Norwegian Salmon is one of the most toxic foods in the world. Facts that will surprise you
For months, journalists Nicolas Daniel and Louis de Barbeyrac studied the inner workings of the fishing industry. They travelled to Norway and Vietnam and visited Sweden and Denmark. The resulting film uncovers the truth about Norwegian salmon that the “fishing lobby” is trying to hide.
The investigation started in western Norway, where artificial farming-oriented fish farms are common within rural areas. The journalist met with Norwegian activist, ecologist and the founder of Green Warriors of Norway [1] Kurt Oddekalv, who believes the truth of what is happening under the fjord waters to be outrageous.
Kurt Oddekalv has been at war with the artificial fish farms in Norway for a long time. He shared shocking details about their work.
“The situation around fish is catastrophic in Norway. There are too many fish, they raise up to 2 million fish on small farms like these. The fish are ill, we can already talk about pandemics: salmon has already spread across Norway, but they are hiding it from the public.”
Activists have been following big fish farms for the past ten years, keeping them under control and gathering information. They have records showing fish farm workers pouring strong pesticides with neurotoxic properties into the water.
“They have to wear masks and protection suits to protect themselves against the antiparasitic chemicals. It isn’t uncommon on fish farms. You can find a lot of different chemicals that are harmful to humans in salmon,” Kurt straight up says: “Norwegian salmon is one of the most poisonous foods in the world.”
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Salmon is also affected by mutations and Kurt showed us, how the salmon meat falls apart during cooking. “That should not be happening, the meat should be elastic. As you know, wild salmon has 5– 7% body fat and artificially raised has 15-34% fat. All toxins are stored in fat cells. As a result, this fish becomes one of the most toxic in the world.”
SOURCE: Redakce. “Norský Losos Je Jedna Z Nejjedovatějších Potravin Ve Světě. Fakta, KTERÁ Překvapí.” Lajkit.cz, LAJKIT, 3 July 2019, http://www.lajkit.cz/zivotni-styl/item/568-norsky-losos-je-jedna-z-nejjedovatejsich-potravin-ve-svete-fakta-ktera-prekvapi.
[1] The direct translation of the name would be the Environmental Conservationists Association of Norway. There isn’t an official Czech name as far as I am aware, official English name has been used. The vagueness of the Czech version might lead to confusion, as there are several ecological organisations in Norway with similar names, including one of which Kurt Oddekalv used to be a member (but not a founder) of before he was voted out.
ANALYSIS:
According to iRozhlas, the article has garnered over 21 thousand likes on Facebook, making it one of the most popular disinformation articles in the Czech Republic. [1] The article itself is fearmongering, basing its claims solely on a 2013 documentary called Fillet Oh! Fish (2013) by two French journalist. The only actual source listed by the author is an almost identical article in Slovak; no fact-checking seems to have been done.
The two journalists talked to Kurt Oddeklav, a Norwegian eco activist, and a known conspiracy believer. [2] He believed in the chemtrails conspiracy which, while not directly tied to salmon farming, is based on a similar idea of harmful chemicals being used to poison us while this information is being withheld from the public.
The most alarming parts of the article state that the fish are full of neurotoxins from pesticides that stay in the salmon due to its high body fat percentage. According to Czech dTest, levels of chemical contaminants were low in all used samples. [3] Furthermore, the fat percentage of tested farm salmon was not only much lower than the article’s numbers, they were actually lower than what the distributor’s information would suggest. While some studies from the mid-2000s reported higher levels of different toxins in farmed fish compared to wild fish (and even then, they were well below the maximum allowed levels),[4] more recent studies saw a decrease in harmful chemicals since then. [5] Therefore, the article seems to be merely trying to cause unnecessary fear.
[1] Golis, Ondřej. “Všechny Fake News Nelze Odhalit, Mají Faktický Základ a Působí Věrohodně, Varuje Odborník.” IROZHLAS, 2 Dec. 2016, https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-domov/vsechny-fake-news-nelze-odhalit-maji-fakticky-zaklad-a-pusobi-verohodne-varuje-odbornik-_201612020555_ogolis.
[2] Clifton, Merritt. “Fish Farming Foe Kurt Oddekalv, No Bunny-Hugger, Dies Trying to Save Dog – Animals 24.” Animals 24-7, 8 Feb. 2021, https://www.animals24-7.org/2021/02/04/fish-farming-foe-kurt-oddekalv-no-bunny-hugger-dies-trying-to-save-dog/.
[3] “DTest: Norský Losos Jedovaté Pesticidy Neobsahuje, Ale „Prošel Liposukcí.’” Dtest.cz, DTest, 10 Nov. 2016, https://www.dtest.cz/clanek-5468/dtest-norsky-losos-jedovate-pesticidy-neobsahuje-ale-prosel-liposukci.
[4] Shaw, Susan D., et al. “PCBS, PCDD/Fs, and Organochlorine Pesticides in Farmed Atlantic Salmon from Maine, Eastern Canada, and Norway, and Wild Salmon from Alaska.” Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 40, no. 17, 2006, pp. 5347–5354., https://doi.org/10.1021/es061006c.
[5] Nøstbakken, Ole Jakob, et al. “Contaminant Levels in Norwegian Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) in the 13-Year Period from 1999 to 2011.” Environment International, vol. 74, 2015, pp. 274–280., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2014.10.008.
about the source:
Lajkit.cz is a fairly small online news portal registered to Ondřej Geršl who is tied to multiple other disinformation outlets. [6] The web covers many different topics from current news to paranormal conspiracies. Its views are generally in line with more right-wing, conservative ideas, with many articles focusing on anti-immigration or anti-vaccine rhetoric; many of those articles are outright disinformation. Fortunately, the site seems to be mostly inactive nowadays as only two articles have been published since January 2021, both of those being sponsored articles.
[6] Brodcová, Daniela. “Neznámí Vlastníci, Redaktoři a Neprůhledné Finance. Přečtěte, Kdo V Česku Šíří Dezinformace.” IROZHLAS, 25 Nov. 2016, https://www.irozhlas.cz/zpravy-z-domova/neznami-vlastnici-redaktori-a-nepruhledne-finance-prectete-kdo-v-cesku-siri_1611250606_dbr.
