Salmon from Superior Fresh - April Meat Sale

Kind of by definition any farmed fish is going to be eating something different than it would have foraged for in the wild. However, what I didn't realize is that most farmed fish are fed the waste products from factory farms (think: chicken offal described in this study investigating the risk of salmonella contamination in the fish as a result)

Most farmed fish live in giant nets and the vast majority (88%) are from Asia. Domestically, they are often in formerly pristine streams. In order to keep the fish alive in crammed nets with questionable feed, there are a lot of under-regulated applications of medications and other chemicals put into the water.

Farmed fish are also often farmed in polluted waters since they are convenient or the natural fishery has collapsed due to all the pollution.

I was surprised to learn that Roundup and even more toxic herbicides are required for most farmed fish production to stop excessive algae growth or that other toxic insecticides are commonly used to treat parasites.

Even Canada, a major fish exporter, has mandated closing all salmon ocean based farming due to the massive pollution and environmental damage it is causing to their oceans

I was frustrated with the options for farmed fish, but I thought there MUST be someone else who feels the same and has created a better alternative.

Thankfully, I didn't have to search too far -- Superior Fresh is a certified organic farm in Wisconsin that is excited to serve our members.

I'll be honest, I was a little harsh when I first talked to them and demanded more details and insights into their production than they typically share. I wanted to know exactly what was in their proprietary feed and a full list of any inputs used in their farming operation. Very few operations would share such information, but I was happy with the level of transparency we were afforded.

Instead of factory animal byproducts, our fish are supplemented with organic grains and wild caught fish. I get that grains aren't natural for salmon to eat, but as part of a healthy diet, it reduces the pressure on the ocean's natural resources.

The farm uses clean Wisconsin well water and the water goes from the fish house out to the green houses for the plants and then back again.

Having clean water without parasites or other pests means none of the toxic chemicals are needed. 99.9% of the water is recycled in the system, so we aren't causing damage to our local lakes and streams like other farmed fish productions.

Because of the healthier diet, Superior Fresh's testing shows a higher amount of Omega-3s than other farmed salmon or even many wild caught samples.*