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Text Message Service Helps You Eat Only Good Fish
Posted by karen at March 12, 2008 11:46 AM and is filed under Shopping,fish and seafood,Books and Resources,Misc 
You know how there are certain types of fish you shouldn't eat because they're questionable environmentally, whether it's a matter of mercury, sustainability, or what have you, but you can never remember which ones are good and bad? I just found out you can text Blue Ocean's Ocean Friendly Seafood Guide
at 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish you want
information on, and you will instantly receive a text message back with
environmental info. They use a red/yellow/green system to let you know if it's OK or not. Here's an example for Dover sole from The Kitchn:
I tried a few more fish that I thought might be questionable, and got back some interesting answers- and took note of the feature that if they don't like your choice they'll suggest helpful alternatives.
I tried a few more fish that I thought might be questionable, and got back some interesting answers- and took note of the feature that if they don't like your choice they'll suggest helpful alternatives.
- Chilean Sea Bass: (RED) significant environmental concerns, problems including illegal fishing and high bycatch; HEALTH ADVISORY. High mercury; try striped bass or pacific halibut instead
- Cod: Pacific Cod (GREEN) few environmental concerns, MSC certified as sustainable; Atlantic Cod (RED) significant environmental concerns
- Tilapia: Farmed China or Taiwan (RED) significant environmental concerns; Central America (YELLOW) some env. concerns; U.S. (GREEN) few env. concerns
This approach to recommending seafood is seriously flawed. Lumping an entire nations aquaculture practices into a single category is neither possible nor realistic. Furthermore it is not factual. While all farmed Tilapia from China is considered red, the reality is that there are farms that are environmentally responsible and that produce a wholesome healthy product that poses less of a threat to the consumers well being than many fish that are wild caught. While I understand that the groups that have come up with these standards take a precautionary approach in that they assume that things are worse than they may be when the information that they deem is required for them to make an informed decision is not readily available, this approach punishes responsible corporations irresponsibly and misleads the consumer. Informed consumers should make choices that are based on the facts and not on NGOs suppositions regarding the facts.
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Thanks for your your intelligent and thoughtful counterpoint! A great addition to the discussion.
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