Why no oysters?

[wyfbaby]

They're quite low in fat. They contain lots of nutrients, especially b12. They don't have a central nervous system so that's great too. I don't really feel comfortable taking a b12 supplement so could this be a way to go? What's wrong with oysters?

[Drew_ab]

Those are all good reasons to eat oysters - and at one point I considered them for the exact reasons you suggest. The trouble is they are often contaminated and they do contain cholesterol. While they probably aren't as harmful as beef or deli meat, they aren't health promoting like plants are.

[colonyofcells]

All seafood have lots of pollutants. I also heard that shellfish are on the way out of the biosphere bec of ocean acidification.

[bbq]

Wild shellfish warning: Potentially lethal toxins found in Tasmanian oysters, mussels
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-28/new-health-warning-over-wild-tasmanian-shellfish-scallops/7455892

Oregon oysters contain 'cocktail of pharmaceuticals'
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2016/05/02/oregon-oysters-contain-drugs-toxins-researchers-say/83838580/

Native Olympia oysters in Oregon’s Coos and Netarts bays “contain a cocktail of pharmaceuticals and other potentially harmful chemicals,” researchers at Portland State University said Monday.

Those include pain relievers, antibiotics, antihistamines, PCBs, mercury and pesticides.

Spatial and temporal variability of contaminants within estuarine sediments and native Olympia oysters: A contrast between a developed and an undeveloped estuary
http://sci-hub.cc/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.043
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969716304697

[Ern2Win]

As Dr. McDougall says....muscle is muscle!

If the pollutants and toxins well outlined above are not enough:

cholesterol
TMAO

Like all animal products, they cause inflammation in the bodies systems, arteries and kidneys.

[bbq]

Disbelief over state plan to spray neurotoxin into oyster beds
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/disbelief-over-state-plan-to-spray-neurotoxin-into-oyster-beds/

Oyster farmers burned by pesticide backlash aim to spray
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Oyster-farmers-burned-by-pesticide-backlash-aim-6752004.php

Consumers Ate Washington State Aquaculture Oysters Sprayed With DDT Like Pesticides for Decades Without Ever Knowing It-Public Outraged!!!!
http://freeandcommon.com/consumers-ate-washington-state-aquaculture-oysters-sprayed-with-pesticide-for-decades-without-ever-knowing-public-outraged/

Public Perceptions and Pesticides - A Case Study of the Willapa Bay Oyster Bed Spraying Permit of 2015
https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/36745
https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/36745/Baker_washington_0250O_16120.pdf

Come on, let's skip all that yucky stuff and try this instead:

The Mighty Oyster Mushroom: The Workhorse of Gourmet Fungi
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/oyster-mushroom_b_2522084.html

Mushroom, oyster, raw Nutrition Facts & Calories
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/3050/2

Pleurotus ostreatus: an oyster mushroom with nutritional and medicinal properties
http://www.jbiochemtech.com/index.php/jbt/article/view/JBT529
http://www.jbiochemtech.com/index.php/jbt/article/view/JBT529/pdf_190

[wyfbaby]

You have convinced me not to eat oysters

[Old Guy]

They're quite low in fat. They contain lots of nutrients, especially b12. They don't have a central nervous system so that's great too. I don't really feel comfortable taking a b12 supplement so could this be a way to go? What's wrong with oysters?

They are filters of the sea! They consume whatever is in the water like toxins and sewage!

[Chrysalis]

I do eat oysters. It is the only exception that I make to the McDougall program. It's sort of a reward for me. Kind of like McDougall and his turkey so he can say he's not a vegetarian. Except I've chosen to rebel by eating something that doesn't feel pain. I know that they aren't as good to consume as plants, but I also know that every Blue Zone population consumes a small percentage of their calories from animal foods, and oysters are certainly better than virtually all other animal foods on every level. They can also be farmed ecologically and ethically. They purify the water and transform toxins into nutrition. They have heme iron, which is not ideal to consume in large quantities, but is useful if you have issues with your iron levels. They will also give you iodine and zinc, DHA and B12, basically everything that a vegan can possibly be deficient in. In the end it's about weighing the pros and cons, and after carefully considering them, I've chosen to include them in my diet occasionally. I'm comfortable getting local, farmed Eastern oysters and I've asked to have access to the lab tests showing that they are toxin-free.

[bbq]

Oddly, the researchers found no association between plasma B12 levels and meat, poultry, and fish intake, even though these foods supply the bulk of B12 in the diet. “It’s not because people aren’t eating enough meat,” Tucker said. “The vitamin isn’t getting absorbed.”

Plasma vitamin B-12 concentrations relate to intake source in the Framingham Offspring Study
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/71/2/514.long

Ask Dr. Neal Barnard: Do I need vitamin B12?
http://youtu.be/QyTjS80Dyk0

[GeoffreyLevens]

Except I've chosen to rebel by eating something that doesn't feel pain.

Full disclosure: I would eat an oyster or two or three no problem. But how do you know they don't feel pain? Ever try to dig a live one out of its shell? Why do you think it contracts and cringes away from your fork? Pain and lots of it! Got to be real about it at least

[f1jim]

I would also take issue with oysters being raised sustainably. I would take issue with ANY marine life being raised sustainably.
But from my experience there are just some things people will NOT give up. Whatever makes the case to continue eating something is fuel for our insistence. We all make our own choices. I am not sure one can easily choose one form of life over another and really feel good about it if one has that ethical bend. But we humans can learn to live with guilt nicely.
f1jim

[bbq]

The Fish Facade: Part I
http://comfortablyunaware.com/blog/the-fish-facade/

The Fish Facade: Part II
http://comfortablyunaware.com/blog/the-fish-facade-part-ii/

Just an FYI - according to Dr. Richard Oppenlander who wrote the blog posts linked above, the term "sustainable" really means next to nothing and therefore maybe that's just the same old trick like "free range" as well as "grass fed" etc.

Pseudo-Sustainability: The Beef With Grass-Fed Beef
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/pseudo-sustainability-the-beef-with-grass-fed-beef/

Global Depletion: Richard Oppenlander
http://revolutionofthemind.org/global-depletion-richard-oppenlander/

11/23/11 Interview with Richard Oppenlander
http://responsibleeatingandliving.com/11232011-interview-with-richard-oppenlander/
http://itsallaboutfood.podbean.com/mf/web/f3hm7/ItsAllAboutFood112311.mp3

[colonyofcells]

What I heard is aquaculture is not sustainable and kills lots of sealife.

[bbq]

Genetic screening of farmed Atlantic salmon escapees demonstrates that triploid fish display reduced migration to freshwater
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-016-1066-9

It's just a mess even if we're only counting farmed Atlantic salmon alone, hundreds of thousands of them escape from fish farms to the wild each year. Whatever diseases they've got could end up you know where they are:

Deadly salmon disease found in B.C. farmed stock, federal scientists say
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/farmed-salmon-bc-disease-hsmi-aquaculture-1.3593958

Wild and farmed fish infect each other
http://sciencenordic.com/wild-and-farmed-fish-infect-each-other

Nightmare in the making, what a shame.