Citizen calls grow to stop salmon industry expansion and boycott “industrial chemical salmon” in Argentina and Chile
The citizen organization Centro Ecoceanos signalled that “We enthusiastically support the movement “No to salmonculture” by the Argentinian chefs, since it holds the same perspective as our citizen campaign “Industrial Chemical Salmon Out of our Menu and Sea”.
Santiago, Chile, 11th of February 2019 (Ecoceanos News). The Argentinian chef Christophe Krywonis – jury member of the TV program Masterchef- publically signaled in 2015 that “salmon is five times more toxic than any fast food chain hamburger”.
The affirmation of the revered chef was immediately reproduced by a large number of communication media, triggering an unfiltered public discussion questioning the current salmon marketing, proclaiming products to be natural and healthy.
Four years later, eleven of the most famous chefs of the Argentinian cuisine virally spread a warning call to the public opinion -opposing the convention signed by the Argentinian national government of Mauricio Macri, the Argentinian local government of Tierra del Fuego, and the Norwegian State trade agency Innovation Norway.
Leandro Lele Cristóbal, Aldo Graziani, Tomás Kalika, Fernando Mayoral, Malvina Gehle (Green Bamboo), Nicolás Piatti (Hotel Hilton Bogotá), Sebastián La Rocca, Daniele Pinna (Chef and owner of La Locanda), Fernando Trocca (owner of the restaurant Sucre), Mauro Colagreco (awardee of three Michelin stars) and Germán Martitegui all joined forces in the viral campaign of #NoALaSalmonicultura.
The agreement signed in March 2018 during the Buenos Aires visit of King Harald V of Norway has as short-term objective to establish concessions for industrial salmon farming of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in areas of the Beagle Channel and the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, for an exploratory production of approximately 50 tonnes annually.
Having the Chilean experience in mind, the establishment of polluting salmonoid monoculture industries in one of the most pristine waters of the planet could come to mean a true environmental disaster according to the Argentinian chefs.
Argentina is a small and elitist market for Chilean farmed salmon. Annual import is 8.1 tonnes at a value of 62 millions of dollars, and the salmon is primarily sold to restaurants and sushi bars.
On the other side of the Andes Mountains, in Chile, a large coalition of 20 citizen organizations of NGOs, regional social movements, artisanal fishermen, coastal communities and the indigenous Mapuche groupings Lafkenches and Huilliches together with Kawésqars support the campaign “Industrial Chemical Salmon Out of our Menu and Sea” – encouraging consumption boycott of the fish introduced from the Northern hemisphere, threatening public health, environment and the rights of consumers, coastal and indigenous communities.
The campaign instead promotes the restoration of wild fishing grounds and consumption of the many alternative fishes, captured in sustainable manner by artisanal fishermen. See: www.salmonquimicochileno.cl
Ecoceanos: Unity and fight for the environmental defense of South American Patagonia
The citizen organization Centro Ecoceanos signalled that “We enthusiastically support the movement “No to salmonculture” by the Argentinian chefs, since it holds the same perspective as our citizen campaign “Industrial Chemical Salmon Out of our Menu and Sea”.
The veterinary physician and executive director of Centro Ecoceanos, Juan Carlos Cárdenas, added “If our Argentinian brothers and sisters want to know how their Patagonia will be upon expanding industrial salmon monocultures, we invite them to come to the archipelago of Chiloé to see the environmental disaster and sanitary and social costs they have generated”.
Juan Carlos Cárdenas finally called to “unite forces among citizen organizations and social movements of Argentina and Chile to stop the destructive and abusive expansion of the transnational salmon industry in South American Patagonia”.
