Has Sushi Become Our Favourite Food?
Jamie Mah @grahammah
If it has, is this a good thing?
“…if ten years ago I would have suggested to launch global fast food that would be raw fish wrapped in black seaweed, people would have said, “that’s crazy, that’s impossible.” But that’s exactly what happened. When one thinks of globalization, one thinks of McDonald’s becoming the common homogeneous American food around the world. But there you have sushi, which is this improbable food that is now becoming a global type of fast food.” — Moises Naim, interview for PBS on “The Globalization of Sushi: The Interconnected World”
I’m going to be honest here, I love eating sushi. I mean, I really do. It’s absolutely delicious. But let’s talk about sushi shall we.
Sushi’s popularity is undeniable, and it’s rise as one of our top foods now rivals, if not surpasses, that of burgers and pizza. To put it bluntly, we’ve become a full fledged sushi loving society.
But, unlike eating a tomato or a raspberry, which can be grown and re-grown each season, has our love of fresh fish served on a bed of vinegar’d rice gone a bit too far?
I ask this question because I’ve seen first hand how much people enjoy sushi. I’ve worked in two sushi restaurants and both delivered excellent food and both we’re extremely busy. But, at what cost? Salmon and tuna are by far the dominant players in the sushi game. Their depletion due to commercial over fishing has been reported and talked about for some time now. I know this. So do you. Yet, we continue to storm into sushi joint after sushi joint like it’s no big deal. Why is that?
As I lament the sad state of affairs of the human race — that is, our ability to turn a blind eye to pretty much anything so long as we profit from it — I’d like to look at this sushi dilemma from both sides of the coin. On one side, I’d like to examine the pros for eating sushi, such as: it’s obvious health benefits, it’s reach within the economy (especially here in Vancouver) and the positive initiatives being done to help foster it’s sustainability (i.e. OceanWise). But I’d also like to look at it’s flip side: how sushi’s exponential growth has helped fuel the demise of fish stocks and how this affects our economy and environment in a negative way, as well as the part sushi has played in the growth of fish farms and their impact on local ecosystems.
As I examine both sides of this coin I urge you to keep an open mind. Whether you’re for or against eating sushi, it’s global rise as a dominant food cuisine has brought with it much debate. How this conversation unfolds over the ensuing years will, I believe, set the stage for how sushi is consumed in future generations. If our fish populations collapse, as this article posits, then how do we recover? Or will we? In either case, let’s take a look and see what some of our options are.
Breaking down sushi into it’s component parts we see that there are many positive benefits to eating a diet rich in raw fish, wasabi, nori and rice. As per Cindy Hsin-I Feng’s study, ‘The Tale of Sushi: History and Regulations’, she cites the following:
proven health benefits for the heart and immune system
wasabi is rich in beta-carotenes, glucosinolates, and a range of isothiocyanates, which have antibacterial properties and help mitigate microbial elements or latent pathogens
wasabi helps reduce excess mucus in the chest and nasal cavities that sometimes aggravate asthma conditions
seaweed contains high amounts of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, iodine, and sodium
seaweed’s predominant health benefits is its ability to remove radioactive strontium and other heavy metals from the human body
The FDA has also stated the following: “…a qualified health claim for reduced risk of coronary heart disease for conventional foods that contain eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), both omega-3 fatty acids, typically contained in oily fish such as herring, tuna, lake trout, and salmon.”
The component benefits are there. A diet dense in high proteins, healthy fats, beta-carotenes and minerals carries with it the allure for many diet-conscious individuals. The fact that sushi is delicious is even more enticing. Eating a sushi rich diet is good for you — science backs it up.
However, lets also not forget this little fact: the average life expectancy of someone from Japan is the highest in the world at 83.7 years according to the the World Health Organization, which published these findings earlier this year. In the US, average life expectancy is 79.3 years, while here in Canada that statistic sits at 82.15.
Now, I understand a lot of factors go into these results, namely: genetics, lifestyle. and social issues. However, I will suggest that diet plays a large role, one I personally believe is more important than many would expect. As the saying goes, “you are what you eat”, and the Japanese eat a lot of sushi, hence they’re seen as, and are, a healthy society. Sushi’s healthy perception therefore, is a positive benefit and thus must be accepted for its global rise in popularity.
From a micro economic view, here in Metro Vancouver we currently have over 600+ sushi restaurants. For an area of approximately 3–4 million people, that’s a lot of sushi consumption, and it’s no surprise to see why. As a port city, and one easily accessible to Japan, our multicultural diversity has helped foster and support a burgeoning economy of sushi fanatics. Add to that our access to high quality fish and the results speak for themselves.
The obvious economic reach here comes in the form of work. Jobs for fisherman, hospitality (chefs, servers, etc.) and construction. Many of these individuals run small businesses who depend on our love of the California roll. Sushi’s economic benefits are enormous. Taking this away is not an option. But staying on the track we’re currently on shouldn’t be one either. Hold that thought.
With regards to sustainability, Oceanwise is a not-for-profit run by the Vancouver Aquarium. The tag line on its website reads as follows: “Ensuring Healthy Oceans for Generations to Come.” It’s a pretty bold statement coming from a local conservation organization. I commend them on their stated efforts. However, regardless of their success rate, their platform — to raise awareness of the global seafood epidemic we all face — is one worth pursuing even in the face of insurmountable odds.
Their efforts with regards to fish supply and consumption are focused primarily on 4 criteria: the following comes from their website
Abundant and resilient to fishing pressures.
Well managed with a comprehensive management plan based on current research.
Harvested in a method that ensures limited bycatch on non-target and endangered species.
