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1.       Antibiotics and Pesticides

“If you crowd your fish into ponds [that contain] oozing heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins from industrial effluent, it is not hard to imagine that a few of the fish might become a tad susceptible to infection,” Fenster said. “A recent study sampled imported seafood and found imported tilapia treated with oxytetracycline, and a farmed salmon marketed as antibiotic free was actually found to contain traces of virginiamycin [both are antibiotics]. Other studies have found tilapia from China treated with malachite green [a dyestuff and antimicrobial] and nitrofurans [another antibiotic]. While the levels found were below the regulatory limits, studies have shown that such usage can promote the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Humanely and naturally raised products taste better and are, quite simply, better for you.”

2. DDT and Other Contaminants

 “Some tilapia imported from China has shown significant concentrations of the pesticide DDT and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be associated with industrial pollution,” according to Fenster. “Over 85 percent of all US seafood is imported, but the FDA checks just 2 percent for contaminants which include drug residues, microbes, and heavy metals. This is in contradistinction to Europe (20 to 50 percent), Japan (18 percent), and Canada (15 percent). And when the FDA does examine for drugs, for example, they currently search for only 13 drugs. Europe currently tests for 34 drugs. The result was that in 2009, 0.1 percent of all imported seafood was inspected for drug residues.”

3. Fishy Factors That are Often Out of Reach

In order to remain safe while consuming any seafood, Fenster believes that you need to know exactly what it is you’re buying, where it came from, how it was raised (if it's not wild), and how it was processed.

4. GMOs in Farmed Tilapia

“If the toxic environment, overcrowding, steroids, and drugs weren’t enough,” Fenster said, consider the fact that tilapia “can’t even get a real meal. Because tilapia naturally consume algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, and the like, they are readily adaptable to an inexpensive diet. This diet is usually predominantly made from genetically modified corn and soy.”

5. It’s All in the Name

“Shakespeare observed that ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Which is, of course, completely true,” Fenster said. “It would, however, be a lot less popular at the florist if that other name happened to be ‘rotting carcass stink blossom.’ Tilapia, besides sounding like some horrible infectious tropical disease, essentially just means fish. It is the Latinized form of the Tswana word tlhapi meaning ‘fish.’ I wouldn’t walk into a restaurant and order something simply labeled ‘cow’ from the menu, and I have no intention of doing the same for ‘fish’ no matter what kind of fancy foreign fiction they spin about it.”

Don’t order “cow.” Instead, get a prime cut of beef from one of America’s 50 Best Steakhouses.

6. Lack of Omega-3s in Farmed Tilapia

“Many experts believe the beneficial, healthful effect associated with the consumption of fish and seafood has to do with the consumption of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are found in many varieties of such comestibles,” Fenster said. “However, because the diet of many tilapia farmed in other countries is not their natural diet, they tend to be significantly lower in terms of omega-3 concentration than their wild relatives [and] tilapia is not a fish naturally high in omega-3 PUFAs to start. Because anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs exist in a natural dynamic balance with the more inflammatory omega-6 PUFAs, when you have less of one you will have more of another. Higher levels of pro-inflammatory compounds like arachidonic acid and a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio make tilapia a less attractive choice for those looking to boost their intake of beneficial, anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs.”

7. Lax Water Quality Standards

When Fenster refers to muddy waters, he’s not referring to the blues legend McKinley Morganfield. “If tilapia were the piscine equivalent of the Hoochie Coochie Man, I would be having it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unfortunately, it turns out that tilapia is one of several commercially farmed aquaculture species susceptible to unpalatable effects caused by the accumulation of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol. These accumulate in the presence of blooms of certain cyanobacteria that are often present in the water when quality standards are lax. It transforms what looks like a delicious, light, delicately tender, and flaky fish fillet into a mouthful of swamp thing.”

 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/...a.html?intcmp=hphz25

 

I never have and never will eat tilapia.

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Some of the arguments are good. However, the GMA isn't.  We eat such produce commonly,  In most cases, GMA simply speeds up the changes made in the past by hybridizing.  GMA crops decrease the need for pesticides and fertilizers which contribute to the dead zone in the gulf.  GMA crops decrease the need for water, making them more drought resistant. Plus, increase crop yields.  

