Table of ContentsFarmed versus Wild: The BasicsAnimal Welfare and Fish FarmingPossible Contaminants Found in Farmed SalmonEffects of Farmed Salmon on the Commercial Fishing IndustryDiscussed Benefits of Farmed Salmon farmed versus wild-raised My favorite meal is one that my mother has prepared for me and my family for as long as I can remember; it features grilled teriyaki salmon, steamed broccoli, white rice and blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. The most important part of this meal is the salmon, as my father was a commercial fisherman in Alaska while I was growing up. My family spent almost every summer in Kodiak, Alaska within sight of my father until I was about ten years old. Since my father fished salmon for a living, we ate it almost every night and it is still one of my favorite foods and something my mother regularly prepares for dinner. Although this dinner is nothing fancy or extraordinary, it is a meal that reminds me of home and my childhood and that I always look forward to eating with my family. I also have a special connection to this meal because it reminds me of the summers I spent in Alaska and the process my father went through to catch and prepare the fish we ate. These memories make salmon especially important and sentimental to me and my family. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Because this meal is one of my favorites and something I eat a lot, I wanted to learn more about its ingredients, including their nutritional, economic and environmental aspects, so that I could better understand how this meal affects not only me, but also the people around me and the planet itself. To understand whether I would consider this meal a “good” choice, I looked at the central and most important dish for my family, salmon. I educated myself about the ethical and environmental obligations of salmon, so I could make an informed decision about the impact of this meal.Farmed Versus Wild: The BasicsThe first topic I wanted to study was the differences between farmed salmon and wild salmon and environmental impacts. of both. My parents have always been extremely supportive of wild salmon, as they believe it tastes better and is better for the environment, as well as being a more humane way to catch fish. However, according to Alex Trent, executive director of the industry group Salmon of the Americas, more than 90 percent of fresh salmon consumed in this country is farmed, with sales growing 10 to 20 percent annually. (Kolata) This statistic made me think that if so many people in our country eat farmed salmon, there must be reasons why we would choose to expand salmon farming, instead of continuing to fish salmon in natural waters, and I wanted to know more. on the advantages and disadvantages of the two fishing methods. One of the main reasons people choose farmed salmon over wild salmon is the extremely large and growing population on Earth. With over 7 billion people on this planet, many of whom do not have access to wild salmon, farmed salmon makes perfect sense to fit the needs of our society. However, given the population of our planet, I still question whether it is justifiable to replace wild salmon with farmed salmon everywhere in the world. From personal experiences, I have developed a preference and a sort of obligation towards wild salmon, so it is difficult for me to imagine purchasing andconsume instead of farmed salmon. However, despite my preferred method of salmon fishing, I know there are valid reasons to choose farming, and I wanted to delve deeper into those reasons and also explore the downsides of both methods. Before I could make an informed, moral decision about whether or not I was comfortable eating wild or farmed salmon, I had to research the pros and cons of both types of fish. Animal Welfare and FishFarmingWhen researching farmed salmon, one of the key topics I often discussed was animal welfare and whether raising animals solely for our own needs is morally legitimate. An article on sustainable aquaculture, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, informed its readers of the moral obligations of "farming", that is, the cultivation and production of animals, or in this article, from salmon (Olsen et. al, 1-4). The authors of this paper state that they support the claim that fish welfare should be the subject of serious moral consideration, and although researchers disagree about how fish respond to capture, they should be given the benefit of the doubt and treated humanely (12). “Even from a more selfish perspective, we could advocate for the fair treatment of animals. If we inflict suffering on animals, we violate human dignity and may contribute to the development of a crueler society” (Olsen, et. al). The authors argue this point when discussing animal welfare to communicate that we should all care about the suffering of animals. animals, whether it affects us directly or not. Although this article frequently discusses the ethical issues surrounding salmon farming, the authors are not actually against the practice, but would prefer it to be done in a more humane and sustainable manner. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, sustainability is defined as follows. . . managing and conserving the natural resource base and directing technological and institutional change so as to ensure the continued realization and satisfaction of the human needs of present and future generations. Such sustainable development in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors preserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is non-degrading to the environment, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable (13). This definition is important because sustainability is a difficult topic to define and reach consensus, especially when it comes to animal welfare, as everyone has different opinions on the issue. Olsen and the other authors of this article agree with the UN definition, adding the needs of animals to the needs of humans (13). The journal article then discusses ways in which we can ensure the sustainability of fish farming, focusing on animal production systems, breeding approaches, feed ingredient sources and genetic engineering strategies, as well as as possible ways in which fish farming could be changed in the future. . When it comes to my favorite dish and what information I would like to find out about it, this article has given me a better understanding of salmon farming, including how it is done, the moral, ethical and environmental impacts, and its link to animal welfare. After researching farmed salmon, I still believe wild salmon is a better choice. However, I