Even so, U.S. shrimpers look like Boy Scouts compared to Asian and South American “shrimp barons,” who are clearing huge swaths of ecologically sensitive mangrove habitat to create shrimp factory farms. It’s estimated that one-fifth of mangroves worldwide have been lost since 1980, mostly because they have been razed to make way for shrimp farms. Shrimp that comes from cleared mangroves is estimated to have a carbon footprint 10 times higher than beef from cows raised on cleared Amazon rain forest.
What about farmed shrimp?
Overseas shrimp farms are commonly cesspools of antibiotics, fertilizers, banned pesticides, contaminated water, and other waste. According to Canadian journalist Taras Grescoe, “The simple fact is, if you’re eating cheap shrimp today, it almost certainly comes from a turbid, pesticide- and antibiotic-filled, virus-laden pond in the tropical climes of one of the world’s poorest nations.”
If local villagers object to the farms, which have been blamed for polluting or siphoning the water supply and contaminating agricultural land with salt water and waste, their concerns are often ruthlessly quashed—sometimes with violence, including beatings, rapes, arson, shootings, and even murder. In Thailand, Burmese migrants are press-ganged into working on fishing boats that supply feed to shrimp farms, and workers report appalling conditions—and even executions at sea.
Considering the devastating ecological impact of cheap shrimp—in addition to the accompanying human rights abuses—isn’t it time to put an end to “endless shrimp”?
via Eat Drink Better | Cooking, healthy food, and sustainable eating!.
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