http://www.care2.com/greenliving/shrimp-a-devastating-delicacy.html
Shrimp: A Devastating Delicacy
Shrimp is America’s favorite seafood–it’s topped the list for the last three years. But while we love to eat it, most people don’t know much about this popular dish, other than the many ways there are to cook it. Unlike the popular movie Forrest Gump, which portrays shrimpers on small boats making a living each day by bringing fresh shrimp to shore to sell to eager customers, most of the shrimp we eat in the United States comes from farms as far away as Thailand or Brazil. American shrimpers are a dying breed these days because they can’t compete with cheap, foreign imports.
Nearly 80 percent of the shrimp that American consumers eat in restaurants or buy at the grocery store are imported and farm-raised. Chances are, the delicious shrimp cocktail you’re splurging on is loaded with antibiotics and chemicals because that’s what goes into the cramped, dirty ponds made to mass-produce shrimp.
At The Environment’s Expense
Mangroves–tropical coastal forests–are clear cut to make room for shrimp farms. Mangroves serve as spawning and nursery grounds for thousands of marine organisms and protect the coastline. Shrimp farms depend on staggering amounts of antibiotics, fungicides, algaecides and pesticides that pollute the water and marine life, including other fish.
Consumers’ Health Pays
Antibiotics are often misused in shrimp farms to prevent the spread of viruses. Shrimp farmers in parts of Asia dose their shrimp with antibiotics not only to prevent and treat Vibrio, a bacterial infection, but also with the belief that the antibiotics will prevent and treat viral infections such as white spot syndrome. White Spot Syndrome decimated farms throughout Asia and Central America in the 1990’s. Even when the virus doesn’t obliterate the farm, it survives freezing and may still exist when the shrimp finds its way to the consumer’s plate. To prevent outbreaks, companies pump thousands of tons of antibiotics into the farms.
One antibiotic–Chloramphenicol–is banned in the United States, but the US imports shrimp from countries that use it. Chloramphenicol is linked to human aplastic anemia–a lethal blood disorder, intestinal problems, neurological reactions and other health concerns. Unfortunately, the US does not have a rigorous inspection program for imported shrimp. Thailand, China, Vietnam and Ecuador all use this antibiotic in their shrimp farms and they send thousands of pounds of shrimp to the US every year, jeopardizing consumers’ health.
Cost to Local Communities
Traditionally, local communities depend on the mangroves for their survival. Women gather shellfish, mussels, crabs and other seafood to feed their families and to sell in local markets. Fishermen gain access to the sea through the mangroves, which they can no longer do when the shrimp farms are constructed. Due to cheap farm raised shrimp, American shrimpers are forced to sell their boats and coastal communities in the Global South are left without their livelihood, food and culture.
Food & Water Watch is an organization dedicated to the belief that the public should be able to count on our government to oversee and protect the quality and safety of food and water. For more information, go to www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
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22 comments
add your comment »I loathe the commercial fishing industry. I cant imagine the fact that my eating somthing would contribute to environmental degredation, and wasteful injuries and deaths (all the bycatch) I went vegetarian about 4 months ago, and try to educate myself about what i eat and how it is being farmed and sent to market. I would love to be able to visit a mangrove forest, I'll definately pass this info to my friends. Thanks
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Shrimp is America’s favorite seafood–it’s topped the list for the last three years. But while we love to eat it, most people don’t know much about this popular dish, other than the many ways there are to cook it.
dsi r4
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Just lately I have sometimes gotten quite sick to my stomach when eating shrimp, mostly in a less expensive Asian restaurant. At other times, it's ok. I will lean toward a vegetarian diet. Thanks for informing us.
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How I wish I knew this last week, that 2lbs of shrimp I bought woulda stayed there. T~T My body feels devastated to hear this.
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I know this comes late to the discussion... Simply eat Gulf Shrimp and east coast (Georgia) shrimp... ask your purveyor "where does this shrimp come from?". I live down on the gulf and eat the delicious harvest at home. Even today though, while working in Memphis, I find lovely Georgia shrimp at Whole Foods... mmmmm. Don't eat farmed any-kind-of-farmed-seafood for the same reasons not to eat farmed shrimp!
There are sustainable fisheries all over the globe and if we are mindful and don't consume tons and tons of any species, we should be alright.
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i noticed the article did not mention that shrimp and other shell fish (and any fish without scales) are more suseptible to mercury in the water, and should be avoided by all women of child bearing age or younger, because there is no determination of how long the mercury can stay in your body. It is known, however, that it can cause various birth defects and future learning disabilities.
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I consider myself pretty savvy and up-to-date on these kinds of things (meaning all the damage man-made animal farming factories wreak on the environment), but I've never before come across info about farmed shrimp before; though short, this article was informative and educational. I don't know why it never occurred to me that this situation may exist (why wouldn't it with everything else that goes on in our world today), but, luckily, I don't eat shrimp and haven't been unknowingly supporting this practice. It's good, though, all the same to be educated in matters, whether they affect me directly or not. Ignorance is one of the factors that contributes to the downfall of our world, and the only way to correct that is to educate ourselves so thanks for passing the info on.
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It is so very good to be reminded of this....I have done quite the dance-around with shrimp. They are delectable, yet I've known about these egregious practices in the past, and have more than once slipped back into the willful ignorance of consuming them. But I can tell you from experience, that mangroves are some of the most wonderful, diverse, almost magical ecosystems in all the world, (find the essay Annie Dillard once wrote about them) and knowing that I'm bringing harm to those is too much to bear. Enough! Wherefore art though (thy) ethics!
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It is time for change... we need to respect all creatures as life. As a human, I know I sometimes fall into all that we have created. I want to be a part ofthe change...and to stop the cruelty we inflict on animals in the name of nourishment.
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Never buy farmed shrimp -- the filth involved would disgust anyone who saw a shrimp farm. Not to mention all the negative environmental impacts. Wild shrimp fishing is often harmful too, because of all the by catch (sea turtles, etc.). Some wild shrimp are harvested sustainably, but you have to seek it out. Shrimp from the Pacific Northwest US is caught sustainably, but it's usually only available as cooked, peeled small shrimp (the kind used in salad bars). I think that the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a program that lists sustainable shrimp, but it includes US farmed shrimp which I would not buy.
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