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Bottomfeeder
Dividing his sensibilities between Epicureanism and ethics, Taras Grescoe set out on a nine-month, world-wide search for a delicious-and humane-plate of seafood. Along the way, he explains the cultural and commercial implications of fish production on our environment, our health, and our seas. At once entertaining and illuminating, "Bottomfeeder" is a thoroughly enjoyable...more
ebook, 336 pages
Published
January 15th 2011
by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
(first published March 30th 2008)
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READ THIS BOOK!
This book changed the way I eat, shop, and work. There are practical and easy seafood listings on the "good" "sometimes" and "never" eating lists - so even if you don't read the book, check out the lists. But if you want to know why I don't eat shrimp anymore or why I think sardines are awesome (and delicious) - then actually read the book. Otherwise you'll continue eating the seafood equivalent of a tiger on the food chain, you'll continue eating the endangered species being sold...more
This book changed the way I eat, shop, and work. There are practical and easy seafood listings on the "good" "sometimes" and "never" eating lists - so even if you don't read the book, check out the lists. But if you want to know why I don't eat shrimp anymore or why I think sardines are awesome (and delicious) - then actually read the book. Otherwise you'll continue eating the seafood equivalent of a tiger on the food chain, you'll continue eating the endangered species being sold...more
It reminded me that the slowest fish of all - even when it happens to be very swift indeed - is always the one you catch yourself. Grescoe
Taras Grescoe makes a lot of really good statements in this collection of essays, organized around the depleting of protein, (fish), in the collected oceans and seas of our common environment. The impression he makes is that each of us is responsible for addressing the topic as a verifiable and accountable issue, one that is only capable of being remedied with...more
Taras Grescoe makes a lot of really good statements in this collection of essays, organized around the depleting of protein, (fish), in the collected oceans and seas of our common environment. The impression he makes is that each of us is responsible for addressing the topic as a verifiable and accountable issue, one that is only capable of being remedied with...more
Grescoe is such a great and evocative writer, that this book - despite some of its depressing content - is a joy to read from beginning to end. Grescoe, in my opinion, is slightly less didactic than Michael Polan (who I very much like, but also can't read without imagining that he would be difficult to stomach if I didn't agree with him). Nonetheless, he does not sacrifice sharing his opinions and clearly demonstrating through anecdotes, research, and personal experience the evidence that inform...more
1 like · like · see review
"From Publishers Weekly
In this whirlwind, worldwide tour of fisheries, Grescoe (The Devil's Picnic) whiplashes readers from ecological devastation to edible ecstasy and back again. In disturbing detail, he depicts the turbid and murky Chesapeake Bay, where, with overharvested oysters too few to do their filtering job, fish are infested with the cell from hell, a micro-organism that eats their flesh and exposes their guts. He describes how Indian shrimp farms treated with pesticides, antibiotics...more
In this whirlwind, worldwide tour of fisheries, Grescoe (The Devil's Picnic) whiplashes readers from ecological devastation to edible ecstasy and back again. In disturbing detail, he depicts the turbid and murky Chesapeake Bay, where, with overharvested oysters too few to do their filtering job, fish are infested with the cell from hell, a micro-organism that eats their flesh and exposes their guts. He describes how Indian shrimp farms treated with pesticides, antibiotics...more
May 03, 2011
Daniel Roy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
food
Most of us by now are familiar about the inhumane and destructive aspects of industrial meat, but we tend to assume that seafood is alright, except for a few exceptions such as dolphin bycatch in tuna fishing, or whale-hunting.
