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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTilapia Raised on Feces Hits US Tables
As if you needed another reason to avoid tilapia...[font size="+2"]Tilapia raised on feces hits US tables[/font]
The garbage fish isn't picky with its eating habits. That makes it cheap to farm and buy, but a big health risk to consumers who don't check its country of origin.
As fish go, tilapia's lifestyle leaves much to be desired.
They're a "garbage fish" in every sense of the word. They can survive in hopelessly polluted environments, they can be bred and raised in garbage cans and, when necessary, can subsist on a diet of other animals' excrement.
<snip>
"While there are some really good aquaculture ponds in Asia, in many of these ponds -- or really in most of these ponds -- it's typical to use untreated chicken manure as the primary nutrition," he told MSN News. "In some places, like Thailand for example, they will just put the chickens over the pond and they just poop right in the pond."
That's creating antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, but it's also creating problems for U.S. eaters who get 82% of their Tilapia from China. Last month it was announced that production of farmed fish had overtaken farmed beef for the first time in recorded history. Large amounts of that production come from farms like those featured in Bloomberg's October piece, titled simply "Asian seafood raised on pig feces approved for U.S. consumers."
<snip>
http://money.msn.com/now/post--tilapia-raised-on-feces-hits-us-tables
djean111
(14,255 posts)I think the TPP might do away with that sort of labeling, maybe? Because that would affect someone's profits?
tridim
(45,358 posts)Back to catfish I guess.
chimpymustgo
(12,774 posts)One of the comments to the article.
Atman
(31,464 posts)It's kind of ironic, because we live in the boonies, out in farm country. But Connecticut is so small, the coast barely an hour away. The guy used to be part owner of one the state's largest seafood distributors, near Hartford, but took off on his own and started his own small shop in the country. He drives to the docks every morning and buys fresh fish straight off the boats. Everything is labeled as to where and how it is caught (line, net, etc). The stuff that isn't native is wild caught (like salmon from the Pacific Northwest). And he always has a variety of local oysters and clams. Mmm. I can't buy fish from a supermarket anymore. The fish counter at our local Stop & Shop smells like a mixture of bleach and old fish...and bad sign if you have to bleach the hell out of the place to get the stink out and it still smells fishy! And nothing is labeled. They also treat the salmon with ether (I think that's right) to make it turn bright pink. Yuck.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)... about Tilapia farms in South America ....
Poor filtering of farm tanks led to the build up of fecal matter in the water, with farmed fish being saturated in their own filth ...
I have not eaten a single Tilapia ever since ...
reformist2
(9,841 posts)I just knew I didn't like tilapia... I had NO idea how it was being raised. Yuk!
Nuclear Unicorn
(19,497 posts)sunwyn
(494 posts)Haven't eaten it since
Atman
(31,464 posts)They use it because it is so bland. They can call it "fish" and just coat it with lots of spices, or blacken it. It's more like a vehicle for whatever flavorings are added to it. People think they're eating healthy because it is "fish."
I am reading Carl Hiaasen's newest book, "Bad Monkey." The protagonist is a cop who was demoted to restaurant inspector. A couple of local seafood restaurants play prominent parts in the book, and Hiaasen talks about the tourists who are shown fresh caught swordfish, but then are served crappy imported tilapia because it was so cheap and the stupid tourists didn't know any better. It's a work of fiction, but like all of his books, they're based in fact. I'm pretty wary about ordering fish in restaurants, too, unless I really trust the restaurant. Anyplace that sells "tender, flaky white fish," nuh-uh! That means tilapia.
Fortunately, I grew up on the ocean and deep sea fishing...I know what different fish looks and tastes like. No way you could pass off a scrawny tilapia fillet to me as grouper, sword fish or even hallibut.
(edited for rampant typos).
LisaLynne
(14,554 posts)Because I'd never heard of it and then it was everywhere. :/
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)like the rest of Carl's books.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Skinny dip is one of my favorites!
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)Atman
(31,464 posts)It funny that they make movies out of all John Grisham's novels, but not Hiaasen's. Hiaasens story lines are funny and entertianing, seem to be perfect movie material.
