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Blue food

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Blue foods, also known as aquatic foods, are plants and animals sourced from aquatic environments and are suitable for human consumption.[1] More than 2500 species of marine and freshwater animals, aquatic plants, and algae have been identified as relevant to the human diet.[2]

Origin of the term

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The term was coined in the Blue Transformation Strategy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Blue Foods are therefore linked to the blue economy principle. Blue food is the first internationally applicable term which, by definition, includes animal and plant foods from the sea and freshwater. The latter also distinguishes it from the English term seafood, for which there is no equivalent in many other languages.

Background

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The social and political discussions regarding food systems have predominantly revolved around terrestrial agriculture and livestock farming, overlooking the significance of blue foods. Blue foods such as fish, invertebrates, algae, and aquatic plants, which are caught or bred in freshwater and marine ecosystems, have been excluded from broader food system conversations.[3] Initiatives such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)´s roadmap for the blue transformation stress the important role of blue food for feeding a growing world population, and at the same time underscore the necessity of integrating sustainable practices into aquatic food production for long-term viability.[4] [5]

The role of blue foods is among others described in the Blue Food Assessment. The report is backed by more than 100 scientists from 25 universities, including Stanford University, the Stockholm Resilience Center and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research.

Sustainability evaluation

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Economic factor

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Blue foods are obtained using a range of different methods - from large deep-sea trawlers to small carp ponds, which date back to 2,500 years in areas such as the Mediterranean and China. Economically, blue food systems significantly contribute to global trade and livelihood support, benefiting millions of people worldwide directly or indirectly. Local adaptation strategies enhance the resilience of these systems to external stressors, fostering economic stability in coastal and riparian communities.[6] The FAO estimates that the livelihoods of approximately 800 million people rely on blue food systems, either directly or indirectly.[7] In countries of the global South, the net income generated by blue food trade exceeds that of all other agricultural commodities.[1] Overall, fish and seafood are among the world's most traded goods, generating an estimated 151 billion US dollars a year.[8]

Complex global supply chains with limited transparency can pose just as much of a challenge to the sustainable production of blue food as taking the rights of indigenous peoples or traditional coastal fishing into consideration.[9] Certification programmes and the associated controls along the supply chain can be an important step towards greater transparency, although they meet their limits in autocratic countries.[10]

Nutrition

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Blue foods are valued for their nutritional richness, providing essential proteins, vitamins, micronutrients and fatty acids vital for human health.[11] [12]

They play a crucial role in addressing dietary deficiencies prevalent in regions with limited access to diverse food sources: In many African and South American countries, a higher consumption of blue foods is suggested as compensation for the lack of vitamin B12 and omega-3.[13] In many countries of the global North, the rates of cardiovascular disease, which are associated with a high consumption of red meat, among other things, are considered to be reduced by switching to an alternative, moderate but regular consumption of seafood.[13]

Environment

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From an environmental perspective, blue foods often have a smaller ecological footprint compared to terrestrial protein sources.[1] For example, the pelagic fishing of herring or anchovies, or the cultivation of carp, have a significantly lower carbon or climate footprint than the farming of chickens, the most environmentally friendly of all terrestrial animal foods.[1] There are examples of how the aquacultures of algae or mussels even improve the water quality of their location. Additionally, blue foods often have a low to zero consumption of lifestock feed and agrochemicals; wild caught fish and seafood do also consume zero freshwater and land.[14]

In other areas, the environmental impact of blue food can also be high if fisheries and aquaculture operations do not follow rigid sustainability criteria. A third of the world's fish stocks are considered to be overfished, and unsustainable fisheries and aquaculture have a negative impact on the ecosystem and pose a threat to marine biodiversity.[15] Examples of this include the destruction of fauna and flora on the seabed by bottom trawlers fishing in sensitive marine areas, the deforestation of mangrove forests for fish farms and the transfer of diseases and pharmaceutical residues into wild waters by unsustainable aquaculture operations.[16][17]

