We’ve heard it before: eat squirrels, kangaroo or [insert overpopulated species here] to aid ecological balance and reduce our reliance on harmful factory farming. Now, Grist is asking whether we should add jellyfish to our diet as well. The stinging ocean creatures are showing up in larger numbers, earlier in the year and in more places than ever before.
Warmer waters help jellyfish grow faster and reproduce better, and overfishing leaves jellyfish with fewer predators and fewer competitors. That means tons of jellyfish out there, prime for your dinner plate.
From Grist:
If we don’t start building back the health of our marine ecosystems, we may need to start fishing for things that we never imagined. A jellyfish burger and fries may not seem so appetizing to your average American seafood lover, but the notion isn’t too far off. The Chinese have eaten jellyfish for over a thousand years. In Asia, these slippery snacks can fetch ten to twelve dollars a pound wholesale.
Culinary preferences aside, the increase of jellyfish in our ocean is indicative of a much larger problem. Our ocean is sick, and struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing demands for seafood.
It does make sense that, in these times of climate change and threatened food shortages, we humans become more adaptive and eat what is plentiful instead of continuing to rely on foods that diminish marine life diversity and cause further climate change.
Westerners in particular have gotten far too accustomed to getting whatever we prefer to eat, regardless of the impact on wildlife and the earth. Americans practically consider it their birthright to enjoy an endless supply of burgers, chicken and fish, no matter the cost.
Of course, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see people get attached to a certain overpopulated species and continue to seek it out after numbers have gotten under control, creating a potentially bigger problem. We Americans, always causing trouble one way or another.
Link [Grist]
Photo credit: The Guardian via Treehugger
