Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’
Sushi Can Survive, and Thrive
With the ongoing tragedy in Japan, people have been asking me if sushi is safe to eat, and indeed, whether the future of sushi as a cuisine might be in jeopardy. Let me first say that the situation in Japan is heartbreaking, and I have many close friends there who I’ve been in contact with…
Read More$400,000 for a Fish?
What’s with the $400,000 bluefin tuna that just sold at a new year’s auction in Tokyo? Nothing. This recurring headline of extravagantly priced tuna is one of those news items that leaves you with less knowledge than you had before you heard about it. That’s because the only reason any bidder at the Tokyo auction ever pays…
Read MoreFeeling “Manly”?
In case you sushi lovers haven’t had enough of my posts on nigiri topped with flounder testicle, here’s the latest high-end food fad in that category: sipping cod semen. Apparently no one has told these people that we’re trying to bring back the cod population. I don’t think slurping down all the spermatozoa is going…
Read MoreFood for Thought
If there’s one thing I learned while researching and writing The Story of Sushi, it’s that the history of sushi has been one of surprisingly constant change and evolution, both in Japan and internationally. The book’s subtitle isn’t “An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice” for nothing. The other day I had the honor…
Read MoreHelp Save the Endangered Bluefin
Discover the delights of an old-fashioned, traditional Japanese sushi menu that prizes the more authentic sushi fish–and skips the endangered tunas pushed by the globalized, industrial fishing and restaurant industries–by attending one of my historical sushi dinners. Bluefin tuna and the risks faced by this majestic fish from overfishing were the subject of a recent…
Read MoreIf You’re Looking for Crustacean Porn
Then look no further than the new “Summer Issue” of New York magazine, which describes a lobster-sex-tape viewing session with yours truly. If you find that the least bit interesting, you’re probably a prime candidate for putting The Secret Life of Lobsters on your summer reading list. Here’s what the Associated Press had to say: In passages…
Read MoreSustainable Sushi Strains Couples in Therapy
In case you missed this from an article in the New York Times the other day titled “Therapists Report Increase in Green Disputes”: Mr. Fleming, who says he became committed to Ms. Cobb “before her high-priestess phase,” describes their conflicts as good-natured — mostly. But he refuses to go out to eat sushi with her anymore,…
Read MoreTuna in Trouble
If Atlantic bluefin tuna becomes an endangered species, that’s big news. That will wake a lot of people up. There I go, quoting myself again, this time from an AP article that’s been running on ABC News and numerous other outlets: “Sushi-Loving Japan Fears Push for Tuna Export Ban.” This is a difficult issue, because…
Read MoreLobster Side Dish: Bricks, or Oysters?
Bricks are not delicious. Oysters are delicious. Both are heavy. Heaviness is what you need for a lobster trap to sink to the bottom of the sea and stay there. When I worked as a lobsterboat crewman in Maine, numerous winter days were spent outfitting new traps with heavy bricks. But the lobstermen pictured above, who are…
Read MoreThe Ultimate in Sustainable Sushi Might Just Be … Chicken
In The Story of Sushi I write about one of the first female sushi chefs to graduate from the California Sushi Academy–Tracy Griffith, actress, singer, and half-sister of Melanie Griffith. Here’s the beginning of the section about Tracy in the book: A feisty redhead, Tracy had gotten to the point in her film career where…
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