Shrimp's Dirty Secrets: Why America's Favorite Seafood Is a Health and Environmental Nightmare

[Joanne98]

By Jill Richardson, AlterNet
Posted on January 25, 2010, Printed on January 25, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/145369/

Americans love their shrimp. It's the most popular seafood in the country, but unfortunately much of the shrimp we eat are a cocktail of chemicals, harvested at the expense of one of the world's productive ecosystems. Worse, guidelines for finding some kind of "sustainable shrimp" are so far nonexistent.

In his book, Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood, Taras Grescoe paints a repulsive picture of how shrimp are farmed in one region of India. The shrimp pond preparation begins with urea, superphosphate, and diesel, then progresses to the use of piscicides (fish-killing chemicals like chlorine and rotenone), pesticides and antibiotics (including some that are banned in the U.S.), and ends by treating the shrimp with sodium tripolyphosphate (a suspected neurotoxicant), Borax, and occasionally caustic soda.

Upon arrival in the U.S., few if any, are inspected by the FDA, and when researchers have examined imported ready-to-eat shrimp, they found 162 separate species of bacteria with resistance to 10 different antibiotics. And yet, as of 2008, Americans are eating 4.1 pounds of shrimp apiece each year -- significantly more than the 2.8 pounds per year we each ate of the second most popular seafood, canned tuna. But what are we actually eating without knowing it? And is it worth the price -- both to our health and the environment?

Understanding the shrimp that supplies our nation's voracious appetite is quite complex. Overall, the shrimp industry represents a dismantling of the marine ecosystem, piece by piece. Farming methods range from those described above to some that are more benign. Problems with irresponsible methods of farming don't end at the "yuck," factor as shrimp farming is credited with destroying 38 percent of the world's mangroves, some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on earth. Mangroves sequester vast amounts of carbon and serve as valuable buffers against hurricanes and tsunamis. Some compare shrimp farming methods that demolish mangroves to slash-and-burn agriculture. A shrimp farmer will clear a section of mangroves and close it off to ensure that the shrimp cannot escape. Then the farmer relies on the tides to refresh the water, carrying shrimp excrement and disease out to sea. In this scenario, the entire mangrove ecosystem is destroyed and turned into a small dead zone for short-term gain. Even after the shrimp farm leaves, the mangroves do not come back.

continued>>>
http://www.alternet.org/food/145369/shrimp%27s_dirty_secrets%3A_why_america%27s_favorite_seafood_is_a_health_and_environmental_nightmare

[greenbird]

1. Fascinating.

Thanks for this.

[Zoeisright]

2. I used to love shrimp. Until the last batch.

I had to clean and devein a bunch and found a very sandy, large vein. I should have thrown that shrimp away, although I don't know if it would have made a difference.

Long story short, the shrimp did not remain in my stomach or my husband's. After reading this, I think I know why.

[GTurck]

3. OMG....

I am one of the few Americans who cannot eat shrimp and never have. I don't eat any seafood or fish because of allergies and more and more it seems a blessing rather than a curse. :woohoo:

[Rebubula]

4. Always look on the bright side...

...that just means more for me.

One article does not a global problem make....

[bertman]

5. We always try to buy locally-caught shrimp--N.C. coast--to support our American

watermen. The problem is that their harvesting techniques are often very rough on the estuaries where young sea critters are spawned and grow. There are sustainable/non-destructive harvesting methods but, of course, the old-school watermen don't want to use them because 1) they're different from what they've always done, 2) new gear is required, thus costing them money.

Groups like the CCA (Coastal Conservation Association) are working to help get regulations in place to protect our estuaries and still allow us to eat those delicious little salt-water bugs.

Yummy.

[emsimon33]

6. Another reason, besides health, to eat vegan!