Unstable protein pyramid
I missed this NYT editorial from a few days ago.
Per capita meat consumption more than doubled over the past half-century as the global economy expanded. It is expected to double again by 2050. Which raises the question, what does all that meat eat before it becomes meat?
Increasingly the answer is very small fish harvested from the ocean and ground into meal and pressed into oil. According to a new report by scientists from the University of British Columbia and financed by the Pew Institute for Ocean Science, 37 percent by weight of all the fish taken from the ocean is forage fish: small fish like sardines and menhaden. Nearly half of that is fed to farmed fish; most of the rest is fed to pigs and poultry.
The problem is that forage fish are the feedstock of marine mammals and birds and larger species of fish. In other words, farmed fish, pigs and poultry — and the humans who eat them — are competing for food directly with aquatic species that depend on those forage fish for their existence. It’s as if humans were swimming in schools in the ocean out-eating every other species.
The case is worse than that. When it comes to farmed fish, there is a net protein loss: it takes three pounds of fish feed to produce one pound of farmed salmon. This protein pyramid — small fish fed to farmed fish, pigs and poultry that are then fed to humans — is unsustainable. It threatens the foundation of oceanic life.
The report’s authors suggest that it would be better if humans ate these small fish, as many cultures once did, instead of using them as feed. That is one way of addressing the problem of net protein loss. The real answers are support for sustainable agriculture in the developing world and encouraging healthy, less meat-based eating habits as a true sign of affluence everywhere.
3 Responses to “Unstable protein pyramid”
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You’re currently reading “Unstable protein pyramid,” an entry on Bodhipaksa's blog, bodhi tree swaying
Published: Nov 19 2008
What about eggs? even if they come from chickens fed with fish, I would assume that they represent a more ecologically friendly source of protein than the chicken itself.
When I buy eggs though, I’ve been going after free range eggs when I buy them. I don’t trust the omega 3 enhanced eggs even if they are “vegetarian fed” as I’ve heard the form of omega 3 in those eggs results in faster oxidization of the eggs. I’ve read a theory that the eggs from free range chickens are healthier if the chickens can roam an area where they can eat bugs, worms and grains. I’ve been getting Amish free range eggs and I believe that they do taste somewhat better than typical store bought eggs though, I’ve had a couple that were gamy and weird tasting.
Do you eat eggs and dairy or are you a full on vegan?
popsci.com has a few articles on vertical farms. A vertical farm is basically a greenhouse skyscraper that could feed tens of thousands and do so more ecologically sustainably than normal farming means.
The last article I read on popsci suggested integrating a fish farm into a vertical farm. The nitrogen rich waste from the fish would fertilize various agricutlural plants which would in turn clean the water for the fish. Additionally there would be chicken coops and one weird aspect involved labs where stem cells would be used to develope muscle for beef which when processed would be similar to reconstituted chicken nuggets.
Here’s a link. http://www.popsci.com/cliff-kuang/article/2008-09/farming-sky
I found it through this website:
http://www.verticalfarm.com/Default.aspx
I think this would be such a huge answer to so many of the world’s problems but unfortunately, I’m afraid there’d be a security risk of having so much of the food supply concentrated in such a small area which would be an easy target for terrorists and during warfare.
I’ve been an on-again off-again vegan for years now. I think veganism’s the right way to go, but then it’s hellish hard to be vegan when eating out or visiting relatives. We don’t often buy non vegan food for the house, but I’ve been noticing eggs and cheese appearing in the fridge more often — every couple of months or so. When we do buy eggs they’re organic, not for health reasons but because the chickens live better lives.