A FISH'S TALE

A FISH’S TALE    

 

71% of Earth is covered in water. The oceans make up 96% of Earth’s water. Our oceans are in trouble. They are slowly dying. The main cause of this destruction is animal agriculture (meat, egg, dairy industries).

Animal agriculture is responsible for 7000 square miles of a dead zone off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Dead zones are areas so polluted with nitrogen from fertilizers and manure, nothing can exist in them. Animal agriculture produces 116,000 pounds of manure in the US alone. This manure runs untreated into our water systems.  There are currently 146 dead zones in our oceans. This number is increasing every year.

Our oceans need sea life for their health, their ecosystem. What strip mining does to land, commercial fishing is doing to our oceans. Endangered species are being killed along with the fish. 300,000 sea turtles are killed every year by commercial fishing. Whales, seals, dolphins and sea birds are dying because their main food sources are disappearing or are toxic from pollution.  A side note, the Government of Japan blames the fish depletion on dolphins, hence the dolphin holocaust there. The Governments of Norway and Canada blames it on seals, hence the baby seal holocaust there.

Because fish in our oceans are rapidly depleting, animal agriculture has turned to factory fish farming as an alternative. This is even more unsustainable than commercial fishing.  Fish are jammed into overcrowded tanks, where the water becomes very toxic very quickly. They like farm animal ag produce tons of waste that gets dumped into our water systems. Scotland’s caged salmon (for example) created untreated waste water equivalent to 8 million people. Just like farm animal ag, factory faming of fish wastes tons of food.  It also takes 5 pounds of wild fish to produce one pound of factory farm fish.  It takes 20 pounds of fish to make just one pound of shrimp.

Many vegetarians think it’s ok to eat fish, that fish have no feelings. This is not true. Fish are very intelligent; we just do not spend enough time studying them. From a personal experience, I have taught goldfish tricks. Everyone who has goldfish will tell you they race to the end of their tank whenever you enter the room.  We do not often think of the suffering fish are put through in the name of a meal. Over 3 trillion fish are killed every year. 80% of that kill goes into feed for farmed animals. Fish get their “oxygen” from water. When you pull a fish out of water, it is the same effect as if we were to be suffocated. Just the way they toss and flounder when pulled from water shows suffering and pain. Peta has a video showing the horrible way crabs and lobsters are caught and killed for food. This video is very hard to watch as crabs scream in pain. http://www.peta.org/videos/lobster-crab-slaughterhouse-investigation/  Even so called “sport” fishing causes extreme pain to fish. 60% of “catch and release” fish die within a few hours from the injuries caused by hooks and suffocating.

Many people consider fish healthier to eat than land mammals. This is also not true. Fish is high in saturated animal fat, cholesterol and animal protein—all harmful to our bodies. Because fish live in water, often polluted, fish are more toxic than most land mammals. They breathe the toxins in and it builds up in their body fat. When you eat fish, you eat high amounts of toxins. Many State Natural Resource Departments have guidelines stating how much fish you can eat without poisoning yourself.  That alone is a red flag that fish is not healthy to eat.

Fish deserve the same consideration we give to dogs and cats. They are living earthlings. We should cherish the gifts this planet has to give us—the air, water, trees, land, and other earthlings. The only true way to save our planet and our oceans is to go vegan.

Sources:

 World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle

 Food Choice and Sustainability by Dr. Richard Opperlander