Writing from Rome at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s COFI 32 conference, Advocate contributor Roy Palmer solicits input on how to promote the health benefits of seafood consumption worldwide.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016 report, global per-capita seafood consumption eclipsed 20 kilograms for the first time. This infographic highlights some of the key findings for aquaculture and its important role in feeding the world.
Sino Agro Foods has developed a proprietary recirculating aquaculture system that yields high production volumes and profitability. The facility should significantly contribute to seafood production in China and to help satisfy increasing demand for high value, safe and sustainably produced seafood.
The latest Global Nutrition Report indicates serious levels of both malnutrition and adult overweight and obesity. It is a major challenge, particularly among women and children. Seafood, including from aquaculture, can play a significant role in helping address this issue.
Farming of giant freshwater prawns is very popular in China. The Yangtze River Delta region produces more than 60 percent of the country's output. Production increases have resulted from a novel system that involves greenhouses that allow ponds to be stocked ahead by two months.
At the match-making event presented by FirstSource Events pairing seafood buyers with suppliers in a low-key setting, the conversations were mainly about how to sell more seafood, driven by sustainability, convenience and positive messages about aquaculture.
Our new interview series with foodservice professionals begins with Bruce Mattel, senior associate dean of culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). We’ll pry open the minds of some notable chefs who know seafood and are making statements about sustainability in their restaurants and beyond.
Fluid Farms, an aquaponics produce grower in Maine, leans on multi-trophic aquaculture to provide nutrients for its plants. The company is now selling its hybrid striped bass to the local market and, armed with a $50,000 innovation prize that will fund a new heating system, is expanding its horizons.
Two U.S. universities are teaming up to study the application of a novel antibody to tilapia to reduce the aquaculture industry’s use of antibiotics. The chairman of the Seafood Industry Research Fund says there could be a disruptive financial impact on seafood if it can’t compete in the “antibiotic-free” space.
The U.S. foodservice community at large believes that aquaculture should be judged by its potential to feed the world in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and not by the misgivings that dogged the industry in its infancy.
Ongoing research on foodservice professionals reveals ever-growing pressure on seafood suppliers to procure safe, sustainable and high-quality seafood and provide them with all the intricate information they may require. Chefs are pressed for resources and many lack the time to grasp this complex issue.
In his latest piece for the Advocate, industry veteran Phil Walsh, VP of Growth for Alfa Gamma Seafood Group in Miami, says aquaculture stakeholders should seize every opportunity to promote their products’ positive attributes in the face of stiff opposition.
Could the labyrinthine U.S. government approval process be nearing an end? Or could organic seafood encounter more delays? Both scenarios seem possible, considering the political opposition and the slight bending of organic principles that would be necessary.
Many people, including health-conscious consumers, are concerned about the cholesterol content of foods such as meat, eggs and dairy products. In the case of shrimp, the cholesterol story is different because a number of research studies have demonstrated that the high percentage of “good fats” in shrimp reduce the impact of cholesterol, and that a majority of people can eat shrimp as part of a balanced diet.
Michael Rubino and Gunnar Knapp list key reasons why U.S. marine aquaculture has been limited to a scale far below its vast potential.
Many current eating habits have negative results for our health, lending credence to “you are what you eat.” Eating habits can be changed, and increasing seafood consumption can provide numerous health benefits, including as a significant source of critical micro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Seafood should have its own spot in our dietary food pyramid.