Greenhouse gas emissions can also be higher with some farming or fishing methods than with others.[18]  

In light of these risks, the United Nations considers ending overfishing and making global fisheries and aquaculture more sustainable to be one of the core tasks of the Blue Transformation Strategy - and an essential prerequisite for the long-term preservation of blue food and healthy ecosystems. Stronger intergovernmental regulation and control mechanisms for fishing and aquaculture, as well as voluntary certification programmes and environmental labels, such as that of the Marine Stewardship Council, offer solutions here.[19][20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Tigchelaar, Michelle; Leape, Jim; Micheli, Fiorenza; Allison, Edward H.; Basurto, Xavier; Bennett, Abigail; Bush, Simon R.; Cao, Ling; Cheung, William W. L.; Crona, Beatrice; DeClerck, Fabrice; Fanzo, Jessica; Gelcich, Stefan; Gephart, Jessica A.; Golden, Christopher D. (2022-06-01). "The vital roles of blue foods in the global food system". Global Food Security. 33: 100637. Bibcode:2022GlFS...3300637T. doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2022.100637. ISSN 2211-9124.
  2. ^ Golden, Christopher D.; Koehn, J. Zachary; Shepon, Alon; Passarelli, Simone; Free, Christopher M.; Viana, Daniel F.; Matthey, Holger; Eurich, Jacob G.; Gephart, Jessica A.; Fluet-Chouinard, Etienne; Nyboer, Elizabeth A.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Kjellevold, Marian; Bromage, Sabri; Charlebois, Pierre (2021-09-15). "Aquatic foods to nourish nations". Nature. 598 (7880): 315–320. Bibcode:2021Natur.598..315G. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03917-1. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 10584661. PMID 34526720.
  3. ^ Bennett, Abigail; Basurto, Xavier; Virdin, John; Lin, Xinyan; Betances, Samantha J.; Smith, Martin D.; Allison, Edward H.; Best, Barbara A.; Brownell, Kelly D.; Campbell, Lisa M.; Golden, Christopher D.; Havice, Elizabeth; Hicks, Christina C.; Jacques, Peter J.; Kleisner, Kristin (2021-05-01). "Recognize fish as food in policy discourse and development funding". Ambio. 50 (5): 981–989. Bibcode:2021Ambio..50..981B. doi:10.1007/s13280-020-01451-4. ISSN 1654-7209. PMC 7811336. PMID 33454882.
  4. ^ Nations, United. "Population". United Nations. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ^ The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2020. (2020). FAO. (https://www.fao.org/3/ca9229en/ca9229en.pdf)
  6. ^ Troell, Max; Naylor, Rosamond L.; Metian, Marc; Beveridge, Malcolm; Tyedmers, Peter H.; Folke, Carl; Arrow, Kenneth J.; Barrett, Scott; Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Gren, Åsa; Kautsky, Nils; Levin, Simon A.; Nyborg, Karine; Österblom, Henrik (2014-09-16). "Does aquaculture add resilience to the global food system?". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (37): 13257–13263. Bibcode:2014PNAS..11113257T. doi:10.1073/pnas.1404067111. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4169979. PMID 25136111.
  7. ^ The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2012. (2012). FAO. (https://www.fao.org/3/i2727e/i2727e.pdf)
  8. ^ The state of World fisheries and aquaculture 2022. 2022. doi:10.4060/cc0461en. hdl:10535/3776. ISBN 978-92-5-136364-5. Retrieved 2023-12-13. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Ratner, Blake D.; Asgard, Björn; Allison, Edward H. (July 2014). "Fishing for justice: Human rights, development, and fisheries sector reform". Global Environmental Change. 27: 120–130. Bibcode:2014GEC....27..120R. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.05.006.
