Blog Post #3

     When you buy food from the supermarkets you most likely don't think about where the food has come from and what it took to get that food product on your plate. For the purpose of this blog post, I will be focusing on the production of salmon and kale. 

Part one: 

    Norway and Chile are the main producers of Salmon globally. Norway accounts for 37% of all salmon production and Chile accounts for 26% of all salmon production. 

    The salmon you eat is either wild-caught salmon or farm-raised. However, most salmon that you eat in restaurants or buy in supermarkets is farm-raised. Farm-raised salmon poses several environmental threats. In both Norway and Chile, the farm-raised salmon industry has grown increasingly fast over the years despite the environmental drawbacks. The chemical and nutrients found in the food that is used in the salmon farm pollute the water by decreasing the oxygen levels and therefore reducing the biodiversity. Along with biodiversity loss, salmon farms also alter the genetic diversity of the fish. Throughout the process of farm-raising salmon, the salmon are held in cages and many of them escape into the open water. Once the salmon have escaped there is a high probability that they will mate with the wild salmon altering the genetic diversity and spreading disease. Wild salmon does not go through the same production process as farm-raised salmon and therefore does not pose as many environmental impacts.  

(Here shows what a salmon farm looks like in the ocean) 

    Kale is mainly grown domestically and the main producers of Kale in the United States are California and Georgia. However, kale can grow in any place that has a cool fall growing season and is relatively easy to grow. Kale only requires 12 to 14 inches of water throughout the entire growing season. The production of kale is sustainable if grown organically, non-organic kale farming relies a lot on synthetic pesticides to grow such as DCPA. The pesticide DCPA can pollute the area in which it is being sprayed by contaminating ground and surface water. Not only can DCPA impact the local area but it can also "travel long distances in the atmosphere" (Temkin, 2022) causing problems in the surrounding area. 

Part 2: 

    Considering the main producers of salmon are Norway and Chile it takes more than a truck to get to us here in Wisconsin. Well boats are a very common way Salmon are transported since they are designed to help preserve the freshness of the fish. 

(Above is a picture of a Well Boat that is used in transporting fish such as salmon) 

    Kale is mainly transported in trailers. I would consider kale to be local since you can buy it at farmers' markets in Wisconsin, you do not see salmon at farmers' markets here. The salmon I purchase is mainly wrapped in plastic which is harmful to the environment since plastic takes an extremely long time to decompose. Kale however doesn't always come in any packaging. You can walk into the supermarket and buy a bushel of kale and chose not to wrap it in plastic therefore not really posing any environmental concerns. 

Sources: 

Graham , R. (2022, December 2). Farmed Salmon: Is It Bad for You and the Environment. Sentient Media. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://sentientmedia.org/farmed-salmon/#:~:text=Pollution%20from%20salmon%20farms%20is,reducing%20biodiversity%20in%20these%20habitats.

Temkin, A. (2022, April 7). More Than Half of Kale Samples Tainted by Possibly Cancer-Causing Pesticide. EWG's 2023 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce | Kale. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/kale.php#:~:text=Non%2Dorganic%20kale%20farming%20relies,%2C%20liver%2C%20kidney%20and%20thyroid.

Westenhiser, T. (2022, May 1). A food production wiki for public health professionals. Food Source Information. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://fsi.colostate.edu/kale-and-collard-greens/

Sáenz, J. (2022, December 1). Salmon production in the world: Current outlook - Veterinaria Digital. Vegetarian Digital. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.veterinariadigital.com/en/articulos/salmon-production-in-the-world-current-outlook/

(2014, December 5). Huon aquaculture welcomes new well-boat, a first in Australian. Huon Aquaculture. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.huonaqua.com.au/huon-aquaculture-welcome-new-well-boat-first-australian-aquaculture/

(n.d.) About Salmon Farming. Global Salmon Initiative. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://globalsalmoninitiative.org/en/about-salmon-farming/