Hightower Lowdown

Few things that we eat are as good for us as a nice piece of fresh salmon from the pristine waters of our northern rivers and oceans.

Maybe that’s true of wild salmon, but 80% of the salmon sold in the U.S. today comes from fish farms. These are increasingly corporate-owned operations that jam tens of thousands of fish together in ocean pens, much as the infamous hog, poultry, and beef factories do on land. The priority is quick profit, based on high volume and cost shortcuts.

The price of these quick profits is paid by others—starting with the fish. Packed together, they suffer abrasions and diseases that are treated with pesticides and antibiotics. Many escape into the surrounding ocean, and, being artificially huge, they’re able to decimate the stocks of wild salmon.

The environment pays, too. The toxics dumped in these pens contaminate the surrounding water, as does the enormous amount of fish waste. A single pen produces more waste than a small city, and these outfits typically have 20 pens each.

Then there’s us. Factory salmon grow huge, but they have twice the saturated fat and less of the fatty acids that are good for us. They also bring more toxic contaminants to our tables, and—get this—they have to be artificially colored! Petro-chemicals are added to produce a made-to-order color range from light pink to red.

Support Environmental Defense: 212-505-2100. They have information about the damage done by fish factories and practical consumer advice about what fish is best to buy.