Green Options

There has been a lot of talk lately about how many servings of fish is too much and which fish are the best to eat. With concerns like mercury poisoning, eating farm-raised fish or wild fish, genetic engineering and over fishing, it’s important to consider certain things when choosing your next fish dinner or sushi roll.

Doctors and health professionals in general recommend fish because of the high dose of Omega 3’s fatty acids a serving supplies you with. A 6-ounce serving of fish can provide a day’s worth of high quality protein for adults. Eating fish once a week should not cause any concern for most people. For those fish eaters who partake in multiple servings of fish a week, especially children and pregnant women, the main concern can become mercury poisoning. Eating too much mercury-ridden fish can cause certain health problems including impairment in memory and behavior, tingling in the hands, feet, and lips, as well as causing possible damage to the heart and immune system. Aside from the mercury concern, we now have a number of different fish species that are soon to become extinct due to over fishing, or are being caught using environmentally destructive methods. There are some very simple rules to follow to be certain you are not getting a side dish of mercury or hurting the environment with your fish entree.

In two weeks The National Organics Standards Board is expected to vote in Washington on what kinds of fish can actually be labeled organic.  Tell Washington what YOU think by signing a petition from the Consumer’s Union.

We’re all pretty clear on what “organic” means when it comes to vegetables, poultry and red meat, but what about fish?  This is a question that has been on our radar for quite some time. There is a limited amount of seafood being sold as organic at stores in the US but oftentimes these products were certified in other countries.

The organic fish question still has us scratching our heads, because as of yet there has been no “official” organic designation when it comes to seafood in the US.  That’s about to change.