OldSalt posted:

1.       Antibiotics and Pesticides

“If you crowd your fish into ponds [that contain] oozing heavy metals, pesticides, and other toxins from industrial effluent, it is not hard to imagine that a few of the fish might become a tad susceptible to infection,” Fenster said. “A recent study sampled imported seafood and found imported tilapia treated with oxytetracycline, and a farmed salmon marketed as antibiotic free was actually found to contain traces of virginiamycin [both are antibiotics]. Other studies have found tilapia from China treated with malachite green [a dyestuff and antimicrobial] and nitrofurans [another antibiotic]. While the levels found were below the regulatory limits, studies have shown that such usage can promote the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Humanely and naturally raised products taste better and are, quite simply, better for you.”

2. DDT and Other Contaminants

 “Some tilapia imported from China has shown significant concentrations of the pesticide DDT and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be associated with industrial pollution,” according to Fenster. “Over 85 percent of all US seafood is imported, but the FDA checks just 2 percent for contaminants which include drug residues, microbes, and heavy metals. This is in contradistinction to Europe (20 to 50 percent), Japan (18 percent), and Canada (15 percent). And when the FDA does examine for drugs, for example, they currently search for only 13 drugs. Europe currently tests for 34 drugs. The result was that in 2009, 0.1 percent of all imported seafood was inspected for drug residues.”

3. Fishy Factors That are Often Out of Reach

In order to remain safe while consuming any seafood, Fenster believes that you need to know exactly what it is you’re buying, where it came from, how it was raised (if it's not wild), and how it was processed.

4. GMOs in Farmed Tilapia

“If the toxic environment, overcrowding, steroids, and drugs weren’t enough,” Fenster said, consider the fact that tilapia “can’t even get a real meal. Because tilapia naturally consume algae, aquatic plants, aquatic insects, and the like, they are readily adaptable to an inexpensive diet. This diet is usually predominantly made from genetically modified corn and soy.”

5. It’s All in the Name

“Shakespeare observed that ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.’ Which is, of course, completely true,” Fenster said. “It would, however, be a lot less popular at the florist if that other name happened to be ‘rotting carcass stink blossom.’ Tilapia, besides sounding like some horrible infectious tropical disease, essentially just means fish. It is the Latinized form of the Tswana word tlhapi meaning ‘fish.’ I wouldn’t walk into a restaurant and order something simply labeled ‘cow’ from the menu, and I have no intention of doing the same for ‘fish’ no matter what kind of fancy foreign fiction they spin about it.”

Don’t order “cow.” Instead, get a prime cut of beef from one of America’s 50 Best Steakhouses.

6. Lack of Omega-3s in Farmed Tilapia

“Many experts believe the beneficial, healthful effect associated with the consumption of fish and seafood has to do with the consumption of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are found in many varieties of such comestibles,” Fenster said. “However, because the diet of many tilapia farmed in other countries is not their natural diet, they tend to be significantly lower in terms of omega-3 concentration than their wild relatives [and] tilapia is not a fish naturally high in omega-3 PUFAs to start. Because anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs exist in a natural dynamic balance with the more inflammatory omega-6 PUFAs, when you have less of one you will have more of another. Higher levels of pro-inflammatory compounds like arachidonic acid and a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio make tilapia a less attractive choice for those looking to boost their intake of beneficial, anti-inflammatory omega-3 PUFAs.”

7. Lax Water Quality Standards

When Fenster refers to muddy waters, he’s not referring to the blues legend McKinley Morganfield. “If tilapia were the piscine equivalent of the Hoochie Coochie Man, I would be having it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unfortunately, it turns out that tilapia is one of several commercially farmed aquaculture species susceptible to unpalatable effects caused by the accumulation of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol. These accumulate in the presence of blooms of certain cyanobacteria that are often present in the water when quality standards are lax. It transforms what looks like a delicious, light, delicately tender, and flaky fish fillet into a mouthful of swamp thing.”

 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/...a.html?intcmp=hphz25

 

I never have and never will eat tilapia.

Do you eat catfish?

Dire is correct.  Tilapia have a bland taste. They are one  of the most taste-deficient of all table fish on today's market.  They do have eye appeal--that light color and clean look.  The reason they are sold in such large quantities is in part because they are fast-growing and easy to raise in large quantities.  Neither of those advantages has anything to do with taste.  It's about profit. 