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)he had the dophin that tried to mate with everybody and the water slide that he was pumping all of the parks waste water through. great stuff.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)That was some 'great stuff'.
okieinpain
(9,397 posts)okieinpain
(9,397 posts)1-Old-Man
(2,667 posts)The fish is inedible. I was amazed when she bought it, but she didn't know what it was. When I told her Tilapia were one rung below gold-fish she got the idea.
But it doesn't bother me that they feed on shit. So does every vegetable that comes out of our garden; cow shit to be sure, but shit none the less.
dembotoz
(16,804 posts)hunter
(38,311 posts)I don't think so...
I'd post the usual pictures here, but I haven't eaten yet.
pediatricmedic
(397 posts)Feces are also the prime fertilizer in organic farming as well. Where do you think the plants get a big chunk of their nutrients from?
It is also why you should wash your fruits and veggies before consuming them.
opiate69
(10,129 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)...under rows of chicken coops.
Little Star
(17,055 posts)fresh cold water fish almost anywhere, I'd never eat that crap! When we vacationed down south I saw Tilapia for the first time some 10 years ago and just the look of it turned me off. Now hearing this, well, YUCK!
Atman
(31,464 posts)Dear god...you've got the best seafood anywhere, and people go to Red Lobster to eat Chinese-farmed all-you-can Melamine-fed shrimp and shit-fed tilapia. But I guess the cheesy biscuits make it all worthwhile.
There are so many awesome, authentic, local seafood restaurants near us it is amazing...and we live inland. It helps that Connecticut is so small. You're never far from the coast.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)in Niantic/Old Lyme, CT twice each summer years ago.
Best whole-belly clams I ever had were at a little place called "Dad's" on Route 156, along the shore.
mmmmm....
Little Star
(17,055 posts)I agree about Dad's whole belly clams and so does my sister who loves them!
http://www.dadsrestaurantct.com/dads-restaurant-photos.html
that's IT!!!!
I used to camp at Rocky Neck.
So glad to hear that Dad's is still there
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)long drive but worth it. And there's a little ice cream shack down near the dock for "dessert" afterwards....
Little Star
(17,055 posts)we saw our first Red lobster. I begged my husband (like a fool) to try it. We couldn't eat the lobster or the shrimp! Left there with empty stomachs and also a lot less money in our pockets. Never walked into another red lobster even down south.
The next year we went back to where we stayed down the Cape and low and behold that Red lobster was out of business! Thank gawd!
I wonder how many of them there are in New England? Can't be many, I would think. Why would anyone eat that crap when you can get great seafood just about anywhere here.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Willimantic, CT (near UConn) has a large Hispanic population and some of the very best, authentic Mexican restaurants I've ever been to this side of South L.A. Yet, despite four excellent, authentic, locally-owned taquerias and Mexican restaurants, a Taco Bell thrives on the main strip. I don't get it.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)local pizza. I'm so spoiled that I cannot bear Papa John's or whatever chains do pizza...
DinahMoeHum
(21,787 posts). . .unless I'm down in Florida (Key West), and I won't buy shrimp unless they're either the Gulf Coast pinks or the Mayport whites (East Coast US).
In short, I won't eat seafood unless it's from USA waters.
BTW, my area does have a local chain pizza (Planet Pizza), but they're a far cry from Papa John's or Pizza Hut. We also have Frank Pepe's, and for me, it's either the white clam or the fresh tomato (summer months only) or it's no dice.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Street in New Haven. I used to work on State Street. Lunchtime was heaven on earth...
Atman
(31,464 posts)Gotta admit...best damned pizza ever. And you gotta love the menu; pizza and a salad. Period.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)they even have a Legal's in D.C.
If it weren't so far I'd drive up to Abbot's way up in Noank...
Atman
(31,464 posts)But yeah...driving to MA for a Legal Seafoods can be tough. But it's a good excuse to go to Boston! There is a nice LS on Route 9 in Framingham. It's a crappy strip-mall area, but a good restaurant. My other favorite one is at Rowes Wharf on the waterfront.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)It just doesn't seem fair that D.C. can have one but CT can't...but I'm pretty sure that it's strictly a business decision...
Atman
(31,464 posts)They probably figure that we have lots of choices for fresh local seafood. Which is true. Although, I also love Jasper White's down at the casino. Maybe more than Legal.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Those biscuits are delightful ..