Harvested in ways that limit damage to marine or aquatic habitats and negative interactions with other species.
If compliance to these four standards is something all restaurants and suppliers aim to do, then we’re in good hands. But a closer look at some of the partners mentioned on the OceanWise website reveals the shortcomings in their reach. Of their over 700+ restaurant partners only 16 by my count, in Vancouver are from Sushi restaurants. 16!!!!!!!!!!
Cue John Oliver…HOLY SHIT!!!!
That’s a small number.
Now let’s say I missed another 10, and we bring the count up to 26, even that leaves a huge gap in how many sushi restaurants there are versus those who are sourcing their fish responsibly through OceanWise. Now to be fair, a few could be doing their own bit of OceanWise sourcing, but I doubt it’s any more than 5 tops. Invariably, this should leave a bad taste in your mouth knowing that everyday we continue to eat from unsustainable sushi restaurants.
Again a lot of the onus is on us, the consumer, as we’re the ones clamoring for certain fish, like tuna and salmon when in a way we probably shouldn’t. So in a weird way blaming restaurateurs, many of whom are small businesses trying to make a buck and stay alive in this extremely expensive city, would be unfair. As most companies do in a capitalist society, you do whatever is necessary to stay afloat, even if that means cutting corners or offering a product that isn’t ideal in terms of sustainability and environmentalism. As former NBA player turned ESPN analyst Jalen Rose would have you say. “GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!”
So in all fairness most of the blame (fish depletion, farmed fish) should land on us. We want tuna and salmon, so we’ll get tuna and salmon, and we’re okay with turning a blind eye to everything that happens before we take that first bite. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Education can shine a light on issues that many of us don’t realize are problematic.
With regards to OceanWise, they’re a local organization and even though they’ve recently expanded their scope, this problem of seafood sustainability is a global issue, one we all share. Full global co-operation is necessary to move on. But getting every nation on board is kind of a big task and many individuals and countries prefer the status quo.
The Japanese love tuna, Bluefin in particular, and it’s part of their culture and heritage, so asking them to all of a sudden change how they eat and what they eat is, well, asking a lot. Much in the way a nation can elect a black president one day, a move of proper progressiveness, then go in the complete (racist, shitty, holy hell what have we done?) opposite direction a few years later showcases how change is slow for many and is never in a straight line.
Even when looking at the global issue of high seas fishing, how it’s done, the damage to fish stocks it causes and the sheer amount of over fishing, what we see is a tremendously difficult issue many feel is impossible to contain, as many sides see the issue in drastically different ways.
“Just as the industrialized countries are starting to realize the need for more sensible management of the high seas, developing countries are heading in the opposite direction. “Developing countries firmly believe they have a right to expand their fisheries and that developed countries should reduce their fishing effort to compensate.” — Ziro Suzuki
The issue extends even further once the problematic, exclusive economic zones or E.E.Z. of coastal countries become free access to those who fish outside of 200 miles from a countries coastline. The rise in E.E.Z fishing has grown by up to 700% according to the Sea Around Us project of the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Center. And a vast majority of this growth has been fueled predominantly by tuna consumption. A lot of this is completed by the fishing technique of purse seining in which fish are essentially trapped in a big purse like net.
In catching fish, more specifically tuna, this way, fisherman can either sell the fish as is or bring them to fish farms for further growth. This practice is nowhere illegal, but it does and can have harmful consequences. Bycatch is a problem and depletion of an entire school of fish in one fell swoop (no pun intended) is the other. Unlike mackeral, which tend to swim tightly together and are thus more easily catchable with the use of purse seining, tuna tend to swim with other tuna. Skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin can often be found together, creating a problem when trying to selectively source out which fish are intended to be caught. Add to that the bycatch of sharks, rays, dolphins, turtles, etc…that are caught, and the whole system can become a mess rather quickly.
This eventually leads to the whole fish farm issue. Is it good for the environment? How healthy are the fish? Do they taste the same? All these questions have been posed by many and regardless of where you land on this topic, being for or against farmed fish isn’t going to make it go away. Much in the way we selectively chose to rear certain animals for consumption, most notably cows, pigs, chicken and turkeys, we’re now in a world where, for economic reasons, doing the same with our seafood has not only become a viable option but in a way, a necessary one. The consequences are dire, and I urge you to watch this little film to see for yourself how bad it can be. But again, in very much the same way Food Inc. caused many of us to flee from eating meat, documentaries like this one could sway you — but for most of us, it won’t.
So what do we do about this problem?
The issue at hand is simple. We love sushi and we love eating certain types of fish, most specifically tuna and salmon. Since a large majority of both now come from fish farms or are on the endangered list (ie. BlueFin Tuna) we can either choose to ignore the problem or change our eating habits and preferences. It’s that simple. Embarking on a Green Peace style attack isn’t what most of us want or can do. We have other things to worry about. But again, I have a problem with their form of protest. Yes, pirate fisherman and overfishing practices need to be halted, but doing harm to people who are just trying to make a living isn’t going to solve the issue.
It starts with us.
Education and responsibility can go a long way towards rectifying most situations.
For me personally, I say eat away at your local favourite sushi joint. Go often. But just try to make smarter choices. Ask questions. Where is their fish sourced? Look on endangered lists. See which fish you should and probably shouldn't consume. Try newer options. Eat salmon and tuna but maybe not every time. The system is built for us. We demand, they provide. The potential for change lies with us.
Sushi, in my opinion, has definitely become one of, if not our favourite food. Understanding the system around it’s consumption will go a long way towards maintaining its status quo.