June 17, 2014 — During last week’s Capitol Hill Oceans Week, the eminently quotable chef-turned-food philosopher and fisheries advocate Barton Seaver called the “Made in the U.S.A.” label one of the most “important and effective sales tools ever created” at the Future of Fisheries panel discussion. His point that provenance is paramount has never been more applicable.
Seafood offers a particularly fascinating food-origin case study, as it hails from all corners of the globe. By most accounts, consumers are putting their dollars behind locally made goods and foods, often agreeing to pay more for such items. But consumers seem reticent to pay more to support the United States’ oldest finfish aquaculture industry, particularly when a much cheaper alternative exists. Catfish farmers hope that trend will reverse. A new report from Auburn University offer some hints that matters are improving but the numbers continue to show otherwise.
The “2013 U.S. Catfish Database” by Dr. Terry Hanson at Auburn University’s Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures, et al, was published recently after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service stopped its monthly catfish processing and feed-delivery reports last year.
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