The safest fish to eat is FARM-RAISED CATFISH.  Wild catfish can pick up contaminants in the food they eat, contaminants such as mercury and PCBs, among others. The taste of wild-caught catfish is unpredictable. Farm-raised catfish are fed a wholesome diet based on nutritional studies carried out in Alabama and Arkansas at Federal Government research facilities of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service by the late Dr. Harry S. Dupree and Dr. Walt Hastings.  You will not encounter contamination by pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals or other contaminants in FARM-RAISED CATFISH.  I know whereof I speak.  Harry Dupree was a personal friend and colleague of mine.  I was a member of the taste-testing panel he employed in his studies of the relationship between the taste of catfish and the kind of feed they are supplied.  He proved that catfish would not taste "fishy" if they were fed a ration containing plant-based oil during the last 5 or 6 weeks before they are harvested. His work eliminated the guesswork catfish farmers often faced in producing table fish of good market quality. The good taste of channel catfish you enjoy today is attributable to Harry's pioneering work in the 1970s. The program of catfish research carried out at the Southeastern Fish Cultural Laboratories in Marion, Alabama and Stuttgart, Arkansas jump-started and nourished the catfish farming industry and has paid great financial dividends for southern and mid-western catfish growers.  Your government at work. Here is some good information on catfish:

http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-catfish.html

 

THE NOBLE CHANNEL CATFISH--Ictalurus punctatus

catfish

As with most things and most fish isn't it a factor and depends on where you get the fish from?   I know Georges says that they only get their fish from Gulf suppliers and their fish is Gulf Red Snapper as well as Shrimp and I always found their fish to be great tasting. 

As for Catffish I have only ate at Newburns (expensive lately) and Swamp Johns as well as boneless Catfish at Champy's Chicken which is actually very good as well.  I'm always on the lookout for a good Catfish place but the absolutely WORST Catfish I have every eaten, hands down, was and is and remains Cracker Barrel, I avoid that like the plague or an un-sedated colonoscopy.

Cracker Barrel has some good Cod Fish that they serve up on Fridays but the Catfish is horrible or at least the last I had was and so horrible that it left a very lasting impression that won't go away for a very long time.

As for other seafood I have really been impressed with the new owners of Red Lobster and since the new ownership over the company stores, I've not gotten a bad meal there.  They usually have good specials and after the change in ownership/management the serving sizes have increased to what they should have been all along.   I have had Tilapia there as well as their Flounder and found both to be very well prepared and tasty.  The Admirals Platter still remains a very good deal and usually gives the wife and I enough to actually split/share the meal.  I also love their shrimp specials when you can find them on.

Sadly I found out that Outback Steakhouse is no longer going to be offering their All you can eat Shrimp specials that they had last year, around the fall, as that was a very good special with choice of fried and scampi.  Outback actually did a very good job on their scampi but Red Lobster still is my pick for the Scampi shrimp.  As for the Fried, butterflied, shrimp I don't think you can beat Georges but it comes at a cost.  Then I've always liked Georges seafood better than their steaks as it is.  For me Georges best steak offering is their chopped steak which is actually filet and ribeye cuts.

Last Ruby Tuesday has some pretty good offerings these days with their fried and grilled shrimp and with the usual Buy one get one 1/2 off or the $5.00 off $15.00 coupons you can get a pretty good deal.   Speaking of Ruby Tuesdays no one argues with their salad bar offering but I've actually had a really good sirloin there, not the ribeye but the lowly sirloin which comes in a petite or 14 oz larger size for $14.95 and is affordable with the coupons which are usually always available in the mail or from the retailmenot app.  Lastly, regarding Ruby Tuesday's I had their free Birthday burger as one of their e-club members and I have to say that for me Ruby Tuesday's has the BEST QUALITY and tasting Burger in the Shoals area.   I had the Cheddar Bacon burger and didn't select the one with the Prime meat selection but still believe it to be one of the best Burgers I've ever had, here or anywhere else.   The best burger still is the one I had a Houston's restaurant in Atlanta, Ga but Ruby Tuesdays is a very good one.

Sadly the best onion rings are found at Buffalo Wild Wings so no Onion Rings with the RT Burger but hey at least it's across the street and not too far to go if you just want Onion Rings and some wings.

So much for my opinion.  That's far more than two cents worth. 

 

unclegus posted:

So...what is your opinion on eating tilapia farm raised in China?

 

__

Not sure who you are asking, but I stopped eating Asian-raised tilapia and other Asian-raised seafood a long time ago, for some of the reasons enumerated in the initial post in this string.  I will eat wild-caught salmon from Asian sources though, because those negative factors described above would not apply to them.

