
We Should Be Eating More Canned Fish? - plessthanpt05
https://heated.medium.com/you-should-be-eating-more-canned-fish-bbf84969b063
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blunte
No, please don't.

Commercial fishing is not good. Do some research to find the many reasons.

Plastic is not something you want to eat, and fish have increasing amounts of
plastic in them.

Same goes for Mercury. Sardines (and probably anchovies) don't have much, but
other larger fish do.

Were it not for these problems, then I too would advocate good canned sardines
for health. They have higher calcium per weight than any other food or drink.
They have a good amount of protein, and of course they have the omega oils.

But the current state of things is such that it would be wise to reduce
consumption, not increase it.

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MR4D
So what’s the alternative? Beef? Chicken? Pork? Vegetarian?

Every one of these has significant downsides to them (for you vegetarians out
there, the phosphorous that leeches into the runoff is huge, affecting the
ecosystem in ways we still don’t understand).

I get every point you make, but honestly, what is the real alternative?

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hombre_fatal
Most vegetables are grown for lifestock food, so I don't think that's valid
concern about vegetarianism.

If you eat a lot of meat, then you have all the vegetarian concerns you can
come up with plus all the concerns directly tied to meat plus the rest of the
indirect concerns.

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MR4D
If you remove all the meat from the world’s food supply, you’re going to have
to make up for a lot of bulk as well as protein. So you will still be growing
lots of plants. And those plants will be fertilized.

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imagetic
While I completely agree. I think the author could have made a much stronger
argument. And whenever I try canned fish from Europe, it's far better than the
American brand.

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mc32
In the US many brands are Portuguese or Italian, unless you’re talking
strictly tuna, then yes, most are US brands.

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jriot
As a Cajun, it amuses me to read the comments. We'll boil up some crawfish,
break them in half, eat the meat, suck the head, chuck it, do it again.

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b06tmm
Amen - [https://imgur.com/Neh25YR](https://imgur.com/Neh25YR)!

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jriot
I left out a few instructions, good catch!

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Tomte
Fish always freaks me out, because I don't know how to handle it.

Take oil sardines with the starry eyes. Am I supposed to eat the sardine
whole, with head, eyes and tailfin? Am I supposed to bite the head off and
spit it out? Cut it off?

It's so basic and I feel like an idiot, but I really have no idea.

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yoz-y
A few years back I wrote this: [https://yozy.net/2012/11/smelly-
spread/](https://yozy.net/2012/11/smelly-spread/) and still do the same thing
all the time. Just mix the sardines with butter and onions, and smash it all
together with a fork. Oil, fins, heads...

~~~
dragosmocrii
Very nice and concise article! Loved the "mix furiously" part ))

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veddox
„The vast majority of tuna stocks are healthy and abundant“? I am highly
skeptical of that claim. Does anybody have any up-to-date, global numbers?

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alkonaut
Canned tuna is usually Skipjack, which is still considered sustainable in most
places vs the rate of fishing.

Many other species of Tuna are threatened.

So it’s hard to talk about “Tuna” as being threatened or not threatened as it
varies wildly.

The statement “the vast majority of tuna stocks are healthy” I guess could
mean anything. Are they healthy because the vast majority that are left now
that we fished out a few species are Skipjack?

It’s indeed a statement to be skeptical about. You can bend it to be trueish
while at the same time saying “the vast majority of tuna species are
threatened”. Glass half empty or half full.

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gweinberg
Did I miss something or was his only argument why we should eat it is that he
likes it? He says its not that bad for you, but it's not really good for you,
it's not that expensive, although it's far from cheap. it's not that gross
eating bones and eyeballs and shit after you get used to it, but it is until
then. None of these at all imply we should eat it.

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seanalltogether
As a kid my Dad introduced us to sardines while hiking. Friends always thought
my brother and I were crazy when cracking open a can at the summit of whatever
peak we just climbed, until they try one and realize that nothing else they
have packed for their own lunch will now satisfy their newfound craving for
oily fish. I don't know why, but it works.

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matsdb
In Norway, sandwiches with a spread of mackerel in tomato sauce is a
breakfast/lunch staple

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ifend
I recently discovered this and cannot get enough of it. I'm trying to find a
good place to purchase it (at a reasonable price) in the USA though. Damn
tasty!

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matsdb
I'm not sure what brands except King Oscar that sells abroad, but looks like
they sell in Walmart atleast [1]

[1] [https://www.kingoscar.com/where-to-buy/](https://www.kingoscar.com/where-
to-buy/)

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ifend
The one I've been eating is Stabbur-Makrell by Stabburet. It's Norwegian, and
delicious!

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Simulacra
I’m very worried about heavy metals, plastics, and chemicals too much to eat
any seafood.

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dcolkitt
The balance of the evidence indicates that the health benefits of fish
consumption, particularly omega-3 fats, far outweighs those concerns.

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James_Henry
I hate to be one of those people demanding sources, but I'm wondering where I
can find someone who's carefully weighed the evidence.

The article does mention that smaller fish often found canned are lower in the
food chain and thus have less mercury, but I would think that you'd have to
look carefully at each species, and the sourcing, and the packaging before you
could really say the health benefits are worth it.

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clSTophEjUdRanu
[https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fish/](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fish/)

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wink
healthy or not, how sustainable is the can itself? Let's assume you put it to
recycling, better or worse than plastic?

Also mostly per serving, not per gram. You can buy fish and meat without
packaging that weighs as much as a sardine can.

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fortran77
And fish in jars, too, like herring and sprats! I eat many of these each week.

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joshu
if you are high in triglycerides, no, you should not be eating fish packed in
oil.

