If you think eating fish is healthy, think again. And if you're convinced that you're buying "healthy" wild caught salmon, then you're most likely being scammed.
Wild Atlantic salmon is now considered to be practically an endangered species.
In short, Any Atlantic salmon you buy is farm raised, whether or not it’s Norwegian. Wild Atlantic salmon do exist, but their numbers have dwindled, and are incredibly hard to find. Due to habitat destruction and overfishing, they are now considered an endangered species.
About 95% of “wild caught” salmon is actually farmed in overcrowded ocean pens, full of sea lice. Sea lice are parasites that thrive in overcrowded conditions. To combat the sea lice, tons of pesticides are poured into the pens, which devastates the local environment.
The pesticides used in these ocean pens are causing huge algae blooms.
Fish Farming Poses a Huge threat to Our Health and the Environment
Just like most other factory farms, fish farming is responsible for a massive amount of waste, which causes water pollution when released. Both fecal matter and uneaten food from fish farms pollute surrounding waters with excess nitrogen and phosphorus that can lead to algal blooms, depriving the water of oxygen.
Pesticide runoff used in farmed fish pens and agricultural farming are killing fish and coral reef, virtually creating dead zones in the ocean. For example the coral reef in the Florida keys is virtually destroyed. Rain causes agricultural fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorous to run off into the ocean, making coral death more common. Those increased nutrients in the water cause algae blooms which in turn seemed to predict mass coral and fish deaths.
Cage systems that sit in existing and open waters are more likely to spread parasites, disease and fish waste into surrounding waters.
Protests against aquaculture ocean pens are erupting all over Norway and Iceland. Fury has spread to America as the gulf coast is under threat from aquaculture. Many more pens will be constructed in the gulf coast in next few years.
Farmed Salmon are Genetically modified and pose a serious threat to wild salmon species which are not genetically modified.
Is my Salmon GMO?
Salmon was the first genetically modified animal species approved for sale by the FDA (followed by chicken and this year cows). Chicken and cows have been approved by the FDA, however its unlikely they have made it to supermarket shelves yet, Whereas GM salmon is everywhere.
So the answer is YES.
Most farmed salmon is Genetically modified to mature faster and grow much bigger.
The genetic makeup of farmed salmon and real wild salmon is very different.
Consuming GMO foods poses a significant health risk. GMO salmon was genetically modified to grow very fast. What are the effects of eating this sort of fish on our health? In truth we dont know, human trials have not been conducted before being brought to market, but it cant be good.
The woman above found parasites in her whole foods salmon
"Wild" or farmed salmon - Dont believe the labels
In the past two decades, a new menace has arisen: open-net salmon farms, also known as floating feedlots. With the farmed salmon industry valued at $20 billion per year and farmed Atlantic salmon reigning as the most popular fish on North American dinner tables, it's crucial to understand the consequences and health affects associated with this practice.
Farmed salmon, as an industrialized imitation, poses risks to both our health and the environment. These salmon are bred to grow rapidly in crowded cages, resulting in rampant parasite and disease infestations. They are fed pellets made from fishmeal, vegetables, and animal byproducts, a diet accompanied by regular doses of pesticides and antibiotics.
Labels rarely disclose whether salmon is farmed or provide details about the chemicals utilized in the farming process. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn't even have a defined standard for organic salmon. Confusion reigns, making it challenging to discern which salmon is farmed.
Studies conducted as early as 2004 revealed that levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a probable carcinogen, were seven times higher in farmed Atlantic salmon compared to their wild counterparts.
Additionally, Arizona State University scientists discovered a rise in drug-resistant antibiotics in farmed seafood over the past few decades, raising concerns about increased antibiotic resistance in humans.
These toxins often accumulate in salmon flesh and can have detrimental effects on individuals who consume the fish.
Certain studies warn that eating farmed Atlantic salmon just once a month could expose consumers to contaminant levels exceeding the standards set by the World Health Organization. Infants, children, and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable due to the potential harm contaminants pose to developing brains.
Seafood Watch, an independent guide to fish consumption affiliated with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, advises avoiding most farmed Atlantic salmon due to excessive chemical use and disease.
Recent court cases have challenged the industry's sustainability claims. Norway's Mowi ASA, the world's largest salmon farmer, settled a deceptive advertising case in a federal court in New York City, agreeing to pay $1.3 million and cease using the "sustainably sourced" and "naturally raised" labels for its smoked salmon.
Lastly, we examine whether farmed salmon can be raised in environmentally friendly ways. The reality is far from promising. Farmed salmon spend two to three years in open-net farms, crammed into 10 to 12 cages anchored to the seabed and stretching 30 feet below the surface. These overcrowded conditions become breeding grounds for sea lice, tiny parasites, and numerous viruses that harm farmed fish and pose threats to wild salmon when carried beyond the farms by currents.
