Fantastic News From Target !

I'm really excited about this. Seems that national retailer Target will only be selling Alaskan caught wild salmon in it's stores. From The Daily Green:

This announcement includes Target-owned brands -- Archer Farms and Market Pantry -- as well as national brands. According to a press release, all salmon sold under Target-owned brands will now be wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Sushi featuring farm-raised salmon will be wild-caught salmon by the end of 2010. "In consultation with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Target is taking this important step to ensure that its salmon offerings are sourced in a sustainable way that helps to preserve abundance, species health and doesn't harm local habitats," according to the release.

This is awesome news. There are many environmental pitfalls to farming salmon, as well as damage it may do to your body. In a 2004 issue of Science Journal it stated that farmed salmon contains 10 times the PCBs than Alaskan salmon. PCBs are stored in the fat of the salmon and farmed salmon tend to be fatter. In case you don't know, PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) used to be used as coolants and insulation fluids but were banned in 1979. Their effects on humans can range from Cancer, as well as a myriad of other negative health effects. Here is a link to the EPA's website discussing the heath effects of PCBs. And if this wasn't a good enough reason to shun farmed salmon, try the environmental effects. More from The Daily Green:

Many salmon farms have earned criticism for damaging fragile coastal areas, polluting waterways with waste and antibiotics and spreading parasites to native fish. Penned salmon also frequently escape, where they breed with wild populations and dilute their genes

Wild caught salmon also is better for you. There are more Omega-3's in wild salmon due to it's diet. Salmon is naturally red because of the crustaceans or other fish with small crustaceans in their digestive system that salmon eat. These crustaceans contain carotenoids which contain these Omega 3's. You are what you eat and so is the salmon. However, farmed salmon eat fish meal that have carotenoids added which dyes the fish red. Yummy.
So great job Target! Keep on going and prove that big business and environmental stewardship don't have to be mutually exclusive.