am now better informed about the reasons forsalmon farming, including practicality, feeding our growing population and profitability, and I believe that if certain changes are made to the process, salmon farming can be an adequate solution to feeding the population . growing number of people in our country and on our planet. Possible Contaminants Found in Farmed Salmon After further investigation into wild versus farmed salmon, I identified another concern that needed to be addressed: the presence of potentially harmful contaminants often found in salmon breeding. The New York Times Journal of Science in 2004 published the largest study ever that examined the amount of contaminants in wild and farmed salmon, showing a seven-fold difference in levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. . The concentration of PCBs in farmed salmon was more than 55 times higher than the tolerance level set by the Food and Drug Administration. PCBs are a family of chemical compounds that were once used as coolants and lubricants as well as in the production of plastics and paints, but were banned in the 1970s by the Environmental Protection Agency, due to studies revealing them to be potentially carcinogenic. The author of this review article claims that the PCBs found in farmed fish were acquired through their diet, particularly the fish oil they contain. Another smaller study was carried out on this subject by the Environmental Working Group which tested ten farmed salmon purchased from the supermarket for PCBs. The group concluded that PCB levels were so high that people should not eat farmed salmon more than once a month (Kolata). However, in contrast to these studies, Dr. Michael Gallo of the Cancer Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School said that PCBs are mixtures, that some may cause cancer in laboratory rodents, and that some of the cancer-causing PCBs are blocked by others. which do not cause cancer. Dr. Gallo has not received any money from the fish or chemical industries, and he says there is no solid evidence so far that PCBs are carcinogenic (Kolata). There is still no consensus on the carcinogenic properties of PCBs and many scientists and researchers still have divergent opinions on this matter. This makes it difficult for me to make a decision on whether or not I want to continue eating farmed salmon. After reading these studies and research, I stand by my initial opinion that I prefer to eat wild salmon. Although my opinion is based primarily on the moral and environmental implications of salmon, this information on PCBs confirms my initial thoughts. It may not be proven that PCBs are carcinogenic, but I would still like to avoid eating more than the FDA recommends. After reading these various studies and opinions, I would agree with an environmental advocacy group's statement that farmed salmon should be eaten no more than once a month. Effects of Farmed Salmon on the Commercial Fishing Industry Another possible concern with farmed salmon is that salmon farming is undercutting the commercial fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest. Although it does not affect all consumers, the decline of commercial fishing directly affects many of my family and friends. In a journal article by Ashley Dean of Stanford University, Rosamond L. Naylor, a Julie Wrigley Senior Fellow at the Center forEnvironmental Science and Policy at Stanford, noted that the weakening of the wild salmon industry is particularly visible in Alaska, where 10 percent of the workforce is employed in this industry (Dean). Naylor expands on this issue and states that: "Wild salmon harvesting has always played an important economic role in providing employment and income to large numbers of Native American and non-Native communities along the coast" (Naylor quoted in Dean) . Dean also explains that competition from salmon farms in Chile, Norway, the United Kingdom and other countries has reduced Alaska's share of the global fishing market from 40 to 50 percent to just 20 percent. cent in 2000 and that, as a result, the State had to offer commercial fishermen a series of financial assistance programs. (Dean) The farmed salmon industry causes serious damage to the commercial fishing industry and is responsible for job loss or many setbacks among those involved in wild salmon fishing. Along with the devastating economic impact that the farmed fishing industry has on commercial fishing, farmed salmon also pose significant ecological threats to wild salmon. Dean describes farmed salmon as being raised in pens built along the shoreline, making them particularly susceptible to diseases and parasites, like sea lice, that can harm wild salmon (Dean). An article titled "Salmon Aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest: A Global Industry," published in Environment Magazine, states that an even greater risk to wild salmon is the escape of farmed salmon from net pens, and he also adds that more than a million fish have escaped from farms in Washington State and British Columbia over the past decade (Naylor et al, cited in Dean). The authors go on to argue that escaped fish are able to live and reproduce in the wild and compete with wild salmon populations for food and habitat (Dean). To learn more about the threats posed by escaped farmed salmon, I read the full version of this article in Environment magazine and learned that salmon farms periodically lose thousands, if not tens of thousands of fish both due to storms, marine mammal predation and human error. . However, it is suspected that more salmon escape due to chronic low-level escapes than large-scale events (Naylor et al). Farmed salmon that escape into wild salmon habitats can have a variety of detrimental effects on wild salmon habitat and, ultimately, the wild salmon industry. Farmed salmon can spread deadly diseases and parasites to the wild fish population, depriving them of their food supply and taking over their habitat, causing an alarming decline in the size of the wild fish population. These unexpected and significant population declines make wild salmon fishing unpredictable and often not a reliable and sufficient source of income and quickly strain the commercial fishing industry. While the effects of farmed salmon on the wild salmon industry are not something that all salmon consumers will consider, it is something that really concerns me, as the decline of wild salmon poses a threat to many people who matter to me and my family. Having lived in Alaska and growing up in a family that made a living from commercial fishing, I feel it is crucial that I do my part to support this industry. The next time I..