| I started out as a veggie almost 35 years ago, at | | | | tons of cod were caught off the coast of |
| a time when veggies were still thought to be | | | | Newfoundland by 1992 there were just 1,700 |
| more than "a little odd" and where it was | | | | tons left. |
| incredibly hard just to get a simple, vegetarian | | | | 2. Dolphins, porpoises, sharks, turtles, seals, |
| meal. One thing that was clear though was what | | | | seabirds and unwanted fish frequently get caught |
| a vegetarian was. The word "vegetarian" was | | | | up in the fishing nets. Most are dead or dying |
| made up and defined by the Vegetarian Society | | | | when they are tossed back into the sea. It is |
| to describe someone who refrained from eating | | | | estimated that about 35% of the total catch is |
| all meat and fish (including shell-fish). Very simple. | | | | thrown back in this way. |
| Since then vegetarianism has come into and gone | | | | 3. Fish farms are the fastest growing sector of |
| out of fashion on a regularly basis. Pop stars | | | | the food economy. It is the equivalent of factory |
| embracing it one moment and then, within a few | | | | farming and with all the associated problems. |
| years, turning into advocates of the hunting, | | | | Overuse of drugs, overcrowding, cruel slaughter, |
| shooting and fishing lobby. Thankfully the range of | | | | widespread disease and a threat to human health. |
| vegetarian and vegan options has expanded | | | | 4. In 1989 only 3 chemicals were fed to farmed |
| enormously and you can pretty well guarantee to | | | | salmon by 2000 it was 26. These include |
| get at least one veggie choice in most | | | | antibiotics, growth-promoters, pesticides and |
| restaurants. Strangely , though, at the same time, | | | | disinfectants. |
| the word "vegetarian" seems to have been | | | | 5. The colour of your farmed salmon is |
| hijacked! | | | | determined not by nature but by the amount of |
| Nowadays, the majority of the people I know | | | | artificial colouring fed to the fish. The SalmoFan |
| who call themselves vegetarians aren't. They eat | | | | colour chart allows the farmer to choose the |
| fish. Fish-eating does not equal vegetarianism. A | | | | precise shade he feels will sell best. |
| fish is an animal too. So why are fish-eaters so | | | | 6. In Scotland the pollution from ammonia from |
| reluctant to use the appropriate word - | | | | fish farming is comparable to the sewage |
| pescetarian? Okay I know it doesn't roll off the | | | | produced by 9.4 million people. This has |
| tongue that well but perhaps that's partly because | | | | devastating effects on the nearby water and land. |
| its a bit unfamilair - like "vegetarian" was when it | | | | It was pollution such as this that lead Alaska to |
| was first invented. | | | | ban all fish-farming. |
| Another explanation is that they want to be | | | | 7. Highly poisonous environmental pollutants, such |
| aligned with the vegetarian movement without | | | | as PCBs and dioxin are present in most fish but |
| quite going the whole way! (Which is a bit like | | | | more so in farmed ones. |
| saying I'm a tea-totaller as I only drink wine! Nice | | | | 8. Fish have pain receptors. They DO feel pain. |
| try) | | | | There is a stack of evidence to prove this. 9. Fish |
| So for all you wanna-be vegetarians who can't | | | | are often gutted whilst still alive. |
| quite bring yourselves to go the whole way here | | | | 10. Plant foods such as linseed, rapeseed, soya oil, |
| are my top-ten reasons to leave the fish alone. | | | | nuts and leafy green vegetables are a better |
| Ten Great Reasons Not To Eat Fish | | | | source of Omega 3 then fish. |
| 1. Stocks of once common fish like tuna, cod, | | | | End of the Line - How commercial fishing is |
| halibut and flounder have dropped by 90% since | | | | devastating the world's oceans. (Wardle, T and |
| the 1950's. As an example; in the 1960s 800,000 | | | | Preston M 2007) Viva! |