Just as the words organic milk don't belong in a sentence next to each other, except to remind you this substance is still pasteurized and harmful to your body, fish farmers are attempting to hijack the "organic" moniker as a means to sell their contaminated products with the help of a USDA task force, according to this interesting piece from the New York Times, my favorite newspaper in the world.
The agency is considering an organic label for fish that would include farmed varieties among others, a complete health travesty if there ever was one, especially considering how "wild" farmed salmon has been infected with sea lice.
Besides, how can anyone take a food agency's organic designation seriously at all, when farmed fish are commonly exposed to chemicals, drugs and hormones (because they're raised in large quantities and confined areas) nobody needs and fed chicken ***?
In its infinite wisdom, the task force did make one decision: Wild fish that are healthier by far than farmed fish aren't considered organic, again a fact that, no doubt, will blur what consumers believe to be a better food choice.
Just a reminder, you can get the same omega-3 benefits fish provide by taking a high-quality fish or krill oil daily.
New York Times November 28, 2006 Registration RequiredThe (Lakeland, Fla.) Ledger November 28, 2006