‘Fishy’ guidelines

Opinion: February 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Paula Moore

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Every five years, the government reminds Americans that we need to start eating better — more fruits and vegetables, less sodium, less sugar, less meat. The latest incarnation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which was just released, also includes a specific recommendation to eat more fish. On average, Americans eat about 31/2 ounces of seafood per week, but according to the new guidelines, adults should up that to at least 8 ounces per week.

Here’s why you shouldn’t.

In slaughter facilities across the country, fish are killed in ways that make medieval torture look tame. Animal advocacy group Mercy For Animals has released a new undercover investigation of a fish slaughterhouse in Texas, where fish are suffocated, skinned and sliced in half — all while they’re conscious and able to feel pain.

The gruesome video shows workers using knives to slice off fins and pliers to peel away strips of skin from conscious, struggling animals. Dozens of fish are crammed together in buckets, struggling for oxygen.

If dogs or cats were the victims of these abuses, there would rightly be a public outcry. But because it’s “just fish,” many people turn a blind eye to the suffering that these animals endure before they end up on our dinner plates.

Pain

Yet we know that fish can feel pain, just as dogs and cats do. They possess pain receptors, their brains produce natural painkillers and studies have shown that they will avoid painful stimuli. According to Dr. Temple Grandin, the world’s leading expert on farmed-animal welfare, “Research shows that fish respond to painful stimuli in a manner that is not just a simple reflex.”

If you eat fish to boost your heart health, as the new dietary guidelines suggest, there are better sources of cardio-friendly omega-3 fatty acids, including walnuts, flaxseed oil, spinach and soybeans as well as vegetarian supplements made from microalgae — which is where fish get omega-3s in the first place.

Paula Moore is a senior writer for the PETA Foundation, Norfolk, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services