Atman
(31,464 posts)So easy to make...no wonder they're "all you can eat." They cost almost nothing to make, and take very little effort.
WatermelonRat
(340 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)That didn't stop people from seeing the national TV ads and driving to Gulfport, Miss., an hour away, to get to one.
frylock
(34,825 posts)I have friends that will go to Red Lobster, evidently unaware of local places like Point Loma Seafoods, or Mitch's, where you can sit there at a bar along the marina, drink local craft beer and watch the sport boats bring in fresh-caught yellowtail, bass, swordfish, shark, and many other species. When I do mention such places, they always ask "but have you tried the cheesy biscuits?" uhhhh no, I don't go out for seafood to fill up on biscuits, thanks.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)I won't even eat an oyster harvested south of Cotuit...
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)"You are what you eat"?
Now it's, "You are what you eat, eats"
yech.
I'm in New England too.
Cod and Haddock. That's all I'll touch, fish-wise.
Little Star
(17,055 posts)pipi_k
(21,020 posts)would rather have them than a steak any day.
No beef in seven years...
ellenfl
(8,660 posts)because what does not come from asia comes from the oil soaked gulf of mexico. tough for even a flordia girl to get good shrimp.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Bluefish is a bit strong for some, but if when fresh caught and bled immediately, it is sublime.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)CTyankee
(63,912 posts)The author and her husband talked about the way he does just what you said...puts the bluefish which he cuts below or around the gills, then puts it into a bucket of salt water til the blood and oil bleed out til he gets ashore, then he cuts it up and freezes what he doesn't eat that night.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Cut them around the gills, hang them by their tails in salt water, and the fish tastes incredible. If you wait till you get to shore to clean them, for some reason the blood gives the fish a very intense fishy flavor that most people don't like.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)and Executive Producer of Sixty Minutes! The book is a bit precious...living off the sea from their cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, indeed...however, I enjoyed hearing about the fishing...it does sound like an interesting hobby...
stripers, but I have had bluefish...didn't like it.
Mr Pipi swears his daughter can make it so it's delicious
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)Ate so much lobster growing up I don't care at all for it. Except a good bisque.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)yech.
Went to a lobster bake one time in Maine...first time eating it, and found some ugly green stuff in it. Totally turned me off.
Crab, now...a whole different story!
DinahMoeHum
(21,787 posts). . .and for some lobster lovers, it's a delicacy. Some cooks use it as a flavoring and thickener in their seafood dishes.
BTW, sorry if I make you puke now, but anatomically, the tomalley is the liver and pancreas of the creature.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)not me, not ever.
KansDem
(28,498 posts)DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)I've never actually bought tilapia - I'm not a fan of fish in general and tilapia has the lowest levels of omega 3 fatty acids of most fish, so when I DO have fish, I spend the money on wild salmon or trout or something. Thank god, after reading this.
That said - I was reading about a hydroponics system for gardening (something I'm trying to get into) in which the tank that holds the water can be filled with tilapia, or even salmon in cold climates...they clean the water of the by products of your gardening and you do have to feed them...if I was the one feeding tilapia, I think I'd be okay eating them. But I won't be buying them in stores. ew.
Atman
(31,464 posts)No chemicals...a section of the pool was stocked with water plants and fish, and the water circulated through it. The plants and fish kept the water crystal clear with no chlorine or chemicals. And you had a beautiful "wetlands" to boot.
taught_me_patience
(5,477 posts)I wouldn't eat it if someone offered $100. Tilapia live in the Ala Wai canal... that's all you need to know.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)the opposite of kama'aina , the Ala Wai Canal is the one that separates Waikiki from the rest of O'ahu. It is so filthy that the canoe paddlers have to be careful they don't tip over, lest they touch it.
taught_me_patience
(5,477 posts)Atman
(31,464 posts)It's much better now, although I still wouldn't want to swim there. After a fishing trip on my dad's boat, I was walking down the side preparing the lines and slipped on one of the steel fittings. I went overboard, but caught myself on an outrigger before going all the way in. I smacked my chin (still have the scar!) on the side, was bleeding profusely. They pulled me in, and no one cared about the blood pooring from my face. Instead, the rushed me downstairs to the shower and hosed me off. Boston Harbor water in 1975...mmm...they were more concerned about hepatitis or some nasty disease than the big gash in my chin.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Oh, Boston, you're my home!
