Trying to eat a sustainable diet can seem like an impossible task. Especially with all of the doomsday talk you hear about the sad state of affairs in regards to our environment. The good news is; I have some good news for you! All is not lost.  As it turns out, one of my favorite sources of animal protein is shaping up to be one of the most sustainable choices out there.

Shellfish, although surrounded by some controversy, is actually one of your best options. Along with being a decadent choice, farmed shellfish (bivalves especially) have one of the greenest carbon footprints. Wild shellfish are often farmed using highly disruptive methods to the surrounding wildlife. Generally speaking trawlers are dragged across the ocean floor to collect them. This results in a lot of damage to the surrounding aquatic life, depletion of the naturally occurring population, as well as sandy mussels (which are not the most palatable option). Conversely, farmed mussels are harvested on ropes hung from poles or plastic floats with some netting below to keep them from falling. This keeps them away from the sandy ocean floor and predators while also allowing for quick, easy, and minimally invasive cultivation (they just pull up the ropes). As a huge bonus, some of you may have heard of something referred to as the red tide. It is a phenomenon in which estuarine, marine, or fresh water algae (called phytoplankton) accumulates rapidly along the water column and results in discoloration of the surface water in coastal areas. The problem being, the presence of the algae can sometimes become harmful to surrounding species of fish, birds, marine mammals, and other organisms. This happens for a host of specific reasons dependent upon which particular species of algae is in question. Simply put, they all produce or over-produce one or more toxic elements into the surrounding ecosystem. Google it for more information – it is very interesting. So… Back to my original point, guess what mussels eat? You guessed right if you said plankton.

I must admit, I am not a huge fan of human interference within nature, but in this one case, it seems to be a great and minimally invasive way to kill two birds with one stone. We get some delectable, clean food on our plate and we have a chance to help keep the surrounding ecosystem unharmed, avoid dwindling the population of mussels in the area, and potentially fend off some occurrences of dangerous red tide. At least for now, it sounds like a win-win, but we will just have to wait and see what tomorrow’s headlines bring us.