Team DailyPedia
Tilapia is now one of the most consumed seafood in several countries because it’s not expensive, not bony, and it’s very tasty. However, due to its increased demand, much of the tilapia sold in the market today are farm-raised. In an article in National Geographic, it says that tilapia are more cost-effective to farm as they are easily-fed as compared to other fishes. A good solution to an overpopulated world.
Amongst farm-raised fish include eels, catfish, salmon, cod–but let’s focus on tilapia. The promising source of nutrients is now in question. Recent studies have found that farm-bred tilapia may trigger inflammation that can lead to a number of diseases such as asthma, arthritis, heart disease, and many more. Awareness Time says, “the inflammatory potential of tilapia is far greater than that of a hamburger or pork bacon!”
Let’s get deeper into the issue.
1. In U.S. and Canada, tilapia are raised in closed recirculating systems. However, a large amount of this fish comes from Latin America and Asia, i.e. China, Ecuador, and Taiwan. A previous report from the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. noted that in China, “fish are often raised in ponds where they feed on waste from poultry and livestock”.
They found out that independent farmers use animal manure (from chickens, ducks and pigs) instead of commercial feed because it’s less expensive. And because of strong competition, other farmers have switched to using feces as well.
Not only that.
2. Farm owners regularly give the fishes antibiotics to fight off disease as they are congested in one place and pesticides to keep them away from sea lice. That’s a lot of chemical!
3. Farm-bred tilapia (and other fishes) have less protein content–as compared to wild-bred seafood
Moreover…
4. Farm-raised fish are kept in cages, thus, they are fattier, meaning they have higher concentration of omega-6 acids. An overdose of this acid can cause inflammation to the body.
In 2012, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program issued a report on pond-farmed tilapia from China.
“Most Chinese tilapia is farmed in ponds. Recent reductions in water use, achieved by only emptying the ponds at the time of each harvest, has also reduced discharge of effluent to the environment. Both of these factors were sufficient to raise this recommendation from its previous “Avoid” to a “Good Alternative.”
Chinese farms do discharge the water without relevant treatment, however, and there is evidence that some banned chemicals — including antibiotics and fungal treatments (nitrofurans and malachite green) — are still used in Chinese tilapia production.
Overall, Chinese tilapia gets a moderate overall score of 5.34 out of ten. Tilapia as a species has the potential to be raised in sustainable ways, but the increasing intensification and industrialization has resulted in one “Red” score for the Chemical Use criterion. This means that the overall ranking is “Yellow,” and therefore the recommendation is “Good Alternative.””
Making generalizations that only China practice this kind of farming is not fair. I suggest we should be more cautious as to where our fish comes from.
Practicality says it’s cheap, but is it safe?