That's why "Bottomfeeder" came as such a - needed - shock to me, and probably will to you. Taras Grescoe exposes the underlying political, social, environmental and health impacts surrounding the complex world of seafood, from Atlantic cod to oyster farming, and from India...more
That's why "Bottomfeeder" came as such a - needed - shock to me, and probably will to you. Taras Grescoe exposes the underlying political, social, environmental and health impacts surrounding the complex world of seafood, from Atlantic cod to oyster farming, and from India...more
I can't recall exactly when I became interested in seafood sustainability, nor can I come up with a really great explanation of why I care so much. However, sometime in the past year or so I stumbled upon a web article or something similar that piqued my interest, and I've been hooked (too cheesy?) ever since. I started browsing the Monterey Bay Aquarium's website and others to make sure I educated myself about how my seafood choices are affecting the world on a larger scale. And partway into th...more
Someone compared this to a seafood version of the Omnivore’s Dilemma. While I don’t think Grescoe is quite as philosophical and illuminating about his adventures into seafood as Pollan was about his meals, there were still quite a few aspects of the book that were fascinating, even to the most seafood conscious of consumers. One of the things I liked was that he gave credit where credit is due, even if it IS McDonald’s sourcing sustainable shrimp, or his praise of the Japanese’s incredibly detai...more
There was plenty in this book that I already knew:
(1) we are ruining the ocean with overfishing and pollution;
(2) farmed salmon is an environmental disaster and not much use in a nutritional sense either;
(3) fishermen do a lousy job of self-policing and they blame the government for putting them out of a job but only because they can't fish as much as they'd like to;
(4) governments do a lousy job of protecting fishing stocks because fishermen are constituents, the fishing industry is an importan...more
(1) we are ruining the ocean with overfishing and pollution;
(2) farmed salmon is an environmental disaster and not much use in a nutritional sense either;
(3) fishermen do a lousy job of self-policing and they blame the government for putting them out of a job but only because they can't fish as much as they'd like to;
(4) governments do a lousy job of protecting fishing stocks because fishermen are constituents, the fishing industry is an importan...more
Absolutely fantastic. Consider this the "Omnivore's Dilemma" of seafood. What I really liked about it was it's completely balanced approach to the topic.
There was very little (if any) demonizing. There was almost no dogma. There was alot of love for fisherman and others who work hard to bring fish to our tables, and there was even more love for seafood itself.
Everyone asked me: "After reading this, I suppose you're not going to eat fish, are you?" Boy, are they wrong. I think I'll eat more of it...more
There was very little (if any) demonizing. There was almost no dogma. There was alot of love for fisherman and others who work hard to bring fish to our tables, and there was even more love for seafood itself.
Everyone asked me: "After reading this, I suppose you're not going to eat fish, are you?" Boy, are they wrong. I think I'll eat more of it...more
Having been interested in the state of the oceans for several years now, I didn't gain a lot of new information about how to eat sustainably from this book, although I did learn some interesting tidbits about other topics (such as the existence of sabretooth salmon and why sailboats were used for so long in Chesapeake Bay) and some more up-to-date numbers for fish populations and dead zones. I really liked this book, though, because I thought Grescoe gave a good overview of the problems the ocea...more
The wealth of information in this book is astounding. While jumping a bit from issue to issue (bottom-trawling to antibiotics to overfishing) he does a good summary at the end, and the stories he tells of fisherfolk around the world are wonderful.
It was a good read, (and I guess I'm kinda bragging here) but it didn't really do anything to change my mental map of fish to avoid. But it is really heartbreaking to remember the path of thinking that salmon farming would be what saves wild salmon (even thinking that the terrible taste of farmed salmon was a price I was willing to pay to save wild salmon) only to realize that farmed salmon actually kills wild salmon, and in addition to being terrible tasting is toxic! Luckily for me, my favorit...more
Taras Grescoe is a fish lover who travels the world to enjoy various fish dishes in many different cultures. However, Grescoe also scrutinizes the means by which those fishes were obtained and the ecological footprint the various fishermen leave in the process. It is an eye-opener...it is also very disappointing and depressing to learn the state of the world's fisheries and humankind's lack of awareness to our extremely poor management of our fisheries. If nothing else, one learns which fish to...more
This book is incredibly complex. Its sad, its maddening, its pretentious, its everything all in one. It is basically about how supremely fucked our relationship is with cheap seafood, how farmed shrimp and salmon are poisoning our earth, and how destructive fishing habits, lax regulation, and outright lies shape our understanding of what seafood is ok. I recommend this book to anyone interested in sustainability questions, ethical eating, or just a healthy love of fish. It's made me swear off ch...more
Amazing, if discouraging. A tour of fishing around the world, with each chapter focusing on a specific food and location. So: sardines in the Mediterranean, shrimp in India, salmon in BC, bluefin tuna in Japan, etc. He treats his subjects, both fish and human, with sensitivity. Great descriptive language of both the horrible and the sublime.
