The title of this post comes from a recent Baltimore Sun article called “Seafood that’s sea-friendly.” The piece goes on to say that customers are increasingly asking their grocery store fish mongers if the seafood offered above the beds of ice are caught by means that waste not. The article notes that environmental activist organization Greenspeace has a scorecard for sustainable seafood. At its website, the opening sentence is: “Supermarkets are one of our strongest connections to the oceans.”  Without context, this assertion seems a bit overplayed?

The writer claims  that there’s a growing realization among 17 of the top grocer retailers in North America that seafood harvesting and wholesale delivery procedures can threaten supply. These retailers are now working with NGOs advocating for sustainable seafood.  Among those NGOs are SeaChoice and the David Suzuki Foundation. (Upon seeing Suzuki’s picture, I immediately recalled “The Karate Kid” and Pat Morita.  Upon closer examination, they don’t look all that alike.) Another voice is the organization Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions.

When visiting a WWF website, this particularly caught my eye: “We haven’t had a healthy relationship with our oceans for a long time. There are hundreds of available commercial species, and yet we choose to eat only a handful of them,” said Chef Ned Bell, Executive Chef at the Four Seasons in Vancouver. “We simply can’t have healthy people without healthy oceans – people can’t be any healthier than the environment their food comes from.” 

The other day I was at the Safeway looking to buy farm-raised salmon for dinner. I asked where the fish came from, expecting to hear about some seafood farm in the West. Nope. The fresh farm-raised salmon I was buying came from Chile. Woah. What a carbon footprint on that purchase! What’s more, consider this- Seven Reasons to Avoid Farm Raised Salmon. Say it isn’t so. I have heard about coloring used, but seafood lice? All that said, wild salmon is whole ‘nother paycheck!

I do eat a good share of sardines. They are inexpensive and a fine source of protein and other good things. When on my own for dinner, I sometimes make a steaming bowl of Couscous and mix in the contents of a tin of sardines as the entree, occasionally adding some kind of mustard. Salad side.

BTW, I’ve blogged previously about sustainable foods.  Put those words in the search here box, upper right corner, if you didn’t see them.

In Sundry Department-  

Speaking of the movie “The Karate Kid,” if you’ve never watched it on DVD or stream since it first came to the theaters in 1984, or have never seen it period–you must! No matter what!  Your age/generation? No matter!  There’s a discipline about it anyone might appreciate. Here’s Marita with co-star Ralph Macchio.

While on the subject of movies, how ’bout some movie trivia to end this post? Know who this dude is? Two hints.

First hint: He played Dak Ralter, a starfighter pilot, in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and uttered the well-know line to Luke Skywalker: “Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself.”  He also appeared in “Superman II” as astronaut Nate and as the airline pilot in “Flash Gordon.”

Second hint. He usually attends the 9am Sunday service at St. Margaret’s and often serves as an usher.