"Farmed and Dangerous"

"Farmed" salmon can be dangerous to one's health.  Just one meal a month poses a high cancer risk.

Farmed or "pen-reared" salmon (usually marketed as Atlantic salmon but sometimes as Canadian king salmon) has generated front page news in the Washington Post because it contains cancer-causing contaminants (PCBs and dioxins) in dangerous amounts.  These are present in levels sufficient to pose an "unacceptable cancer risk" from eating only one 8 oz. portion per month, according to a peer reviewed study by Dr. David O. Carpenter and his team of scientists as published in "Science" (1/9/04) the Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).   The source of the contaminants is in the feed given to the salmon in their net pens.  European farmed salmon had the highest levels, those from South America had the lowest and those from major U.S. markets, including Washington, D.C., had moderately high levels.  For more specific information on the dangers of eating "farmed" salmon (also marketed as "organic" salmon) and its multiple problems (including escapees, disease and parasite transmission to wild populations, and habitat degradation), click here. 

Farmed salmon also has to be artificially colored (otherwise it would be gray).  In contrast, wild salmon tastes superb and is the best source of protein one can find.

Wild salmon spend their whole adult lives in the pristine waters of the North Pacific.  Here they feed on natural prey including shrimp and krill (which look like small pink shrimp) and whose pink color is derived from eating algae containing carotenes (canthaxanthin and astaxanthin).  When eaten by the wild salmon their pigments are incorporated into the salmon's flesh giving it its distinctive coloration.  Sockeye salmon eat higher percentages of shrimp and krill and so are darker red than king and coho salmon whose diet includes large amounts of fish and squid. 

Wild fish need no artificial coloring.  They are the epitome of perfection in terms of appearance, nutritional value and flavor. In contrast to farm raised salmon, eating a diet centered around wild salmon and the other Alaskan seafood we provide can reduce your risk of heart disease by 75% and extend your life expectancy by years.  For details, see our Health Benefits link below.

Many suppliers are apparently misrepresenting farm-raised salmon as wild.  The New York Times reported on April 10, 2005, that only one of 8 stores in New York was actually selling wild salmon according to scientific testing of the products' pigment levels (farm-raised salmon needs to be fed dyes to color them pink).  For the story, go here.

Most restaurants in the Washington area, including many of the most recognizable, routinely serve farm-raised salmon because it is so cheap. Ask the server if their salmon is farm-raised.  If customers were to inform the chef that they eat only wild salmon and don't order farm-raised salmon because of its cancer risk, this practice might end soon.  The same can be said for seafood market managers. ( I have yet to find a seafood market not selling farmed salmon.)  Use your consumer power to become an active force for change (also see What Seafood Should Not be Served?).  Let them know you don't buy or eat farm-raised salmon because it is dangerous.