By Naomi Nguyen, Trinity College Student
Rooted from my love for seafood, curiosity has grown in me when there is a diet where people consume only seafood. After some research, I have discovered it does exist, being named “Pescetarianism”. More surprisingly, this diet does not only benefit you more in nutritional value than a normal meat or mixed diet, but it also hugely helps bettering global climate change!
Source: Vietnam Investment Review
A pescatarian diet is just like a vegetarian diet with added fish and seafood as a source of protein. Seafood, especially fish, is low in saturated fat and rich in healthy, hearty Omega-3. Undeniably, diets are significantly associated with preventing diseases. It has been proven scientifically that eating less red meat or forgo it entirely will result in a healthier heart, staving off heart diseases and high blood pressure. Most notably, the chance of getting colon cancer is also decreased much more than eating red and processed meat!
Source: Women’s Health
And you’re wondering how adopting a pescetarian lifestyle will contribute to improve global warming? Well, the production of meat and other land animals conserve humongous land space, not to mention the industry’s contribution to global pollution. Due to Buzzworthy, animal agriculture consumes approximately 33% of the globe’s fresh water. Livestock also occupies one third of the world’s ice-free land. A ridiculous amount of waste is produced by the industry, in which 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by raised animals every minute, enough to cover the most major cities in the world! By numerous evidence, you can already understand how choosing sea-raised animals for your diet will reduce your ecological footprint significantly.
Source: FAO – ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options’
Although for the majority population who does eat red meat and poultry, it is indeed hard to give up on them. However, this information is helpful to keep in mind, maybe start replacing or incorporating fish and seafood in your meals. There are many options of cuisines and dishes, from Japanese sashimi, Western cheeseboards, Italian pastas to daily food with whole grains, noodles or just have them fresh! Everyone can enjoy this diet and the amazing nutritional value they offer.
Source: Openfit