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Ocean Friendly CuisineMaking thoughtful choices at the supermarket and restaurant can help sustain our marine environment.By Patricia KutzaThanks to advances in refrigeration and transportation around the globe, folks have many seafood choices when they dine out or prepare a meal at home. Thanks also to concerned citizens throughout the world there is a growing awareness that the choices we make about this seafood has short and long term consequences for our quality of life.
And if I wanted to learn about the habitat of crayfish, red sea urchin, wreckfish or opah, this book is an excellent source. Its real strength, however, is its real-life, this-is-where-its-at commentary on the likelihood of a variety of species to survive with the current rate of commercial fishing. Not all habitats created equal, the reality is that some of the seafood we crave are threatened or nearing extinction unless there is a conscious effort to limit consumption by legislation and alterations to the current fishing techniques. This book makes no bones about it: globally based legislation to decrease overconsumption is a viable option but is restricted by local culture and politics. This is also true of efforts to change the way seafood is harvested. Ocean Friendly Cuisine offers yet another option: that citizens of this world have the power to make a difference by acting responsibly. Acting responsibly is largely a measure of having enough information to make choices. This cookbook features those species of seafood that, due to harvesting techniques and natural abundance, stand the best chance of surviving for future generations to enjoy. The author describes the Seafood Watch Program initiated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources. A very useful grid shows 3 categories of seafood: Best Choice, those fish, such as farmed oysters, sturgeon and rainbow trout, that are plentiful, Good Alternatives, such as pollock, blue crab and squid and Avoid, seafood such as grouper, bluefin tuna and cod (Atlantic Ocean) that are overfished and, barring a reversal of fortune, destined for extinction. Cooks and diners alike can use this handy chart to make smart choices when they buy seafood in the marketplace or in a restaurant. A fun way in a gorgeous setting to learn even further about the sustainable seafood movement and eat some great cuisine is to attend Cooking for Solutions 2005, held at the Monterey Bay Aquarium May 20-21. For the fourth year in a row, 14 of the world’s most renowned chefs will prepare feasts using sustainable seafood, organic ingredients and sustainable/organic wine. Special guests this year include television celebrity chef, Martin Yan and actor/writer John Cleese. For more information: Ocean Friendly Cuisine. Sustainable Seafood Recipes
from the World’s Finest Chefs Seafood Watch pocket guides downloadable at: www.seafoodwatch.org Cooking for Solutions, 2005 For an event brochure, email events@mbayaq.org |
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I was reminded of this fact recently when I discovered the
cookbook, Ocean Friendly Cuisine. Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the World’s
Finest Chefs. It’s a cookbook, seafood encyclopedia and environmental primer,
all rolled into one. Open any of its 229 pages and gorgeous photographs of
appetizing seafood invite you to try the recipes. In this regard, it reads like
many other attractive cookbooks that can reside as comfortably on a coffee table
as in your kitchen bookcase.