when poaching me, or use my skin as
a buffer between the heat and my flesh
when pan searing me, for a more deli-
cious result.) Few fish lend themselves
to such a variety of preparations: I can
be eaten pickled, smoked, roasted,
poached, grilled, or pan seared, and,
of course, I’m excellent raw.
On that last point, a doozy of a fish
story: The Japanese considered eating
raw salmon to be disgusting and un-
heard of until the 1990s. That’s when
enterprising Norwegians, scheming
to find a way to sell their surplus of
farmed salmon, persuaded Japanese
consumers to incorporate my raw
flesh into their sushi-eating customs.
That’s right: Your salmon-avocado roll
is in fact the product of a genius mar-
keting campaign out of Scandinavia.
Developments like this have done
wonders for my popularity, but with
unintended consequences. Some
farmers around the world looking to
cut corners give me too many anti-
biotics and feed that tends to leave
me with environmental toxins such as
dioxin and PCBs. Look for the Aquacul-
ture Stewardship Council (ASC) check
mark on packaging to make sure you’re
buying from an organization com-
mitted to farming me in a way that’s
healthier for you and the environment.
There’s another looming risk I should
mention. It’s to other fish. In 2017,
about 300,000 Atlantic salmon escaped
their pen in Washington State’s Puget
Sound. This caused concern that my
East Coast version might overtake
my West Coast version, endangering
my already fragile oceangoing popula-
tion. When in 2018 a fisherman caught
a live Atlantic salmon in Washington’s
Skagit River with a belly full of fish
bones, the worry increased: Was my
domesticated breed surviving out in
nature and threatening me in the wild?
The incident led to Washington’s
decision to phase out Atlantic salmon
farming by 2025. That’s an important
measure in my book. I’d like to stay
wild, and take a joyride on the open
road, for as long as I can.Kate Lowenstein is the editor-in-chief
of Vice’s health website, Tonic; Daniel
Gritzer is the culinary director of the
cooking site Serious Eats.A Fine Plan
It’s hard enough to get kids to put down their phones and read, so why
fine them for a late library book? In fact, some library systems now charge tardy
adults only; others have eliminated fees for everyone. In Los Angeles and
San Jose, kids earn a $5 credit toward their late fees for time spent reading in the
library. All they have to do is read a book or magazine—or even a comic book.
christian science monitorrd.com 55I Am the Food on Your Plate