Nutrition

June 12, 2013 — The world quietly reached a milestone in the evolution of the human diet in 2011. For the first time in modern history, world farmed fish production topped beef production. The gap widened in 2012, with output from fish farming—also called aquaculture—reaching a record 66 million tons, compared with production of beef at 63 million tons. And 2013 may well be the first year that people eat more fish raised on farms than caught in the wild. More than just a crossing of lines, these trends illustrate the latest stage in a historic shift in food production—a shift that at its core is a story of natural limits.

As the global demand for animal protein grew more than fivefold over the second half of the twentieth century, humans began to press against the productivity constraints of the world’s rangelands and oceans. Annual beef production climbed from 19 million tons in 1950 to more than 50 million tons in the late 1980s. Over the same period, the wild fish catch ballooned from 17 million tons to close to 90 million tons. But since the late 1980s, the growth in beef production has slowed, and the reported wild fish catch has remained essentially flat.

The bottom line is that getting much more food from natural systems may not be possible. Much of the world’s grassland is stocked at or beyond capacity, and most of the world’s fisheries are fished to their limits or already crashing. Overstocked rangelands become obvious as the loss of protective vegetation leads to soil degradation, which at its worst can cause punishing dust and sand storms. Overexploited fisheries are less readily visible, but fishing patterns over time reveal that more effort is required to achieve the same size catch as in years past. Boats are using more fuel and travelling to more remote and deeper waters to bring in their haul. Fishers are pulling up smaller fish, and populations of some of the most popular food fish have collapsed.

Historically, people’s taste in eating animal protein was largely shaped by where they lived. In places with extensive grasslands, like in the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia, people gravitated toward grazing livestock. Along coasts and on islands, as in Japan, wild fish tended to be the protein staple. Today, with little room for expanding the output from rangelands and the seas, producing more beef and fish for a growing and increasingly affluent world population has meant relying on feedlots for fattening cattle and on ponds, nets, and pens for growing fish.

Read the full story at the Earth Policy Institute

 

 

June 10, 2013 — Fish is good, especially if it's wild, little and local, says Andy Sharpless, who with Suzannah Evans has written a new book, "The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lover's Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World."

Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana, the nonprofit that made headlines earlier this year when it reported that Americans are eating mislabeled or misrepresented fish about one-third of the time. Portland fared better than most cities in the survey: We struck out about one-fifth of the time.

In about 200 pages, Sharpless makes a case that healthy oceans are good for fish and fish is good for us — as long as it's wild, little and local. And he's prevailed on 20-some chefs to offer recipes to tempt readers into trying some different kinds of fish: Fried anchovies with lemon-dill aioli?

Sharpless' answers have been edited for space and clarity.

What do you mean when you say fish is the perfect protein?

Fish are full of omegas. Fish are good for your brain, your heart, your nerves. If you substitute fish for red meat, you get a reduction in obesity, heart disease, cancer. It's interesting how our own biology is so tuned up to benefit from fish.

They don't increase biodiversity loss the way terrestrial agriculture does. A well-managed ocean does two things at once: It potentially feeds hundreds of millions of people a healthy meal every day and it does so without requiring additional expansion in farmland, which is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss on the planet.

Read the full story at The Oregonian

 

 

June 4, 2013 — Sea algae is the key ingredient in SeaCrunch, a gluten-free bar made of almonds, sesame seeds, cranberries, maple syrup and kelp that Roth created.

The energy bar is one of the newest seaweed-based products his growing company VitaminSea Seaweed in Scarborough, produces and markets to health food stores throughout New England.

Roth began harvesting Maine seaweed seven years ago, initially to pay for the construction of a red skiff.

“We started off with our first order of two little 40-pound bags [of rockweed],” said Roth, who sold the seaweed to lobster co-ops for packing lobsters and shellfish. “That developed into 200 bags a week in a matter of a month.”

A commercial fisherman for 28 years, Roth decided to sell his two fishing boats and invest in the seaweed industry. He joined the Maine Seaweed Council, did his research, and began developing seaweed-based products.

“I just love being in the water in the kelp beds,” said Roth. “It’s phenomenally beautiful when you get to see the kelp swaying back and forth in the tides. The colors of the different kelps. It’s just an amazing thing to see.”

