An interview with a food sociologist, and Sustainable Fishing

Only when the last tree has died
and the last river been poisoned
and the last fish been caught
will we realize we cannot eat money

~ Cree Proverb

I began on this link with an excellent interview with food sociologist Mark Kurlansky. Mark's own webpage can be viewed here and I have to say that, as a parent of children who enjoy both food and graphic novels, I am very excited about his newly-published book, A World Without Fish.

Sustainable fishing is just one topic where food sociology intersects with environmental sociology. According to this article from Science Daily, "Seafood is a significant source of protein for nearly 3 billion people and is the planet's most highly traded food commodity, contributing to the livelihoods of more than 560 million people. But a lack of coordinated policy threatens global seafood supplies."

From an economist's standpoint, Martin D. Smith and colleagues at Duke University propose that foreign aid geared specifically toward sustainable fishing practices will help address the problems that have been caused by years of overfishing, without also putting people out of work who are already in desperate need.

For more information on sustainable fishing, check out this TED talk from Dan Barber, called "How I fell in love with a fish:

A short article from the Natural Resources Defense Council about the merits of sustainable fishing can be found here, as well as a list of recipes made with sustainably-raised fish.