  10. ^ Hopkins, C.R.; Roberts, S.I.; Caveen, A.J.; Graham, C.; Burns, N.M. (2024). "Improved traceability in seafood supply chains is achievable by minimising vulnerable nodes in processing and distribution networks". Marine Policy. 159. Bibcode:2024MarPo.15905910H. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105910 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  11. ^ Jahns, Lisa; Raatz, Susan K.; Johnson, LuAnn K.; Kranz, Sibylle; Silverstein, Jeffrey T.; Picklo, Matthew J. (2014-12-22). "Intake of Seafood in the US Varies by Age, Income, and Education Level but Not by Race-Ethnicity". Nutrients. 6 (12): 6060–6075. doi:10.3390/nu6126060. ISSN 2072-6643. PMC 4277015. PMID 25533013.
  12. ^ Bogard, Jessica R.; Thilsted, Shakuntala H.; Marks, Geoffrey C.; Wahab, Md. Abdul; Hossain, Mostafa A. R.; Jakobsen, Jette; Stangoulis, James (2015-09-01). "Nutrient composition of important fish species in Bangladesh and potential contribution to recommended nutrient intakes". Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 42: 120–133. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2015.03.002. ISSN 0889-1575.
  13. ^ a b Crona, Beatrice I.; Wassénius, Emmy; Jonell, Malin; Koehn, J. Zachary; Short, Rebecca; Tigchelaar, Michelle; Daw, Tim M.; Golden, Christopher D.; Gephart, Jessica A.; Allison, Edward H.; Bush, Simon R.; Cao, Ling; Cheung, William W. L.; DeClerck, Fabrice; Fanzo, Jessica (2023-02-22). "Four ways blue foods can help achieve food system ambitions across nations". Nature. 616 (7955): 104–112. Bibcode:2023Natur.616..104C. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05737-x. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 10076219. PMID 36813964.
  14. ^ Gephart, J. A., Henriksson, P. J. G., Parker, R. W. R., Shepon, A., Gorospe, K. D., Bergman, K., Eshel, G., Golden, C. D., Halpern, B. S., Hornborg, S., Jonell, M., Metian, M., Mifflin, K., Newton, R., Tyedmers, P., Zhang, W., Ziegler, F., & Troell, M. (2021). Environmental performance of blue foods. Nature, 597(7876), 360–365. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03889-2
  15. ^ Leape, Jim; Micheli, Fiorenze; Tigchelaar, Michelle. "The Vital Roles of Blue Foods in the Global Food System" (PDF). United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, Scientific Group.
  16. ^ "GNF - Shrimp Farming and Mangrove Protection". www.globalnature.org. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  17. ^ Naylor, Rosamond L.; Hardy, Ronald W.; Buschmann, Alejandro H.; Bush, Simon R.; Cao, Ling; Klinger, Dane H.; Little, David C.; Lubchenco, Jane; Shumway, Sandra E.; Troell, Max (March 2021). "A 20-year retrospective review of global aquaculture". Nature. 591 (7851): 551–563. Bibcode:2021Natur.591..551N. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03308-6. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 33762770.
  18. ^ Hilborn, Ray; Amoroso, Ricardo Oscar; Anderson, Christopher M.; Baum, Julia K.; Branch, Trevor A.; Costello, Christopher; de Moor, Carryn L.; Faraj, Abdelmalek; Hively, Daniel; Jensen, Olaf P.; Kurota, Hiroyuki; Little, L. Richard; Mace, Pamela; McClanahan, Tim; Melnychuk, Michael C. (2020-01-28). "Effective fisheries management instrumental in improving fish stock status". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (4): 2218–2224. Bibcode:2020PNAS..117.2218H. doi:10.1073/pnas.1909726116. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 6995010. PMID 31932439.
  19. ^ Rupert Howes, opinion contributor (2021-09-23). "Transforming blue food systems is a win-win for people and planet". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-05-02. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ "Incentivising sustainable fisheries through certification | Department of Economic and Social Affairs". sdgs.un.org. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
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