Xyzse
(8,217 posts)I have to find another go to fish for steaming.
KansDem
(28,498 posts)No more for me!
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)since moving from NY to Florida. When I can get here, it is very expensive and tastes bad. My cold water seafood is the first thing I get when I go back to NY; besides the pizza and bagels.
Atman
(31,464 posts)He was into to big game fish. He landed a couple 900lb + tuna of the Georges Bank. Sell 'em to the Japanese fishing boats out at seas so you didn't have to deal with them back at port. But I was too afraid to strap myself onto that rod and "risk" hitting a 900lb fish, so we'd go for blues and do some bottom fishing for flounder. Cook 'em up in the galley on the way back to Boston. Mmm...best ever. Florida has some good seafood, but warm-water seafood is just different. Although I do love grouper and pompano and snapper and bonito and dolphin.
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)not at $22/lb!!!!! I liked Mahi Mahi until I found out it was dolphin. I know. I know. It's not the same dolphin, but......
Atman
(31,464 posts)Flipper dolphins are porpoises. Mammals. "Dolphins" are actual fish. There is absolutely no similarity. It's amazing that this still freaks people out. Eat your Mahi Mahi. It ain't Flipper. It's just another fish.
ellenfl
(8,660 posts)SDjack
(1,448 posts)Atman
(31,464 posts)We have local farms with small-herd, grass fed cows. What beef we do buy is from local farmers. But it's not much.
wtmusic
(39,166 posts)Sewer-vignon Blanc?
The Straight Story
(48,121 posts)Orrex
(63,210 posts)wtmusic
(39,166 posts)Film at eleven.
Historic NY
(37,449 posts)maybe I should get one to keep the tank clean.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)PDJane
(10,103 posts)Guys, after the amount of Agent Orange spread on Viet Nam, and the length of time that stuff takes to disperse, I'd suggest NOT eating fish from Viet Nam for the next four hundred and fifty years or so...at least. Vietnamese are still suffering from birth defects from that crap. I mean, it may be karma for that to get shipped back to America for consumption, but.....
reformist2
(9,841 posts)Just one of the many reasons I don't eat shrimp.
Atman
(31,464 posts)I won't eat shrimp unless it is fresh, and I know exactly where it is caught. Store-bought shrimp is ALL Vietnamese farm-raised filth.
Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)The commercial fish ponds started out with bass. Then when the bass matured and were harvested out of the ponds, the tilapia were placed in to eat the poo the bass had left behind. The tilapia were name a "poo eating carp". I've known this for years and have avoided them...although not sure that this is actually a real problem?
Oh BTW these farms were here in the USA and not in Asia.
opiate69
(10,129 posts)Of course, it's getting ignored so everybody can get their outrage on... like you, I don't particularly see it as a problem.. a good portion of the stuff we eat eats stuff we wouldn't.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)If I don't take antibiotics, what do I care? Curious.
Atman
(31,464 posts)Maybe it's not a health risk. YOU eat it, then.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)I enjoy shrimp, crab, crawfish, lobster, and mushrooms. If someone wants to tell me how Tilapia meat is a health risk to a healthy person who doesn't ever take antibiotics, while the first 5 are safe, please explain it to me.
Atman
(31,464 posts)As I mentioned above, I will not eat shrimp that is not verifiably locally sourced. Now, yes, I have the benefit of living near the water...this probably doesn't help anyone in Nebraska, but if I can go to the docks and buy fresh local shrimp, I love 'em. I also love blue crabs. They can come from the Chesapeake Bay, which is a bit suspect, or they also catch them in Florida. I grew up in Florida, and I know where the crab beds are, and I feel fine eating fresh blue crabs when I'm back home, because I know they're local and not flown in from some shit swamp in Vietnam. I can catch crawfish in the lake behind me if I so desire, but I don't really care for them. Too much effort for too little reward. Lobster is just a big underwater cockroach. It's also a bottom feeder. I don't eat it very often, although I do enjoy it. My favorite is to buy it fresh off the docks, or to go out with our friends to their lobster pots (you can get a "personal" lobster license in Mass which allows you to drop eight traps for about $80 a year), the we bring them home and grill them over a wood fire. About as good as it gets. Mushrooms...meh...I could take 'em or leave 'em.