To reflect the nutritional value of their products, Roth and his wife, Kelly, named their company VitaminSea.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

 

June 3, 2013 — In Anne Arundel County, Vin 909 is among the dozen eateries that received a state certification for using local crab meat. This is the second year for the Department of Natural Resources’ True Blue program, which promotes restaurants that use a majority of Maryland crab meat in their meals.

After submitting an application, DNR officials randomly have them submit invoices to prove that they are continuing to use the state’s true blue crabs. In turn, they get `True Blue’ logos to advertise the product. There are more than 100 participants statewide.

Participants said the program hasn’t had any noticeable impact on their customer base. But it allows them to tout the local fare’s sweet, fresh taste as well as support the local economy and watermen. Crabs have not been plentiful this season — which is largely because of the colder than usual spring — so consumers will have to pay more until the supply increases.

For some businesses, that means nearly doubling 2012 prices.

“Too often (customers) might be getting imported crabs and think they’re buying local crab meat,” said Steve Vilnit, the DNR’s fisheries marketing director who runs the True Blue program. “There was a cold spring and the water has to get to a certain temperature before crabs start moving.

“The heat wave we’re having will get the water warmer and get the crabs moving. It’s a little bit expensive right now.”

Read the full story at CBS Baltimore

 

May 23, 2013 — National Maritime Day on May 22 is a holiday created by Congress in 1933 to honor America’s sea-going industry. It marks the day when the steamship Savannah set sail from Georgia on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power.

As celebrations are underway, another maritime benchmark will be set as the first full container of 18 tons of fresh salmon from Chile is offloaded from a cargo ship in California after an iceless month at sea.

How can that be? By using fuel cell technology in a new way.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process, produces electricity.

“We use that capability and take out the oxygen from a palletized, plastic wrapped container of fish to less than 200 parts per million. So we basically cause the fish to go dormant and extend their natural shelf life,” explained Mark Barnekow, CEO of California-based Global Fresh Foods. “It all gets done at the processing plant before it even gets loaded on the truck.”

More than 30 shipments of fresh Chilean farmed salmon, as well as tilapia and barramundi from Asian countries, have been delivered so far to the east coast of the U.S., to Japan and vans will soon set sail for Europe. The company plans to expand to shipping other seafood species as well.

“Throughout each shipment our fuel cell wakes up every 10 minutes and reads the atmosphere. If it detects the oxygen levels have risen, it actually scavenges it to keep the level low,” said Barnekow of GFF’s patented SAF-D system.

The technology also fits with GFF’s green” shipping philosophy.

Read the full story at The Seward Pheonix LOG

 

 

 

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., — May 23, 2013 — An event at the Commercial Fishing Pier on Sunday intends to help New Hampshire fishermen cope with drastic cuts to catch limits on the most popular fish species by raising awareness about how delicious some lesser-known species can be.

The 2013 N.H. Fresh and Local Seafood Kickoff is an inaugural event that organizers hope will help spread the word about underutilized species such as redfish, soft-shell lobster, hake, pollock and dogfish. While fishermen are struggling under the weight of major quota cuts, including a 78 percent cut to Gulf of Maine cod catch limits, their quotas for these other species are stronger and increased demand could help the fishermen survive in these difficult times.

The problem, said organizer Gabriela Bradt, a fisheries extension specialist at the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, is that most consumers are not aware of how the other species can be properly utilized and stick to the more-popular haddock and flounder.

"The community can play an important role in sustaining our 400-year-old fishing heritage," said Erik Chapman, also with the UNH Cooperative Extension.

The event, which runs from noon to 3 p.m., will provide participants a chance to meet their local fishermen, learn more about how the industry works and taste some unique dishes prepared by some of the area's top chefs. Chefs from Portsmouth's Black Trumpet Bistro, 100 Club and Moxy, the Oaks Country Club in Somersworth, and Stages at One Washington in Dover, will all be on hand to produce dishes utilizing the lesser-known species.

Read the full story at the Portsmouth Herald

 

May 17, 2013 — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is seeking a preliminary injunction against New York City Fish, Inc. and several of its employees for manufacturing and distributing ready-to-eat fish products under insanitary conditions causing them to become adulterated. The products have been sold in stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed for the injunction on behalf the FDA in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to prevent the company from distributing smoked and cured fish products until it is in compliance with the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (Act). “These companies have ignored previous warnings by the FDA and have continued to produce and distribute products in violation of federal law,” Melinda Plaisier, the FDA’s acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs said in a statement.  “This lawsuit shows that the FDA will aim to protect public health by seeking enforcement action against companies that are identified as violating federal requirements.”

