Farmed Salmon Isn’t “Mediterranean”
How the world’s healthiest diet is used to prop up a troubling fish
As my readers know, writers from various backgrounds occasionally contribute posts this Medium page. This week’s essay is written by the Rauch Foundation’s Eva Douzinas.
How did a fish that doesn’t live in the Mediterranean become the poster child of its diet? It seems like every week, a new article touts the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, promoting a bounty of nuts, legumes, olive oil, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. The diet is praised for reducing saturated fat intake by replacing it with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids typically found in foods like walnuts, flaxseed, small fish and certain oils. Yet, in an ironic twist, the one food that seems to dominate this conversation is a large fish that is not even remotely native to the region — salmon.
How did this happen?
Across the world, approximately 70% of the salmon consumed today comes from industrial marine-based open-net pen farms; not from the Mediterranean Sea, but from the fjords and coastlines of places like Norway, Scotland, Canada, and the Faroe Islands. Farmed salmon are even in Chile and Tasmania — places in the southern hemisphere where salmon is an alien and, increasingly invasive species.
