What Fish & Seafood is Good For You? And What’s Not?

Fish…The Greener Meat

When it comes to eating meat, the most healthy choice is also the greenest choice – fish. However, not all fish are created equal. Many are contaminated with pollutants and other toxins (such as mercury). So choosing the correct fish is important. Here is some help on choosing the best “eco-friendly” fish…

This site might be helpful, it’s the Seafood Selector.

Another problem is labeling. Just like the misleading labeling of “organic” foods. Often, the labels on seafood are misleading.

For example, for years we have heard about how healthy Salmon is for us. But recently we’ve been told that “farm raised” salmon was bad, and we should choose “wild” salmon instead. Wild salmon isn’t farm raised, but farm raised salmon isn’t usually labeled farm raised. For instance, if you buy “Atlantic” salmon, that is farm raised. Yup. No kidding. It doesn’t make any sense, but it is true.

And it doesn’t stop there. I started buying frozen “wild” salmon, and recently looked closer at the packaging. On the front of the package, in large letters, it said…Fresh Caught Wild Salmon. Then in a tiny spot on the back of the package, and in very small letters, it said something like…certified healthy farm raised salmon. Talk about a contradiction. I’d like to see how they freshly “catch” farm raised salmon, it must not be a very challenging.

All I can say is…buyer beware. Read the labels closely. And, if you have to buy “farm raised” fish of any kind, check the label for what country it’s from. The closer the better. Farm raised fish from the United States, would be a better eco-choice, than farm raised from China.

Renaissance Trophy Wife has has a great post explaining the new Country-of-Origin labeling. She also has a great post on organic labeling.

Have you ever been mislead with deceptive labeling on seafood?

Also See:

Buy Organic – The Healthier Choice for You and the Environment

Eating Healthy, The Green Way