Read the full story at the Food Poisoning Bulletin

 

May 15, 2013 — Gourmet lunch trucks have become big business in the nation's capital in the past three years – so big that traditional restaurants are pressuring the city to restrict where and how long they can park.

And if the lines are any indication, dishing out Maine lobster on the streets of D.C. is good business. The Red Hook truck consistently had one of the longest lines Friday. It ran out of its Maine-style rolls in less than two hours, although customers who craved lobster still could order the hot and buttery Connecticut-style roll.

The food truck's success wasn't guaranteed when it started in the summer of 2010.

"We kind of rolled the dice," said Leland Morris, president of Red Hook Lobster Pound DC. "We didn't know what the reaction would be to, one, a seafood sandwich sold from a truck and, two, a $15 seafood sandwich from a truck."

In fact, Morris and his partner, Doug Povich, had to convince city officials that nothing in Washington's health code precluded the sale of seafood from a food truck. But a year after launching the first truck, Red Hook added one in Manhattan and another in Washington.

The company actually started in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, N.Y. – hence the name – when Ralph Gorham and his wife, Susan Povich, decided there was an untapped market for live lobsters in the trendy neighborhood.

Gorham began making twice-weekly trips to Maine — where Povich's family has a home — to buy the lobsters that would be sold in their small storefront.

The business took off when Povich — a trained chef whose father is talk show celebrity Maury Povich — began selling Maine lobster rolls at the lobster pound and at a big flea market in Brooklyn.

Doug Povich, who is Susan Povich's cousin, eventually convinced the skeptical couple to let him try a food truck to sell lobster rolls in Washington.

Lobster Pound DC now has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter (@LobstertruckDC) and was named the Best Food Truck in 2012 by readers of the Washington City Paper.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

 

 

May 13, 2013 — U.S. producers of farm-raised salmon are working hard to help fill today's growing demand for seafood. Now U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutritionist Susan Raatz, physiologist Matthew Picklo, and cooperators have found that farm-raised Atlantic salmon maintains its healthy levels of omega-3 fatty acids when baked.

Two omega-3 fatty acids, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are abundant in oily fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, and herring. Some data have shown that consuming 250 milligrams daily of EPA and DHA—the amount found in a 3-ounce salmon fillet—is associated with reduced risk of heart-disease.

Read the full story at the United States Department of Agriculture 

 

HYDE PARK, N.Y., — May 2, 2013 — PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Navigating the convergence of nutrition and public health, environmental and social imperatives, the culinary arts, and innovation within the business of American foodservice

What if America's most talented chefs, retail food store executives, nutrition and environmental scientists, farm and fisheries experts, and entrepreneurs worked together to develop business-friendly solutions for a changing foodservice industry? The first annual Menus of Change leadership summit, co-presented by The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard School of Public Health, will answer this question — and more — on June 10-12 in Cambridge, MA. The conference will help the $660 billion foodservice industry navigate an increasingly complex world of shifting consumer values and demands, public health imperatives, escalating food costs, and looming environmental challenges.

Presenters include:

  — Walter Willett MD, DrPH (Harvard)

  — Tim Ryan EdD (CIA)

  — Sam Kass (The White House)

  — Fedele Bauccio (Bon Appétit Management)

  — Gail Christopher PhD (W. K. Kellogg Foundation)

  — Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill)

  — Sheila Bowman (Seafood Watch)

  — John Mitchell (LYFE Kitchen Retail)

  — Harvey Hartman (The Hartman Group)

  — Stephanie Chenevert and Olivia Wu (Google)

Topics include "Connecting Culinary Excellence with Social Responsibility," "How Changing Demographics Are Affecting Consumer Demand," and "Tackling Portion Sizes, Calories, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages."

This unique, innovative program combines science-based guidance, culinary strategy, and business insight for food and foodservice leaders who want to make ingredient and sourcing decisions that positively impact public health, the environment, and the bottom line. For more information, including the full program schedule and registration details, please visit www.menusofchange.org.

SOURCE The Culinary Institute of America