(ETX Studio) – It’s not just sunlight or waves that can chip plastic. An Irish study has shown that a species of small crustaceans can break down microplastics in four days. If this is bad news for us, there are indeed solutions to reduce your consumption of fish.
Environmental scientists from theUniversity College Cork (UCC) in Ireland who study the amphipod Gammarus duebeni (2 cm long), found that it was able to transform micro-plastic into nanoplastic within 96 hours. The risk is that these little pieces can end up in the fish we eat. You might as well start reducing your consumption of seafood. Here are our tips for getting there without feeling like you’re depriving yourself.
The plastic we consume
According to the study, since these fragments are small enough to pass through cell membranes, they are likely to be more damaging to wildlife than microplastics. Because they could accumulate in animals and plants with potential negative effects as yet unknown. From an ethnocentric perspective, nanoplastics could accumulate higher in the food chain, potentially including in humans. If we add to this problem of intoxication, fishing and its destructive impact on marine biodiversity, it seems urgent to reduce its consumption of fish.
Eat fish without killing fish
In ten years, French fish consumption has already fallen by 7%. The price is the main cause. Fish remains an expensive product, and consumers prefer foods that are already processed and easy to cook, such as smoked salmon or canned tuna.
It is also for the protection of biodiversity that more and more people are changing their habits. In particular the vegan community, which is developing several tips to substitute for fish while keeping the taste of the product. The specificity of fish is its omega-3 intake. There are oils and products of vegetable origin to provide your daily intake: rapeseed oil, walnuts, linseed oil and seeds, chia, avocado. Green leafy vegetables like lamb’s lettuce, spinach or kale also work well.
More surprisingly, red berries like blackberries or raspberries are also rich in omega-3s. But if you want a product that looks like fish, you can go for fake fish. In specialized vegan shops, like Un Monde Végan, you will find smoked salmon, breaded fish fingers and even bluefin tuna. All without a piece of real fish. Similis are made from tofu. If you want to regain the iodized taste, it is recommended to cook with seaweed.