Nutrition

I never liked the idea that farmed salmon has to be artificially colored via it’s food!

An interesting note is the Omega 6 levels being higher in farmed salmon as a result of the food they are fed. High levels of omega 6 intake cause insulin resistence leading to heart disease, so it’s not a good thing; not at all.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs for short)

It is interesting that contiminants levels generally are within tolerance levels for the USDA, but that considered safe for frequent consumption according to the EPA’s guidelines.

https://www.ewg.org/research/pcbs-farmed-salmon/wild-versus-farmed

Thoughts

Being in the Pacific Northwest salmon is a big source of portein and it tastes great. There has always been a negative view towards farmed Atlantic salmon over here, but of course farmed salmon is WAY cheaper. Finding unbiased answers on the Internet is almost impossible. I fould well written articles for and against each.

My first thought with any farmed is food is what are they being fed that they wouldn’t normally get in the wild? A lot of times it is fairly alarming to know the diet differences between farmed animals versus their wild counterparts. The impact on the animal itself can be substantial, along with affecting the nutritional benefits from eating them.

“Nature didn’t intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.”

So how are you supposed to get omega-3s? Take a pill? Too bad it is likely that the ingredients contained within a lot of pills and vitamins now come from “loosely” regulated factories within China, but that’s another story!

My interest in this subject is that salmon is my FAVORITE fish by far; there isn’t even a close second. However, I personally avoid farmed raised salmon nowadays. Luckily I live in Seattle or I might not have much of a choice. Of course that means I’m also paying $11+ per pound for wild Alaskan salmon. To supplement this I’ve added sardines to my diet too. Plus, I have been using sardines and canned wild caught salmon to completely cut out eating tuna fish.

Things I still want to know: * Are levels getting better over the years?
* Is the higher fat content of farmed salmon what causes them to have more POPs?

This is an article that I simply add to as I run across information.

References

• http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/12/01/7-foods-should-never-eat.html
• https://health.clevelandclinic.org/fish-faceoff-wild-salmon-vs-farmed-salmon/
• https://www.ewg.org/research/pcbs-farmed-salmon/wild-versus-farmed
• https://healyeatsreal.com/farmed-salmon-dangers/
• https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/10/banned-foods.aspx

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