7 Recipes for Safe, Eco-Friendly Fish Dinners

TheDailyGreen.com

Anyone who pays attention to health knows fish are a perennial favorite -- rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, lean and -- if one's tastes allow -- delicious.

But anyone who pays attention to health probably also knows that choosing the most healthful fish means making a careful selection. Why? Pollution from factories and power plants have contaminated many fish -- particularly some of the most popular species, like tuna, that are predators. Fish at the top of the food chain consume all the contaminants accumulated by those fish lower down on the chain, and because many contaminants -- mercury and PCBs being the most common and concerning -- aren't excreted, they build up in the fats of the fish.

Mercury and PCBs both can lead to permanent learning damage if fetuses or infants are exposed at the wrong stage of their development. And both chemicals have been linked to a range of other health problems, including cancer and reproductive problems.

And chemical contamination is only part of the environmental story, when it comes to fish. Overfishing -- along with habitat destruction, acidification, pollution and global warming -- could threaten, by mid-century, the commercial viability of as many as half of the species commonly consumed today. In other words - those fish that you eat today may not even be for sale tomorrow.

All of which means consumers need to know what they are buying when they shop for dinner. But it also means the choice can be bewildering -- frozen or fresh? farmed or wild? Atlantic or Pacific? and which species?

Luckily, the Environmental Defense Fund has been working on this issue for years, and publishes a handy Seafood Selector (you can print a pocket-sized card and carry it with you).

True to form with this fraught food choice, even that doesn't get many consumers to the goal. At least, not for those who want to eat something other than sardine sandwiches. Or anchovies ... (Both of which are rich in Omega-3 fats and low in contaminants, if not widely popular for dinner.)

The Daily Green has compiled seven recipes with seven fish that meet every test. These fish are

  1. Healthy: Each fish is low in contaminants.

  2. Eco-friendly: Each fish or shellfish is fished or farmed sustainably.

  3. Tasty: None of these recipes will challenge the palate.


Click here for the complete list of 7 Healthy, Delicious Eco-Friendly Fish. Or click directly to these delicious recipes:

  1. Catfish Sloppy Joes

  2. Oil-Poached Pacific Halibut with Gribiche and Poached Eggs

  3. Greek Lasagna Toss with Tomatoes, U.S. Farmed Shrimp & Feta

  4. U.S. Farmed Shrimp and Tilapia Burgers

  5. U.S. Farmed Shrimp Spring Rolls and Lettuce Wraps

  6. Farmed U.S. Trout with Beet-Horseradish Yogurt Sauce and Green Garlic Oil

  7. Farmed Striped Bass with Lemons, White Wine and Capers

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