I have chosen to discuss farm-raised salmon and its "wonderful" qualities. Wild salmon has a famous pinkish-orange color to it, which they obtain through their diet. When salmon are raised on farms, they do not always get the same diet to recieve their pinkish-orange color, so the farmers feed the salmon canthaxanthin to give them there natural color.
So what is wrong with that? The farmers are just trying to give the people what they want. Well, the problem is that canthaxanthin is that it is known to cause problems within the retina resulting in possible vision damage. It has been banned in both Austialia and New Zealand. I do not ulndertand why the United States would allow canthaxanthin in foods, when it can cause eyesight damage and cancer. It is already suggested not to eat a great amount of fish too regulary, so we should not increase the risk.
Now, it is highly recommended to eat wild salmon more than farm-raised salmon because of safety. I do feel like food should be colored with chemicals just because that is the color it should be. If you want your meat to look like it is suppose to, then feed your fish the correct diet to give it its pinkish-orange. Do not skip corners and cheat. Also, the U.S. needs to ban more things that are currently allowed to be put in the food we eat.
http://www.albany.edu/ihe/salmonstudy/
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fa_02_03.html
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about some of the the basic facts regarding canthaxanthin and its effects. Like you said, Terius, it can leave deposits of the pigments in people's retina. Still, it has to be a very high in take for any lasting effects. Fish aren't recommended in excess amounts anyway. Basic health plans involve fish no more than twice a week. It's always good to have a little fish in the diet because of the benefits of Omega-3, however too much is never a good thing. With the general recommendations for fish consumption no one should be consuming enough salmon to experience serious, if any, effects from the canthaxanthin.
According to another article by the US National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, the benefits of aquaculture are substantial, "The FAO states that ‘As an inexpensive source of a highly nutritious animal protein, aquaculture has become an important factor for improving food security, raising nutritional standards, and alleviating poverty, particularly in the world’s poorest countries’. " This is proof that despite potential problems, the benefits of aquaculture still outweigh the costs. I feel that until the US has done further research on the effects of canthaxanthin aquaculture farmers have no reason to be punished.
Terius, I completely agree with your statements! Why should it be allowed for canthaxanthin to be used if it is linked with problems and damage in the eye? This is definitely an issue I am concerned with now because how are we supposed to know if the salmon we consume is injected with canthaxanthin? Feeding the salmon its correct and healthy diet would be a much safer way to ensure that the salmon contains its natural color.
ReplyDeleteAccording to http://www.bellona.org/aquaculture/artikler/Dyes_in_salmon, canthaxanthin has been linked to problems with the eye. So, if this is harmful, why is it not banned in the United States yet? I feel that there may be some sort of research that may still need to be conducted to find out why it is not banned yet. There must be some valid reason for this being allowed in the United States. So what is this reason? I also feel that for safety issues, it should be noted somewhere on the packaging that the salmon is fed canthaxanthan to inform the consumer of this. I feel that more research should be done in general on this subject to ensure consumers that they have nothing to worry about.