Thanks for the TED video about being a week end vegetarian. Though not not many of us could compare with the power of Oprah’s veggie talks, I really did enjoy it and feel that it will open many minds to the idea of vegetarian diet. It was nice that you brought out the trio of compassion, health, and eco friendliness.

Regarding your words about the sustainable eating of fish, I have a comment. I believe that we have to be very careful about the notion of sustainable fish eating. If even a small percentage of fish eaters, let’s say 5-10% of fish eaters in the world, switched to “sustainable fish”, would they still be sustainable?

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Association, the world total for capture and aquaculture of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans was a total of 141 million metric tonnes. The amount of sea creatures that are being eaten has grown every year since. If 5-10% of this number would entail the eating of 7-14 million metric tonnes of sustainable seafood. Would those species and ecosystems still be safe? What if we ate 25% from these sources. As seafood consumption grows, this will endanger the “sustainable” choices, without providing much relief to the species and ecosystems that are already in danger.

Please also note that marine omega 3 fatty acids/oils, that we are so obsessed with these days, come originally from seaweed. As small creatures eat seaweed and algae, they become part of bodies. As such they move up the food chain as fish consume each other. However, there are toxins that bioaccumulate as fish burn the fats for energy, but the PCB, dioxins, methyl-mercury, and furans remain behind in the bodies. Hence there may be a health benefit of the oils, but there is a definite toxic effect. Now there is actually overgrowth of seaweek and algae in the millions of tonnes, due to things like phosphate pollution. Omega 3 can be harvested directly from the plentiful seaweed for our priviledged consumption, without making a big dent in the amout of seaweed in the ocean. This omega 3 source would be extremely low in toxins, an not have much impact on the oceans. Silk soya milk now has a box with omega 3′s that come from marine plants. Pretty smart.

Well Graham, take care and keep up the great work. Please try not to be too influenced by industry! Cheers.

Dr. Tushar Mehta MD CCFP

ftp://ftp.fao.org/fi/stat/summary/summ_05/default.htm

http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/en