There's a useful appendix about fishing methods (good, bad, ugly), and specific fish (never, sometimes, always) -- shrimp and tuna in particular come off ver...more
There's a useful appendix about fishing methods (good, bad, ugly), and specific fish (never, sometimes, always) -- shrimp and tuna in particular come off ver...more
I learned a lot from this book.
I gave up land animals a while ago, but still ate fish up until December of last year. I decided to give up seafood after watching the movie The COVE, truthfully when I decided to give up seafood I was not sure if I could do it forever, I mean I love seafood... land animals wasn't difficult for me , but the thought of giving up fish well, i definately had my doubts, still do sometimes.
After reading this book let me tell you I feel more determined to stick to my g...more
I gave up land animals a while ago, but still ate fish up until December of last year. I decided to give up seafood after watching the movie The COVE, truthfully when I decided to give up seafood I was not sure if I could do it forever, I mean I love seafood... land animals wasn't difficult for me , but the thought of giving up fish well, i definately had my doubts, still do sometimes.
After reading this book let me tell you I feel more determined to stick to my g...more
I was thinking of giving this a "3" - the myriad details within a common theme led all chapters - each a regional/nation-focused discussion - to blend together into depressing soup, and it took me months to finish the book. I hate it when a writer takes a narrow set of facts and blows these up inapproppriately - and potentially misleadingly. At the scale of book-wide themes, this isn't an issue. But when I read in the chapter on salmon that temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest "owe the...more
Jul 06, 2011
Tina
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
seafood lovers
very interesting book and very informative. I've been using the Monteray Bay Aquariam seafood guide for some time, but last year I found myself living in China eating jellyfish, sea cucumbers, and so many fish I'd never heard of, wondering if I was helping to extinguish another species from the ocean. I tried parrot fish for the first time recently and thought it quite tasty, and then I learned from the book that they're caught by destroying coral reefs with dynamite or cyanide! I knew salmon fa...more
Grescoe gives you much to contemplate - as a sushi lover, I have qualms ordering any kind of tuna. However, you have to get past his irritating, self-righteous tone in the first two chapters, coupled with mundane minutiae of the oyster farming industry, before any of his research, wisdom, and ethical arguments can really settle and have any effect. Must say, though, that I've switched from albacore to canned sardines as my protein of choice to mix with relish, mayo, and mustard and spread on bre...more
A most excellent book on the current state of our world's fisheries and the humans who depend on them, and, of course, destroy them. Many books have been published the last decade about the harmful effects of industrialized food production and this is one of those books, focusing on seafood instead of corn, beef, chicken, and the omnipresent plague of Fast Food. It's true that most of these kind of books can get a little preachy which is tiresome, but the education we get from them is invaluable...more
A few years back, Taras Grescoe wrote an entertaining travel/food book called the Devil's Picnic, which described his quest to try prohibited foods and beverages, including absinthe and raw milk cheese. His most recent book, Bottomfeeder, is just as entertaining, but also describes a serious global problem, namely, the devasation to the world's ecosystems caused by man's appetite for seafood.
Grescoe visits the home of many seafoods to show how the market for food is crushing seafood stocks. In t...more
Grescoe visits the home of many seafoods to show how the market for food is crushing seafood stocks. In t...more
Aug 14, 2008
Donna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone who eats seafood
Shelves:
nonfiction,
science
This book does for the seafood industry what "Fast Food Nation" did for the beef industry. I alternated between feeling disgusted and hungry as I read. The only thing that would have made it better is if it included photographs. Grescoe thoroughly researched the topic, spending a year and a half traveling around the globe to interview fishermen, fish farmers, fishmongers, chefs, scientists, activists, and fellow seafood eaters. Some people may dismiss his claims as alarmist hyperbole, but they a...more
I like the idea of this book, but the subtitle "how to eat ethically in a world of vanishing seafood" is inaccurate. Grescoe is a journalist who likes to travel and write about the people and things he finds. Only the appendix truly addresses the subtitle, and even it screams for more information about all the things we see on menus and at the grocery store. Frankly, the www.seafoodwatch.org website does that much better.
