Sarah Harper, Fishmongress at Quality Seafood Market, writes a monthly article for Live Oak Pharmacy on seafood as an essential part of whole body wellness.

Just in case you missed it, Helene York (director of strategic initiatives for Bon-Appetit Management Company) published a superb article, “In Defense of Tilapia,” in The Atlantic last Friday. Her article debunked two stereotypes that often mislabel tilapia: it’s unsustainable and it’s not as healthy as other fish.

With respect to sustainability, critics of tilapia claim that its soy-based feed could be used more efficiently if it were fed directly to humans. This is a valid argument, but when you compare tilapia feed to the volume of grain-based feeds eaten by livestock, the feed-conversion-ratio of tilapia farming is relatively small. In short, eating tilapia has less of an environmental impact (in terms of feed) than eating beef, pork, or chicken.

In addition, Chinese tilapia farms are under criticism from organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium for their use of antibiotics and growth hormones. But York aptly points about that the blanket “red listing” of all Chinese tilapia actually hinders those farms that are raising tilapia sustainably. Leading by example – York spearheaded an investigation of the tilapia farms that contracted with the Bon-Appetit Management Company and discovered that they weren’t using antibiotics or growth hormones – she argues that it’s partially the consumer’s responsibility to check the facts, to ask questions of their suppliers, and to find out the truth about how their fish is raised.

York concludes her article by silencing critics who claim that tilapia is somehow less healthy because it doesn’t have as many omega-3 fatty acids as other fish. Citing Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, York points out that tilapia is low in omega-3’s because it’s inherently lower in fat than other fish. That’s a good thing, right? In the end, consumers may overtly choose tilapia because of its low price point or its “non-fishy” taste, but inadvertently they’re choosing a source of protein that’s leaner than some other fish, chicken, pork, or beef. Rather than splitting hairs over which fish is best, let’s continue to encourage consumers to choose heart healthy sources of protein that have as little environmental impact as possible.

Learn more about fish at Quality Seafood Market. The opinions expressed by our guest bloggers do not necessary reflect the opinions of Live Oak Pharmacy. The opinions expressed by guest bloggers are their own, unless otherwise stated. No financial agreement exists between guest bloggers and Live Oak Pharmacy.

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