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Fishing - Index
With summer on the horizon, many people are thinking about
health, fitness, and flaunting their firm forms while having
fun in the sun. If you’re eating salmon because you think it’s
good for your health—think again. Here are 10 “reel” reasons
not to eat it:
 Salmon Are Smart
Fish
are smart. Oxford University scientist Dr. Theresa Burt de
Perera recently discovered that fish learn even faster than
dogs. Fish learn from each other, have long-term memories, and
can recognize one another. They gather information by
eavesdropping, and some species even use tools, which, until
recently, was thought to be a uniquely human trait. Like the
dogs and cats with whom we share our homes, they also like to
play, investigate new things, and hang out with friends.
 Arsenic and Old Waste
Mmmm, want
a plate full of poison?
Fish have extremely high levels of chemicals such as arsenic,
mercury, PCBs, DDT, dioxins, and lead in their flesh and fat.
You may even get industrial-strength fire retardant with that
catch of the day. The chemical residue found in salmon flesh
can be as much as 9 million times that of the water in which
they live.
  Harm at the Farm
Harm at the Farm
Four-fifths of the United States’ most popular fish flesh,
salmon, consumed in the U.S. is farm-raised.
These fish, who are raised by the millions in cages made of
nets in coastal waters, are killing off wild fish populations
as well, since it takes 5 pounds of commercially caught fish
(species not eaten by humans) to produce 1 pound of farmed
fish.
 Sea Lice Aren’t So Nice
No one
wants to wear a “death crown,” but thanks to chronic sea
lice, a parasite that eats down to the bones on a fish’s
face, salmon commonly suffer this condition. Salmon also
routinely go insane and sustain sores and other injuries from
intense crowding, as they are made to live their entire lives
with as many as 27 fish in a space the size of a bathtub.
 Slammin’ Salmon
No, we’re not
talking about a baseball player—but fish farmers do often use
bats to beat large
salmon to death. All methods used to slaughter fish are
grotesque and cruel. Fish have their gills slit while they are
still alive, and smaller salmon are often packed in ice and
left to slowly suffocate or freeze to death.
 Open Waters Are Open Sewers
 Everybody loves the Big Apple, but would
you eat something fished out of the city’s sewer system?
According to the Norwegian government, the salmon and trout
farms in Norway alone produce roughly the same amount of
sewage as New York City. The massive amount of raw sewage,
dead fish corpses, and antibiotic-laden fish food sludge
settling below farmed salmon cages can actually cause the
ocean floor to rot, destroying vital habitat for the already
strained marine ecosystem and turning coastal waters into open
sewers.
 Breeding Brain Damage
Usually
when Moms pass things on to their children, it’s a good
thing—but when pregnant or nursing moms eat fish, they pass
the toxins they consume on to their babies. Studies have also
shown that children born to mothers who eat fish are slower to
talk, walk, and develop fine motor skills and have weaker
memories and shorter attention spans. Scientists at the
Harvard School of Public Health have found that fish
consumption can cause irreversible
impairment to brain function in children, both in the womb
and as they grow.
 Don’t Forget About the
PCBs
Feeling forgetful? There could be something
fishy going on. Scientists have proved that people who eat
only two servings of fish a month have difficulty recalling
information that they learned just 30 minutes earlier. The
culprit is high levels of mercury, lead, and PCBs in their
blood. PCBs, synthetic chemicals polluting water and
concentrated in fish flesh, act like hormones, wreaking havoc
on the nervous system and contributing to a variety of
illnesses beyond forgetfulness and vertigo, including cancer,
infertility, and other sexual problems.
 For Your Health
Would you like
tartar sauce with those cancer-causing toxins? If you’re
feeling green around the gills, salmon could be making you
seriously ill. The Environmental Working Group estimates that
800,000 people in the U.S. face an excess lifetime cancer risk
from eating farmed salmon. Plus, salmon flesh contains high
amounts of artery-clogging cholesterol and fat.
 Faux Fish
Fake it for salmon’s
sake! Tempt your taste buds without tempting fate by trying
faux fish.  Your local Asian food mart
or health food store is packed with vegetarian mock seafood
products—including salmon fillets. Also, try Worthington’s Tuno for a great-tasting fake
that has all the flavor of the “real thing” without the
contaminants or cholesterol.
If you’re “fishing” for a heart-smart diet that has been
proved to actually reverse heart disease while also reducing
the risk of cancer, diabetes, and obesity and that is good for
the environment as well as fish-friendly—a vegetarian diet is
the perfect catch.
Order a free vegetarian starter kit and we’ll send
you great-tasting recipes, nutrition information—and
everything else you’ll need to make the easy switch to a
healthy vegetarian diet.
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