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[–] 54 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (11 children)

As stated, it is because they don't eat little crustaceans and krill in the Salmon farms. These critters have Astaxanthin in them (same stuff that makes flamingoes pink).

Astaxanthin is just the pigment that is naturally produced by these animals. It can be synthetically produced using yeast or algae - the synthetic stuff is chemically identical to the naturally-occurring stuff.

I feel like the implication when you see "farmed salmon is grey" is typically "and therefore it is bad/toxic/unhealthy/unnatural, etc". Really, the color just means they just have less naturally occurring astaxanthin in their diet. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant and is good for you - and plays a role in the growth and development of the salmon. However, when it is produced synthetically and added into the fishes' feed to give them color & aid their development, it has the same effect as if it were from krill.

There are problems with salmon farming (environmental and animal welfare issues, though there can also be disease and contaminant issues dependent on farm location/conditions), but the actual meat is not nutritionally very different from wild salmon. It can actually have similar or even higher omega-3 content because farmed salmon are fatter (though their fat is higher in omega-6 and lower in omega-3 than wild-caught salmon).

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  • [–] 20 points 18 hours ago

    Wow, both of you taught me some neat stuff! Astaxanthin sounds like it plays multiple roles in the lifecycle of salmon and is one of the most powerful antioxidants as well, so it benefits those of us that eat salmon. It's also the same reason/process that makes flamingos their beautiful color.

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  • [–] 5 points 15 hours ago*

    Unsurprising. A lot of 'natural' additives are actually worse for you than the synthetic alternative.

    The most obvious example I can think of is almond flavouring. The natural variant often contains traces of cyanide, which is not great even in small quantities.

    Bit of a tangent, but I think most people would be surprised how many of the plants in their garden are deadly. And because I don't want to give anyone any ideas, usually that death is slow, incredibly painful, and involve you shitting yourself endlessly. Wear gloves and don't burn stuff you don't recognise.

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  • [–] 4 points 15 hours ago (1 child)

    A potential "no stupid questions"-question.

    Will I turn pink if I eat enough Astaxanthin? Is it toxic in the amounts that would be necessary?

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  • [–] 2 points 13 hours ago (1 child)

    I don't know if it's placebo, but I think I notice a difference in flavor between wild-caught and farm-raised salmon. I guess it's like beef from cows that are raised with care versus beef from those that aren't?

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  • [–] 1 point 12 hours ago*

    Oh there's definitely a taste difference - mainly because of diet. Farm-raised salmon eat feed made of various grain-starches, oils, and fish meal supplemented by vitamins and minerals whilesalmon in the wild eat a much fifferent diet. But nutritionally there isn't a substantial difference.

    As an aside, the salmon fisheries in North America are some of the best-managed and most sustainable in the world. So if you can afford it, then wild caught salmon is a great choice.

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  • [–] 4 points 18 hours ago* (4 children)

    Salmon is my number 1 food i want scientists to start growing in labs, cheaply and without animal harm.

    We are far off still but i am rooting.

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  • [–] 3 points 15 hours ago

    It's big carnivorous ocean-dwelling fish for me - like tuna, swordfish, etc - both because many of their fisheries are in very poor health/are destructive to the environment and because of the heavy metals issue.

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  • [–] -3 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

    Cows would probably have a much bigger global impact. Do you have good reasons or just selfishly because you think they taste better?

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  • [–] 12 points 18 hours ago*

    I mean i gladly take lab grown beef, it would indeed be great for the climate. Any lab grown meat is positive.

    But yeah i do selfishly just want to eat more salmon more often because currently sashimi grade salmon is just too expensive for my budget.

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