Sushi, as harmless as it looks?

This weekend I went to sushi with friends. We went to my favorite sushi place in the city.

When eating sushi, I never think twice about what I'm eating. My only thoughts consisted of, Do these flavors go together? and Do I need to dip my roll in the soy/wasabi concoction I just made?

I then started reading Eating Animals, recommended by my boyfriend James, and suddenly I cannot stop thinking. Don't get me wrong, I love sushi, but I love the ocean more (I may have referenced Finding Nemo three times on my last trip to San Francisco.).

Where is the fish I'm eating coming from and what, if any, damage to the environment is caused by catching it?

According to Foer, "the average shrimp trawling operation throws back 80 to 90 percent of the sea animals it captures overboard, dead or dying, as bycatch (Endangered species account for much of this bycatch.) ... Or take tuna. [There are another] 145 species regularly killed--gratuitously--while killing tuna... Imagine being served a plate of sushi. But this plate also holds all the animals that were killed for your serving of sushi. The plate might have to be five feet across."

Wow Foer! Way to open my eyes to an unknown case of collateral damage--one my heart, and stomach, do not take lightly. I'm not telling you to stop eating sushi completely. My hope is that you'll think before going to your local all-you-can-eat sushi joint, or  before buying that last roll you just might not finish.

Xoxo,
Nemo Lover

(Photo courtesy of Katie Hansen, edited by me.)