To combat these issues, large quantities of pesticides, including banned neurotoxins, and antibiotics are employed. Some of these residues end up in the salmon, while others settle on the seabed beneath the cages. The untreated waste from excess feed, decaying fish, excrement, and chemical residues forms a toxic concoction, resulting in the death or displacement of marine life within a considerable radius. Disturbing photographs captured the horrifying sight of a yardstick becoming engulfed in slime at the 32-inch mark below a salmon farm.
Salmon in open-net farms experience high mortality rates due to parasites, diseases, and rising water temperatures. As estimates suggest, 15 to 20 percent of farmed salmon perish each year before harvest, amounting to tens of millions of fish. To put this into perspective, the mortality rates for factory chickens and feedlot cattle are 5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.
Young wild salmon embarking on their migration journeys face heightened vulnerability to sea lice outbreaks originating from the farms. Escaped farmed salmon compete with their wild counterparts for food and dilute the gene pool through interbreeding.
Despite up to 85 percent of the salmon consumed in the United States being imported from farms in Norway, Chile, Scotland, and Canada, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pays minimal attention to farmed salmon in terms of food safety.
Sea Lice Plagues Todays Fish
Reports reveal outbreaks of sea lice infestations plaguing numerous fish farms that claim to adhere to "strict farming standards." Sea lice are making a feast out of marine fish living in crowded fish farms, targeting their mucus, epidermal tissue, and blood. Environmental advocates raised concerns last year about the lack of oversight and regulations on farmed Scottish salmon being sold to consumers. These salmon were found with open wounds inflicted by sea lice parasites and diseases. In response, some farms defended their practices, citing the use of unconventional methods like employing wrasse, a smaller fish, to peck off sea lice from infested fish. If eating fish ravaged by sea lice is appealing, feel free to dig in.
Antibiotics and Pesticide Contaminated Fish
The high density of fish within confined spaces in fish farms creates ideal conditions for the rapid spread of diseases and parasites. To combat these risks, farmers frequently introduce antibiotics and pesticides into the water. However, the widespread use of certain potent antibiotics has fostered the emergence of antibiotic-resistant microbes. Over 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year. This is in part largely to the consumption of both meat chicken and fish flesh tainted with anti-biotic resistant microbes.
Moreover, the consumption of fish containing residues of antibiotics can pose serious health risks to individuals, potentially resulting in fertility issues, birth defects, weakened immune systems, and various forms of cancer.
Survival of wild salmon under threat
Our fish addiction is detroying the worlds oceans
Farmed salmon is one of the world's most toxic food, posing health risks to consumers due to the use of dangerous chemicals, antibiotics, and pesticides, as well as contamination of the food chain.
Health risks and concerns associated with farmed salmon
The fishing industry globally is pouring a dangerous cocktail of chemicals into fish products, posing a threat to consumer health.
Farmers pour industrial quantities of drugs into the ponds to treat the sickened fish, highlighting the potential risks of consuming farmed Norwegian salmon.
Farmed salmon contains five times more pollutants than other food products found in supermarkets, making it a highly toxic choice.
Farmed Norwegian salmon contains high levels of dioxins, one of the most powerful toxic pollutants known today, which can have harmful effects on hormone systems and potentially cause cancer.
Farmed fish, specifically Norwegian salmon, have been found to contain extremely high levels of atoxicine, well above the permitted standard, making them significantly more toxic than wild fish.
- "Fish that is full of pesticides and mercury...it's fish that's full of radioactivity mercury heavy metals. Pcbs dioxins etcetera. It's just not the same anymore."
Real Wild Caught Salmon are infected with parasites
On fish farms, fish are exposed to dangerous herbicides to kill algae in the water, fed SLICE chemicals to kill sea lice, and given huge amounts of antibiotics all while suffocating in their own fecal matter.
Then the fish are injected with red dye to make them look pink and fresh before they head out to the supermarket.
MORE THAN 90% OF SOME WILD-CAUGHT FISH IS ESTIMATED TO BE INFECTED WITH AT LEAST PARASITE EGGS, WHILE MORE THAN 75% OF FILETS FROM WILD-CAUGHT SALMON CONTAIN PARASITIC WORMS
Our generation has been brainwashed into believing that fish is healthy.
And sushi or any type of raw fish puts you at risk for parasites and all sorts of stomach infections. Thats why so many people get sick from seafood. Our oceans are contaminated.
Fish in particular are very hazardous to health. Fish flesh begins to rot within minutes after being caught, it actually begins to turn gray fairy quickly.
Thats why commercial fish is sprayed with anti-bacterial sprays and often is injected with red dye to give it that pick hue.
This risky trend has gone on long enough.
It's time to abandon fish to safeguard our health and our oceans.
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