Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish

The Passionate Affair with Fish

In this section, the speaker talks about their experience with a particular fish and its supposed sustainability.

A Beautiful Fish

• The speaker describes a fish they loved, which was flavorful, textured, and meaty.

• This fish was farm-raised to meet high sustainability standards.

Speaking at an Event

• The head of the company asks the speaker to speak at an event about the farm's sustainability.

• The company aims to solve the problem of keeping fish on menus due to overfishing.

Collapse of Large Fish Population

• Over the past 50 years, large fish species like tunas, halibuts, salmons, and swordfish have collapsed by 90% due to overfishing.

• Aquaculture or fish farming is seen as a potential solution for sustainable seafood production.

Challenges of Fish Farming

• Many arguments against fish farming include pollution and inefficiency.

• Tuna farming has a feed conversion ratio of 15:1 (15 pounds of wild fish needed for one pound of farm tuna).

Supporting Sustainable Practices?

• The speaker wanted to support a company that claimed to do fish farming right.

• However, doubts arose when discussing sustainable proteins used in their feed.

What Are Sustainable Proteins?

In this section, the speaker questions what constitutes sustainable proteins used in aquaculture feed.

Lack of Clarity on Sustainable Proteins

• The speaker contacts the head of PR for clarification on sustainable proteins but receives vague answers.

• After further inquiries within the company, no one can provide a straight answer until speaking with the head biologist.

Chicken Pellets as Feed

• The head biologist mentions chicken pellets as part of their feed composition.

• These pellets consist of feathers, skin, bone meal, scraps dried and processed into feed.

• Surprisingly, chicken makes up around 30% of their feed.

Questioning the Sustainability

• The speaker questions the sustainability of feeding chicken to fish.

• The head biologist's response suggests that there is an excess of chicken in the world.

A Different Kind of Love Story

In this section, the speaker introduces a different fish farming experience that changed their perspective.

Introduction to Miguel and Veta La Palma

• The speaker first encounters this fish at a restaurant in southern Spain based on a recommendation from a journalist friend.

• They meet Miguel, a biologist at Veta La Palma, a fish farm in southwestern Spain.

Transforming Wetlands into Fish Farm

• Veta La Palma was previously owned by Argentinians who raised beef cattle by draining wetlands.

• In 1982, a Spanish company purchased the land and reversed the flow of water to create a fish farm.

Ecological Restoration

• The company's actions completely reversed ecological destruction caused by previous farming practices.

• The farm covers 27,000 acres and cultivates various species like bass, mullet, shrimp, and eel.

Exploring Veta La Palma with Miguel

• The speaker visits Veta La Palma with Miguel and describes the incredible landscape of flooded canals and rich marshland.

• Despite challenging conditions during their visit, Miguel calmly shares his knowledge about biology and ecology.

Falling in Love with the Fish

In this section, the speaker recounts their experience tasting the fish from Veta La Palma for the first time.

Overcooked but Still Delicious

• At a restaurant in southern Spain, they try the fish from Veta La Palma that had been overcooked but still tasted amazing.

• The chef who cooked the fish is not a traditional chef but a biologist named Miguel.

The Fascinating Story of Veta La Palma

• Veta La Palma was transformed from wetlands used for beef cattle farming into a sustainable fish farm.

• The ecological restoration efforts at Veta La Palma have created an incredible environment for fish cultivation.

Getting to Know the Fish

• The speaker develops a deep appreciation and love for the fish from Veta La Palma as they learn more about its origin and sustainability practices.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses their fascination with a fish farm and their curiosity about what makes the fish taste so good.

Curiosity about Fish Taste

• The speaker interrupts Miguel, the owner of the fish farm, to ask what makes the fish taste so good.

• Miguel explains that the fish are eating what they would eat in the wild - plant biomass, phytoplankton, and zooplankton. The system is self-renewing and there is no feed required.

New Section

In this section, the speaker learns about the success of Miguel's farm and its unique features.

Measuring Success

• The speaker asks Miguel how he measures success on a farm that seems so natural.

• They come across thousands of pink flamingos on the property, which Miguel points out as a sign of success. The flamingos feast on the fish and shrimp from the farm.

• Despite losing 20% of their fish to birds, Miguel considers it a thriving bird population that benefits their ecological network.

New Section

In this section, Miguel explains how his farm functions as an ecological network.

Ecological Network

• Miguel explains that they farm extensively rather than intensively. The flamingos eat shrimp, which in turn eat phytoplankton. The pinker their bellies, the better the system is functioning.

• The speaker realizes that this farm is not just a fish farm but also a bird sanctuary. It challenges traditional farming practices by focusing on ecological balance and predator-prey relationships for success.

New Section

In this section, the speaker discusses the unique behavior of the flamingos and the quality of the fish.

Flamingo Behavior and Fish Quality

• The flamingos fly 150 miles to the farm because the food is better there. They follow a broken white line on highway A92.

• The speaker mentions that they enjoyed the taste of fish at Miguel's restaurant, especially noting that the skin tasted sweet and clean. Miguel explains that the skin acts as a sponge, soaking up impurities, but their water has no impurities.

New Section

In this section, the speaker highlights how Miguel's farm goes beyond traditional farming practices.

Water Purification Farm

• The farm not only doesn't feed its animals but also measures success by the health of its predators. It acts as a water purification plant for both fish and humans.

• The water that flows through the farm comes from a river carrying chemical contaminants and pesticide runoff. However, when it leaves, it is cleaner than when it entered due to the system's ability to purify water.

• This type of farming represents a new conception of agriculture focused on producing good-tasting food while maintaining ecological balance and purifying water for all.

New Section

In this section, the speaker emphasizes that we need a new approach to agriculture for good-tasting food.

Future of Good Food

• The speaker addresses critics who question how we can feed the world with alternative farming practices. They argue that we already produce enough calories but face distribution inequalities causing hunger in one billion people today.

• The current logic of the food system, focused on quantity and cheap production, has led to negative consequences for the environment and health. A new conception of agriculture is needed to prioritize taste, ecological balance, and water purification.

Timestamps are approximate and may vary slightly depending on the video version.

New Section

The speaker discusses the threats to our breadbasket and emphasizes the importance of focusing on diminishing resources rather than supply.

How are we going to feed ourselves?

• The speaker raises the question of how we can create conditions that enable every community to feed itself.

• The agribusiness model is outdated and ineffective, relying heavily on capital, chemistry, and machines.

• Instead, the speaker suggests looking to the ecological model, which has billions of years of experience.

• Farms should focus on restoration instead of depletion and farm extensively rather than intensively.

New Section

The speaker highlights the need to shift our focus from feeding the world to ensuring that each community can feed itself.

Let's start by asking: How are we going to feed ourselves?

• It is important to prioritize creating conditions that enable every community to be self-sufficient in terms of food production.

• The agribusiness model is not suitable for achieving this goal as it has not produced high-quality food.

• Instead, we should adopt an ecological model that relies on extensive farming practices and restoration.

New Section

The speaker emphasizes the importance of farmers who prioritize restoring resources and farming extensively.

Look to Miguel and farmers like him

• Miguel represents a type of farmer who focuses on restoring resources rather than depleting them.

• These farmers rely on an ecological model with billions of years of experience.

• Extensive farming practices are favored over intensive ones for sustainable food production.