One of the questions we often hear is: How do farmed salmon get their color? Related to this is: How is the process the same as—or different from—what happens in nature?
All salmon irrespective of their origin, have their pinkish color because they consume a carotenoid anti-oxidant that comes from their diet. The carotenoid family of anti-oxidants is what...
"Participants came from a variety of backgrounds: chefs, NGO leaders, journalists and other members of the food industry vanguard. Each brought a different perspective to the buzz-worthy subject of "conscious cuisine," an idea brought to the forefront by New York Times journalist and author Mark Bittman. In his book, "Food Matters, Guide to Conscious...
Last fall, Verlasso engaged Det Norske Veritas (DNV), an independent foundation dedicated to safeguarding the environment, to certify our farming standards.
Our first objective was to confirm our low pen density target of 12 kg/m3. Our second objective was to validate our dramatic reduction in “fish in, fish out” ratio. This is the amount of wild feeder...
Over the past few months I have received many questions about the dependence the salmon aquaculture industry has on the harvest of wild fish. These questions are good ones and I would like to offer a fairly detailed discussion here. After all, catching fish to feed the fish we eat is at the heart of the question of whether aquaculture is sustainable or...
If you talk to seafood retailers and fishmongers about farmed fish, you’ll quickly learn one of their primary concerns is pen density: the number of fish raised per pen. It’s a measurement that has become a more pressing concern in the aquaculture industry, for the simple reason that pen density has a direct bearing on the health and quality of the fish and...
Put seafood on your menu, and you’ll be in good company – the healthiest diets around the world, tend to include healthy protein foods like seafood in addition to vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.
Nutrition experts agree that eating seafood twice a week, that’s at least 8oz per week (20% of protein intake) for most adults, is important for the developing...
Eating is one of life's most important and enjoyable activities. In the hunt for a quick dinner solution, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the food you choose contains the ingredients that your body needs to replenish and repair itself. Nutrition is the foundation of each step we take in the kitchen. From the ingredients that we buy to the way we...
According to a recent AARP blog post, a study at the University of Pittsburgh found that regular fish eaters were more than 20% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those in the study who did not eat fish at least once a week. Omega-3’s found in the fish help increase blood flow to the brain, which contributes to long-term cognitive health.
In my last post, I discussed salmon aquaculture’s “fish in, fish out” ratio and how the industry is dependent on fish such as herring, anchovies and mackerel captured from wild fisheries to feed salmon. I explained how NGOs measure that dependence for individual farms and for salmon aquaculture worldwide (what they call the “feeder fish dependency ratio,” or...
A recently published report from The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations forecasts that aquaculture will account for more than 50 percent of the world’s seafood supply in 2012.
Below are excerpts from a summary of the report found on MercoPress.com.
The first supports the Verlasso stance on how aquaculture, practiced carefully, can...
We hear quite a bit lately about how to buy seafood at our local market. There are endless conversations about farmed vs. wild, as well as the sustainability and environmental impact of eating fish.
You might think that with my last name, I would have been born an expert on the subject. But truthfully, there’s so much I have learned over the past few years...
In today’s world of heightened nutritional awareness, we all strive to eat better and to provide those we love with nutritious food options. Recently the USDA released updated dietary guidelines for Americans. The most dramatic difference is the amount of fatty acid rich fish recommended on a daily basis has more than doubled, from 3.5 ounces to 8 ounces...
Our oceans are beautiful, peaceful and miraculous so it is sobering to learn that billions of pounds of sea life are removed from them every year. In fact, almost three-fourths of the oceans’ fish have been exploited. What’s more, our desire for delicious and healthy seafood is not going away any time soon. Conversely, the USDA just raised its recommended...
I may very well be a food geek. My favorite memories center on cooking with my family and friends. While that’s always great, best of all, is the special something about cooking in summer. To a large part, it is the ingredients. They could come from a farmers’ market or, better yet, from my wife’s or my Dad’s gardens. Taste (yes, price too!) that can’t be...
The accompanying article by Robert MacDougall-Davis describes how deviation from environmental balance has adversely affected wild Atlantic salmon. When coupled with overfishing, the result has been a tremendous decrease in their numbers over the past few decades.
Of particular importance to us at Verlasso, he also points out a role that salmon aquaculture...
