Food & Drink

In terms of enduring popularity, many species of prawn, shrimp, lobster, crab, scallop, abalone, mussel, and oyster are highly rated. This is particularly apparent in regions of North Asia, where the ability to source exotic seafood is frequently seen as an important status symbol. In the wild, these creatures depend upon a clean environment with plentiful stocks of marine plankton, fish and other organisms. Many of the crustaceans are natural scavengers, living among floating sea grasses, rocky shelves and reefs. They provide an essential service by consuming marine detritus before it spoils and alters water quality. The bivalves, including clams, oysters, scallops, and mussels, obtain most of their nutrients through fluid filtration, leaving...

Edible fish is a popular and important food resource in many regions of the world. A seventy percent majority of the overall supply is obtained from wild stocks frequenting oceans, coastal estuaries, and inland rivers. Since the beginning of the industrial age, the natural habitats of wild fish stocks have suffered from various forms of pollution and ecological degradation. Recent surveys of wild fish populations have confirmed the negative impact of commercial fishing. Well publicised depletions include the orange roughy, bluefin tuna, swordfish, and toothfish. With the technologies currently available to large scale commercial fishing enterprises, it is not surprising that wild fish stocks are decreasing. Migratory ocean fish like tuna are...

Until recently, ocean based aquaculture has focused on a limited range of fish species. Atlantic salmon remains the predominant species, with smaller stocks of ocean trout, sea bass, cod, and halibut. The farmed salmon industry began in Scotland and Norway during the seventies and the technology was gradually distributed to other locations, including the southern hemisphere. Today, salmon are intensively farmed in the cool coastal regions of Iceland, North America, Ireland, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. When affected by deficient planning or management, seawater farms have the capacity to severely threaten coastal environments and disrupt their natural ecosystems. Choosing an appropriate site is probably the most critical consideration...

Despite its emergence as a newly developed primary sector, fish farming can trace its origins to regions of china where it was first practiced several thousand years ago. Edible carp, eel, and catfish, were cultivated in reservoirs linking the canal networks used for crop irrigation. These farms were low intensity by today’s standards and had the advantage of collaborative resource efficiency. Because they used natural materials and sought to maintain the biological integrity of their product the farms were, in effect, organic. On account of global competition and economic rationalisation, most fish farms are now designed to deliver high yields. In order to meet their production targets, conventional aquaculture farms frequently engage in...

According to most accounts, the organic movement was established in response to problems associated with conventional crop agriculture. Shortly after the Second World War the industrialised manufacture and widespread use of agricultural fertilisers, pesticides, and other chemicals had permanently changed the way crops were grown, distributed, and sold to the consumer. In contrast to earlier times, most agriculture became highly specialised, capital intensive and the scale of commercial operations increased dramatically. In response to these developments, ecologists and consumer groups were learning about the environmental impact and the consequences for human health. A drive for environmental awareness and sustainability during the sixties and...