SeptemberOr, you can join the Citizen Inspector Network and help stop overfishing now! http://theblackfish.org/cin/
Rose Martine
Posted at 10:12h, 24 DecemberYUMMY!!!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe! I’ve heard about your blog a couple of times and will now spend my afternoon reading 🙂
Wander-lust
Posted at 14:21h, 28 DecemberEnjoy! 🙂
Jim Titus
Posted at 00:26h, 07 NovemberThe problem with your solution is that doctors generally recommend that adults need to eat fish twice a week for the sake of the Omega 3 EPA and SHA for their hearts. And farmed fish generally has t4oo much Omega 6 which offsets the Omega 3, due to the diet of farmed fish. Maybe we need to jsut drive up the price of Tuna and Salmon so that people only eat enough for their hearts, but don’t binge on it.
Wander-lust
Posted at 13:20h, 07 NovemberHi Jim,
Fortunately, it has been proven that Omega 3 is found in Algae, which is the main source of what fish eat. This way people don’t need to eat fish, but can take Omega 3 in Algae capsules. It works for me! Hope this helps 🙂