This book is very accessible though and makes you ask questions like "why...more
This book is very accessible though and makes you ask questions like "why...more
I really enjoyed this book, but had to dock it a star on reconsideration. Grescoe does a great job getting into the social, political, historical, scientific, ethical and culinary aspects of fishing around the world, and in general I like his tone and pacing. But after the first two chapters dragged a bit, I learned that he sometimes went into deeper detail in some sections than I found interesting, e.g. the important dates in the development of a localized fishing alliance. So, as I continued,...more
I love this author because he introduced me to sardines. I used to think they were kind of nasty but I now realise that was simply my ignorance talking. They're probably the healthiest fish you can eat and they have the added bonus of being far less environmentally harmful to fish than most any other seafood. But mostly they are delicious. After reading several of his articles over the past year, I decided pick this book up. Brilliant move. This is a fun, educational read and I highly recommend....more
This is a deft mix of the author's personal discoveries and industry information -- maybe akin to The Omnivore's Dilemma, but for seafood and fishing. It's well worth learning about if you care about sustainable eating at all (although I admit I was already aware of the issues when I picked this up; this has made me even more inclined to be mindful, however, and gives me more concrete reasons to offer people who are perplexed at how I won't eat shrimp). A very personable read.
This was a good book that I would recommend for anyone. It had lots of insite to the fisheries world, that even I was shocked on. As a seafood lover, I now need to reconsider where my seafood is coming from. Also that the asian countries are about killing the fishing industry and sending us toxic, farmed raised food, especially my beloved shrimp.
I thought some of the chapters were a bit long and drawn out on some of the subjects. It was like ok I really get the picture and I am sure some of the...more
I thought some of the chapters were a bit long and drawn out on some of the subjects. It was like ok I really get the picture and I am sure some of the...more
This book is a must-read for anyone concerned about how their seafood choices affect our planet. Grescoe presents a thorough survey of modern fishing practices (the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly) and their effects on the ocean ecosystem. His writing is clear and interesting, and unlike a lot of books of this type, he actually gives advice on how to minimize your "finprint."
Aug 25, 2012
Kimberly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
foodstuffs,
favorites
Many people are increasingly concerned about the source of our food -- in terms of both ethics and sustainability, and rightly so. Bottomfeeder is incredibly eye-opening, even if you think you know what's going on in the world's oceans.
The writer is Canadian and travels around the globe looking at the seafood situation in the wild and in terms of aquaculture, also touching on regional specialties and cultural delicacies. It’s also pretty well-rounded; Grescoe talks to local fishermen, massive co...more
The writer is Canadian and travels around the globe looking at the seafood situation in the wild and in terms of aquaculture, also touching on regional specialties and cultural delicacies. It’s also pretty well-rounded; Grescoe talks to local fishermen, massive co...more
I took this book with me to Venice, Italy. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Still, we were able to chow down on tons of anchovies and sardines, which, according to Grescoe, are still good-to-to. Very eye-opening book and fun to read with some resources in the back if you want to do more investigation.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the dreaded do not eat list | 1 | 9 | Aug 29, 2009 10:13am |
Taras Grescoe was born in 1967. He writes essays, articles, and books. He is something of a non-fiction specialist.
His first book was Sacré Blues, a portrait of contemporary Quebec that won Canada's Edna Staebler Award for Non-Fiction, two Quebec Writers' Federation Awards, a National Magazine Award (for an excerpted chapter), and was short-listed for the Writers' Trust Award. It was published in...more
More about Taras Grescoe...
His first book was Sacré Blues, a portrait of contemporary Quebec that won Canada's Edna Staebler Award for Non-Fiction, two Quebec Writers' Federation Awards, a National Magazine Award (for an excerpted chapter), and was short-listed for the Writers' Trust Award. It was published in...more
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