“Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and the land will destroy you.” - Aboriginal Proverb
I grew up in Southern California. I was born and raised in Palm Springs. And before moving to Denver, I lived in Los Angeles for a decade. I very rarely thought much about seafood and where it came from since we were close to an ocean in less than 1-2 hours drive.
Nearly 10 years go, when I moved to Denver, Colorado, a landlocked state, naturally I was a bit weary about sushi and seafood. In 2015 when, I was in nutrition school in Boulder, they told us about this cool non-profit Seafood Watch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This is a great resource for finding susatinable and high quality seafood in any area of the US you are in. FYI, this is also the same guide you see in your Whole Foods Seafood section.
You might be surprised to know that not all farmed seafood is bad and not all wild-caught fish is good!
One study found that fishing boats are responsible for 4% of our total greenhouse gas emissions from the food industry! While farmed fish actually have a lower carbon footprint than livestock!
Yes, sustainable nutrition and seafood is about caring for Mother Earth - our climate, overfishing, pollution and preserving habitats. It's also about what's safest for us to eat too. Every 6-9 months they put out an updated guide on what's the best (safest and sustainable) seafood in your region. You can check them all out and download yours here. They also have a general monthly update thats fantastic to check as well. No matter what you are looking for or care about, the Seafood Watch peeps have you covered! If you ever have questions, check them out!
Seafood in general is a great source of vitamins A, Bs and D as well at those wonderful anti-inflammatory omega-3s! It's also full of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, selenium and potassium!
If you are in Denver, my favorite place to get my seafood I trust and tates great is Marczyks.
Do you have favorite places to get your seafoods? Or favorite recipes?! I'd love to hear!