But TILAPIA...I'm not sure you're understanding the difference. These are nasty, filthy manufactured fish. They grow in and eat their own waste packed in fish farms in which they can't really even swim. They just filter shit through their gills. Chicken shit, pig shit, whatever. That is what goes into the fish "meat" you eat when you eat tilapia. I don't understand what your antibiotic intake has to do with anything.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)I think it's gross. But is it actually unhealthy to eat their flesh just because they are shit-eating creatures? Mushrooms are safe to eat once you clean them, for example.
Antibotic resistant bacteria was mentioned in the article. The chickens are fed antibiotics (which is terrible, I agree) which of course encourages antibiotic resistant bacteria. That's my question #2 (no pun intended): My immune system should be able to ward off antibiotic resistant bacteria just as well as regular bacteria, provided they are only in tiny amounts...right?
I don't expect most people to be able to explain this, anyway. I figured somebody who is knowledgeable in this field is likely to come along.
Atman
(31,464 posts)For instance, I love fresh oysters. But I've never ordered them without seeing a warning about the food I'm about to eat might kill me. Every menu has a warning about undercooked meat and seafood. We can actually purchase bags of animal feces at the local garden store, then we toss it on our growing crops.
Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)...that sensibility doesn't necessarily correspond to what is good or bad for us.
People eat sugar by the pounds. people eat steaks that have been seared directly by flames, people eat liver. We shouldn't eat veggies fertilized with un treated human waste, but it's ok to eat veggies fertilized with untreated aminal waste. And the list of contradictory standing goes on. I agree with the other posters that eating poo of other animals doesn't make the tilapia necessarily good or bad for us...the scientific evidence would be a better indication.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)In fairness, the carrot's swimming in someone else's shit.
opiate69
(10,129 posts)Here I thought the honey buckets by my clam digging and crabbing spots were for human use, but I guess they're there for all the fishies in the water to use instead..
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)In the 1700's there was a huge population of salmon in the sound because the forests bordering the shores and the rivers feeding it brought in a huge amount of biomass from upstream. This biomass fed a robust food chain.
Between the 1800's and 1970's that food chain became dependent on human waste. In a legitimate effort to prevent pathogens from entering waterways, improved sewage treatment has rendered puget sound relatively sterile.
It is a self-delusion that shit, specifically our shit, is somehow separate from the biosphere in which we live.
http://gardenpool.org/
Industrialization of food is a bad thing. Not because the fish eat poop but because the poopers upstream eat antibiotics.
opiate69
(10,129 posts)There's no such thing as "waste" in a healthy bio-system.
Sheepshank
(12,504 posts)carrots grown in soil that had manure added as a fertilizer. Manure coming from cows that are chocked full of antibiotics and hormones....we reap those rewards too, right? Or if the manure is questionable, using chemical fertilizers are any better?
Rarely can most of us work a 8-5 and also tend a 1/3 acre lot with enough completely self sufficient crops to avoid any sort of short commercialized cuts.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)the damned HUMANS do to it that is so freaking inappropriate.
quinnox
(20,600 posts)I have found it to be hit or miss, sometimes it can taste good, other times just OK.
Its definitely not a bad tasting fish though, IMHO.
Erose999
(5,624 posts)the tanks after they harvested the catfish.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)the only fish on our table.
Texano78704
(309 posts)or visited one where chickens wandered about freely.
Kinda makes you think twice about buying those 'free range' eggs.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)Their eggs taste better too!
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)When they will remove country of origin labeling.
rl6214
(8,142 posts)Guess I ll have to start.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)out they wouldn't survive over an Indiana winter.
Safetykitten
(5,162 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)A USDA study found that more than 99 percent of broiler chicken carcasses sold in stores had detectable levels of E. coli, indicating fecal contamination. In other words, if you're eating chicken flesh, you're almost certainly eating poop. Consumer Reports states there are "1.1 million or more Americans sickened each year by undercooked, tainted chicken." Chicken flesh is also loaded with dangerous levels of arsenic, which can cause cancer, dementia, neurological problems, and other ailments in humans. Men's Health magazine recently ranked supermarket chicken number one in their list of the "10 Dirtiest Foods" because of the high rate of bacterial contamination.
One more good reason to boycott