Cracker Barrel's catfish, as GBRK has stated, are a sorry mushy mess hardly fit to eat. Besides that, their servings are stingy. The Underwood- Petersville Volunteer Fire Department has an AYCE catfish supper every month and I believe that glutton's delight is on for tonight.  Check it out if you have never eaten with that very fine group of dedicated folks and you will not only get a fine meal, you will feel good for supporting a very worthy cause! They get their fish from Taylor's Catfish Farm a few miles southwest of Muscle Shoals off Highway 157.  Their hushpuppies rock also!

 My question was directed at GBRK who stated opinion of many likes and preferences but nothing concerning the topic of the thread. Not that that is uncommon on these threads.

Now as for myself, I am not comfortable eating anything at all grown or produced in China. I have stayed away from eating tilapia but sometimes the special of the day includes some form of tilapia so I do give in at times and consume it but not before discovering the origin of it. 

gbrk posted:

As with most things and most fish isn't it a factor and depends on where you get the fish from?   I know Georges says that they only get their fish from Gulf suppliers and their fish is Gulf Red Snapper as well as Shrimp and I always found their fish to be great tasting. 

Got to George's mainly for Oysters 'Rockefeller and the Snapper. Like the Snapper, blackened, broiled or grilled.

As for Catffish I have only ate at Newburns (expensive lately) and Swamp Johns as well as boneless Catfish at Champy's Chicken which is actually very good as well.  I'm always on the lookout for a good Catfish place but the absolutely WORST Catfish I have every eaten, hands down, was and is and remains Cracker Barrel, I avoid that like the plague or an un-sedated colonoscopy.

Like Newburns catfish. Just stay away from most other fried food., Haven't had many good meals at Cracker Barrel. I used to like the trout, but lately it smells too fishy.  That means not fresh or not frozen correctly.

Cracker Barrel has some good Cod Fish that they serve up on Fridays but the Catfish is horrible or at least the last I had was and so horrible that it left a very lasting impression that won't go away for a very long time.

As for other seafood I have really been impressed with the new owners of Red Lobster and since the new ownership over the company stores, I've not gotten a bad meal there.  They usually have good specials and after the change in ownership/management the serving sizes have increased to what they should have been all along.   I have had Tilapia there as well as their Flounder and found both to be very well prepared and tasty.  The Admirals Platter still remains a very good deal and usually gives the wife and I enough to actually split/share the meal.  I also love their shrimp specials when you can find them on.

Red Lobster had really improved.  Their new shrimp and lobster tail appetizer is just right for two to share.  The fresh fish menu is usually good. Like whole lobster, but they tend to over boil/steam it. Much better when wood grilled.

Sadly I found out that Outback Steakhouse is no longer going to be offering their All you can eat Shrimp specials that they had last year, around the fall, as that was a very good special with choice of fried and scampi.  Outback actually did a very good job on their scampi but Red Lobster still is my pick for the Scampi shrimp.  As for the Fried, butterflied, shrimp I don't think you can beat Georges but it comes at a cost.  Then I've always liked Georges seafood better than their steaks as it is.  For me Georges best steak offering is their chopped steak which is actually filet and ribeye cuts.

Last Ruby Tuesday has some pretty good offerings these days with their fried and grilled shrimp and with the usual Buy one get one 1/2 off or the $5.00 off $15.00 coupons you can get a pretty good deal.   Speaking of Ruby Tuesdays no one argues with their salad bar offering but I've actually had a really good sirloin there, not the ribeye but the lowly sirloin which comes in a petite or 14 oz larger size for $14.95 and is affordable with the coupons which are usually always available in the mail or from the retailmenot app.  Lastly, regarding Ruby Tuesday's I had their free Birthday burger as one of their e-club members and I have to say that for me Ruby Tuesday's has the BEST QUALITY and tasting Burger in the Shoals area.   I had the Cheddar Bacon burger and didn't select the one with the Prime meat selection but still believe it to be one of the best Burgers I've ever had, here or anywhere else.   The best burger still is the one I had a Houston's restaurant in Atlanta, Ga but Ruby Tuesdays is a very good one.

Sadly the best onion rings are found at Buffalo Wild Wings so no Onion Rings with the RT Burger but hey at least it's across the street and not too far to go if you just want Onion Rings and some wings.

So much for my opinion.  That's far more than two cents worth. 

 

 

unclegus posted:

So...what is your opinion on eating tilapia farm raised in China?

 

Sorry for the late reply but I avoid any fish raised in the Asian area of the world based mostly on many news stories I've heard about their quality control and other stories about fish from over there.  So unless I know it to be Gulf or US raised Shrimp, Tilapia, or other fish I try and order something else.  I don't care at all for Asian grown fish.

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