Demand Meaningful Organic Standards for Fish
Food & Water Watch (aka Democracy in Action), sent me a press release urging concerned citizens to protest the National Organic Standards Board’s definition for “organic” as it pertains to aquaculture.
According to F&WW, the standards fall short in a number of ways (you can read the PDF proposal yourself from this location). Here are their comments:
*As with all livestock, an animal can only be considered organic if all its feed is organic. Unfortunately, most farmed fish are fed a diet of wild fish meal, which often contains high levels of mercury and PCBs. The NOSB standards do nothing to guarantee the use of organic feed for farmed fish.
*Fish farming is conducted right in the open ocean. This means toxins and other harmful contaminants can flow in and out freely. The NOSB standards do not mandate that seafood sold, labeled and represented as “organic” be raised in closed systems where all inputs and outputs can be monitored.
F&WW wants organic fish to adhere to “the highest possible standards.” I wonder if they’re aware of how “organic” has weakened over the last few years? Frankly, these loose standards for farmed fish seem in line with other organic food.
Flippant comment aside, sustainable aquaculture is important in a world where fish farms may soon be our only source for certain types of seafood. Write the NOSB to ensure that a slippery definition doesn’t become the standard. You have until the end of day on Monday.
