Here Are the Benefits of Farm-Raised vs Wild-Caught Salmon
by Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD
Updated: May 05, 2021
Seafood is a wonderful addition to your menu, but there are misconceptions about the healthfulness of farm-raised vs wild-caught salmon. Here's what you need to know.
Choosing between farm-raised vs wild-caught salmon
You know salmon is good for you. But when it comes time to choose at the grocery store, it can be overwhelming.
There are a variety of types to choose from, and the advantages and disadvantages are often hotly debated.
How can you tell which is better for your health (and the health of the planet)? Should you eat farmed-raised salmon or wild-caught?
All food production requires resources that put pressure on the environment, explains Richard Waite, a senior research associate for the food program at World Research Institute.
To keep up with the increased interest in seafood while also being efficient with resources, fish farming is a necessity.
According to Waite, both farm-raised and wild-caught fish can be sustainable options. And, he says, by choosing seafood over beef, you’re already reducing your environmental impact since seafood requires fewer resources to produce compared to some other animal proteins, like red meat.
(Here’s a list of the best omega-3 rich fish.)
How much seafood should you eat?
Whether or not seafood is wild-caught or farm-raised, the latest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating 8- ounces—about two servings—of seafood each week. According to a 2020 study published in the journal, Nutrients, these are the top five types of seafood consumed in the United States:
> Shrimp
> Salmon
> Canned tuna
> Catfish
> Tilapia
When eating wild-caught or farm-raised salmon, you may notice a difference in taste.
Farm-raised salmon is higher in fat, it’s richer and milder. Wild- caught salmon is known for having a ‘fishy’ flavor, but this is due to it being leaner. Many people appreciate its more robust taste.
If you have a preference for one over the other, consider that when shopping, and look for sustainable seafood whichever you buy.
While salmon is incredibly healthy and rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, it’s important to vary your seafood choices.
Make it a goal to try another seafood option in addition to salmon to help you hit your seafood targets.
Fresh fish fillets for sale in seafood store
KALI9/GETTY IMAGES
Nutritional differences between farmed-raised vs wild-caught salmon
#1: ghostdogtxn To: BTP Holdings (#0)
ghostdogtxn posted on 2021-12-28 06:30:08 Reply Private Reply
#2: BTP Holdings To: ghostdogtxn (#1)
It has a more robust flavor. Plus I have some Herbs deProvence to fry it up. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-28 06:35:38 Reply Private Reply
#3: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#0)
For us, not those poor creatures.
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-28 08:11:00 Reply Private Reply
#4: ghostdogtxn To: BTP Holdings (#2)
ghostdogtxn posted on 2021-12-29 08:34:19 Reply Private Reply
#5: BTP Holdings To: NeoconsNailed (#3)
NN, fish are cold blooded. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-29 16:43:33 Reply Private Reply
#6: BTP Holdings To: ghostdogtxn (#4)
It sounds a bit interesting, sort of a blackened Salmon type dish maybe? ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-29 16:45:55 Reply Private Reply
#7: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#5)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-29 16:49:20 Reply Private Reply
#8: BTP Holdings To: NeoconsNailed (#7)
Can you imagine of the Chinkernese did several air bursts of a nuclear weapons over the U.S.?
If the power grid went down there would be people out of food quickly since everything frozen would spoil. And then there are refrigerated things such as milk and cheese.
When power went out here for 36 hours, Wal Mart had to put all of their refrigerated items in reefer trucks to minimize the loss. Some of my neighbors lost food also. I kept the freezer door shut. Small refrigerator did defrost which it needed anyway. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-29 17:09:28 Reply Private Reply
#9: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#8)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-29 19:30:40 Reply Private Reply
#10: StraitGate To: BTP Holdings, Texans (#8)
Good fajitas in Texas.
StraitGate posted on 2021-12-29 20:07:56 Reply Private Reply
#11: BTP Holdings To: NeoconsNailed (#9)
Refrigerated trailers. They had reefer units in the nose. When we loaded those trailers they would put one pallet in the nose because of the added weight of the reefer unit. Dry vans you could put two pallets in nose. I have driven both types of trailers.
One time when out east, I picked up a load of Maurice Lennel cookies. They were on slip sheets which are really heavily padded paper sheets and they use a special fork lift with a metal plate to load them. I had to inspect the inside of trailer for nails since they would tear the slip sheets and damage the product. I found a few and had Vise Grips to pull them out. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-29 20:37:41 Reply Private Reply
#12: BTP Holdings To: StraitGate (#10)
I had some good beef fajitas at a Mexican restaurant here in SW Missouri. It has since changed names twice. Not sure what it is called now. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-29 20:40:06 Reply Private Reply
#13: ghostdogtxn To: BTP Holdings (#6)
ghostdogtxn posted on 2021-12-29 21:14:58 Reply Private Reply
#14: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#12)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-29 21:39:51 Reply Private Reply
#15: Lod To: NeoconsNailed (#14)
Lod posted on 2021-12-29 21:50:12 Reply Private Reply
#16: NeoconsNailed To: Lod (#15)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-29 23:01:18 Reply Private Reply
#17: BTP Holdings To: NeoconsNailed (#7)
Nah, their brains are too small for that. They just feed and spawn at the proper time of year in headwaters of what ever river they were hatched. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-30 19:14:52 Reply Private Reply
#18: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#17)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-30 22:30:10 Reply Private Reply
#19: BTP Holdings To: NeoconsNailed (#18)
Not too sure.
But I do know that when the Hydrogen bomb was first tested, it weighed in at 35 tons. This was much too heavy for an airplane at the time.
It was tested on Bikini Atoll. Needless to say there is not much left of that atoll today. ;)
BTP Holdings posted on 2021-12-31 13:58:53 Reply Private Reply
#20: NeoconsNailed To: BTP Holdings (#19)
NeoconsNailed posted on 2021-12-31 16:26:52 Reply Private Reply