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Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

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Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#3
> BlueNalu is not looking to replace wild-caught or farm-raised seafood, but is aiming to become a third alternative for seafood eaters.

Since they are targeting “fish that cannot be easily farmed”, the whiff I get from this idea is akin to synthetic diamonds. This lab grown fish is an alternative to the rare and high-end fish that is harder (and more expensive) to get.

This is not a cheap replacement for standard consumers buying filets at the grocery store for weeknight dinners, but a niche offer for chefs and clientele wanting the experience of eating particular fish cuisine.

It would be disingenuous to say this is going to save the oceans. Fish are useful to the environment and it would be better if their populations rose, as overfishing is causing massive oceanic destruction.

Comparing this kind of lab grown fish to lab grown beef is actually an inverse comparison because a central point of lab grown beef is addressing the issue (and environmental impact) of humans farming too many cows for beef, whereas with fish we have the opposite problem where humans have decimated the populations so much we actually need to lift fish populations.

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#4
I have a sinking feeling this kind of synthetic food production is just a bait for health-wary consumers. After reeling in enough customers, lab-grown fish produced for profit will inevitably have to deteriorate in quality to maintain/increase revenue. Can this kind of endeavor scale? Can it be introduced to schools, for example? I'm sure some consumers will swallow the idea hook, line and sinker but I see it as just another cool concept in an ocean filled with bottom-feeders.

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#5

I have a sinking feeling this kind of synthetic food production is just a bait for health-wary consumers. After reeling in enough customers, lab-grown fish produced for profit will inevitably have to deteriorate in quality to maintain/increase revenue. Can this kind of endeavor scale? Can it be introduced to schools, for example? I'm sure some consumers will swallow the idea hook, line and sinker but I see it as just…

Well they're not suddenly going to gain in mercury content or anything so I'd expect they'll always have an edge in health.

Also, 11/10 with the fishy idioms. :)

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#6
Indoor fish farming seems like a much more practical approach to solve the problems inherent in catching wild fish to eat (and the pollution that outdoor fish farms cause), and a much more logical next step for seafood than lab-grown muscle tissue.

Lab-meat makes most sense for beef, which is an incredibly inefficient and habitat-destroying food source, and is also often served in a processed form anyway, ie as minced-beef in burgers, bolognese, sausages, etc, etc.

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#7
post #6

Indoor fish farming seems like a much more practical approach to solve the problems inherent in catching wild fish to eat (and the pollution that outdoor fish farms cause), and a much more logical next step for seafood than lab-grown muscle tissue. Lab-meat makes most sense for beef, which is an incredibly inefficient and habitat-destroying food source, and is also often served in a processed form anyway, ie as mince…

Many fish (Tuna being a prime example) can't be farmed. There's also a notable decrease in health and nutritional content of farmed fish.

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#8
post #6

Indoor fish farming seems like a much more practical approach to solve the problems inherent in catching wild fish to eat (and the pollution that outdoor fish farms cause), and a much more logical next step for seafood than lab-grown muscle tissue. Lab-meat makes most sense for beef, which is an incredibly inefficient and habitat-destroying food source, and is also often served in a processed form anyway, ie as mince…

Many fish (Tuna being a prime example) can't be farmed. There's also a notable decrease in health and nutritional content of farmed fish.

Currently, perhaps, but many advances are being made.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-future-of-fis...

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#9
The Marine Conservation Society (MSC) has an excellent Good Fish Guide if you want to find out which fish are overfished:

"Use the Good Fish Guide to find out which fish are the most sustainable (Green rated), and which are the least sustainable (Red rated)."

https://www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/search

In the UK, supermarkets display the MSC logo on frozen fish products to indicate the fish is sustainably sourced. They did a recent Good Fish Fingers guide for 2018 (UK only):

https://www.mcsuk.org/responsible-seafood/fish-finger-guide

Re: Seafood Without the Sea: Will Lab-Grown Fish Hook Consumers?

#10

I have a sinking feeling this kind of synthetic food production is just a bait for health-wary consumers. After reeling in enough customers, lab-grown fish produced for profit will inevitably have to deteriorate in quality to maintain/increase revenue. Can this kind of endeavor scale? Can it be introduced to schools, for example? I'm sure some consumers will swallow the idea hook, line and sinker but I see it as just…

I sea what you did there.
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