Yesterday I visited Whole Foods to get some fish for dinner. The selections at first seemed to hold some potential. There was frozen halibut––but it was flat, yellow, and thin. Let’s see . . . four types of salmon. All farmed raised, except for the frozen wild coho salmon. I could settle for that––but it looked as though it lacked luster and fat and all the freshness I was looking for in a piece of fish.

At first salmon seems like a good choice. Salmon is recommended as a great source of protein, loaded with good nutrients, and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association suggests consuming at least two servings of fish a week. But rarely do they recommend the kind of fish you should eat, or warn of the dangers of farm-raised fish. And not all farm-raised fish is the same, so it becomes a major challenge navigating the fish counter.

Wild salmon is an endangered species, no longer a part of our rivers’ habitat because of overfishing, polluted waterways, habitat destruction, and of course climate change. But it is the healthiest fish to eat. Wild-caught is more nutritionally dense than farm-raised salmon and contains up to three times less fat, fewer calories, and more vitamins and minerals like B12, iron, and potassium.

Wild salmon eat organisms found in their natural environment, while farmed salmon are given a processed, high-fat, high-protein diet to make them larger. That vibrant pink hue of farmed salmon is a byproduct of supplements added to the fish feed to mimic the food that wild salmon eat. Atlantic farmed salmon is actually a milky gray color without these additives.

Using giant floating feedlots on the ocean, the $20-billion-a-year farmed salmon industry has made farmed salmon the world’s fastest growing food product and the most popular fish on dinner tables in North America. Farmed salmon is destroying marine ecosystems, through pollution, parasites, and high fish mortality rates, costing billions of pounds a year in damage. A description of the life of farmed salmon is downright disgusting, including lice, disease, and toxic waste.

Wild fish stocks are threatened and depleted in order to feed Western consumption of farmed fish. This is occurring both in the poor countries of West Africa and in the wealthier countries of Norway and Scotland. Even fish like sardines, usually canned, are now heavily overfished for this purpose.

A report by the Netherlands-based Changing Markets Foundation followed fishmeal and fish-oil supply chains “from fishery to fork.” Every year, nearly one-fifth of the world’s wild-caught fish are dried, pressed, and ground into oil and meal, which is then fed to farmed fish for food or for supplements such as fish oil for people to consume.

When I go to the store to buy fish, all this information floods my brain and makes me lose my appetite. It’s depressing, and sometimes I wonder, why bother? Yesterday I almost settled for cod, though in my heart of hearts I knew it was not fished by a small fisherman, but instead most likely off a huge ship using gill nets, bottom trawlers, or log lines, which kill hundreds of pounds of unwanted fish. That too is a bad practice.

Fresh and wild-caught cod from Norway, at $12.99 a pound, seemed the best choice. I had the guy behind the counter weigh it out for me, but the price and the fact that it was shipped from Norway bothered me. All that energy in shipping to get me a piece of fish––it seemed like I could do better. I don’t want to contribute to global warming. Wild-caught seafood is often the best choice, but the fuel used by diesel-powered fishing vessels contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Then, once the fish is caught, it is shipped to distribution centers, which means more emissions.

Then I noticed squid, wild caught from New England. Okay, that seemed safe enough, most likely caught off a huge trawler off the coast, but isn’t it closest to home? Squid is super healthy, it probably has the smallest footprint on the impact on the environment, and yes it is frozen, but it certainly is one of the most popular fish served in restaurants these days. Who doesn’t love lightly sauteed squid tossed with arugula and lemon juice? 

Once home, I began thinking of all the ways one could serve squid.  There are so many easy ways to prepare it that even a non culinary person could manage cooking this fish.

I am also planning our trips to the Azores and Croatia this fall, and I have a pile of cookbooks from each country sitting on my desk. Both countries offer a bunch of ideas for cooking squid, and lo and behold, they are no different from how I would cook it here in New England. And, when John Bagnulo and I teach healthy lifestyle in Vermont in October, we will also be serving squid.

So, long story to get to cooking squid––I decided to create a FREE cooking class this month highlighting squid! Yes, it’s free when you sign up for my newsletter, and yes, I know you are already subscribed, but maybe you know one person to share my newsletters with, or maybe one person who wants a free cooking lesson? It will be recorded and available so you can watch it at your leisure. I will be teaching how to buy, clean, sauté, grill, roast, and stuff squid. So come along! Or just sign up to come to Croatia or the Azores (or both), and/or join John Bagnulo and me in October in Vermont, where we will hike and cook and learn about healthy habits.

-Jan