1. FISH provides another class of high-protein or tissue-building food.
As this term is generally understood, it includes both vertebrate
fish--that is, fish having a backbone, such as salmon, cod, shad,
etc.--and many other water animals, such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp,
oysters, and clams. A distinction, however, is generally made between
these two groups, those having bones being regarded properly as _fish_
and those partly or entirely encased in shells, as _shell fish_. It is
according to this distinction that this class of foods is considered in
this Section. Because all the varieties of both fish and shell fish are
in many respects similar, the term _sea food_ is often applied to them,
but, as a rule, this term is restricted to designate salt-water products
as distinguished from fresh-water fish.
2. Fish can usually be purchased at a lower price than meat, and for
this reason possesses an economic advantage over it. Besides the price,
the substitution of fish for meat makes for economy in a number of ways
to which consideration is not usually given. These will become clearly
evident when it is remembered that nearly all land animals that furnish
meat live on many agricultural products that might be used for human
food. Then, too, other foods fed to animals, although not actually human
foods, require in their raising the use of soil that might otherwise be
utilized for the raising of food for human beings. This is not true in
the case of fish. They consume the vegetation that grows in lakes,
streams, and the ocean, as well as various kinds of insects, small fish,
etc., which cannot be used as human food and which do not require the
use of the soil. In addition, much of the food that animals, which are
warm-blooded, take into their bodies is required to maintain a constant
temperature above that of their surroundings, so that not all of what
they eat is used in building up the tissues of their bodies. With fish,
however, it is different. As they are cold-blooded and actually receive
heat from their surroundings, they do not require food for bodily
warmth. Practically all that they take into the body is built up into a
supply of flesh that may be used as food for human beings.
3. With fish, as with other foods, some varieties are sought more than
others, the popularity of certain kinds depending on the individual
taste or the preference of the people in a particular locality. Such
popularity, however, is often a disadvantage to the purchaser, because a
large demand for certain varieties has a tendency to cause a rise in
price. The increased price does not indicate that the fish is of more
value to the consumer than some other fish that may be cheaper because
it is less popular, although quite as valuable from a food standpoint.
The preference for particular kinds of fish and the persistent disregard
of others that are edible is for the most part due to prejudice. In
certain localities, one kind of fish may be extremely popular while in
others the same fish may not be used for food at all. Such prejudice
should be overcome, for, as a matter of fact, practically every fish
taken from pure water is fit to eat, in the sense that it furnishes food
and is not injurious to health.
In addition, any edible fish should be eaten in the locality where it is
caught. The transportation of this food is a rather difficult matter,
and, besides, it adds to the cost. It is therefore an excellent plan to
make use of the kind of fish that is most plentiful, as such practice
will insure both better quality and a lower market price.
4. As is well known, fish is an extremely perishable food. Therefore,
when it is caught in quantities too great to be used at one time, it is
preserved in various ways. The preservation methods that have proved to
be the most satisfactory are canning, salting and drying, smoking, and
preserving in various kinds of brine and pickle. As such methods are
usually carried out in the locality where the fish is caught, many
varieties of fish can be conveniently stored for long periods of time
and so distributed as to meet the requirements of the consumer. This
plan enables persons far removed from the Source of supply to procure
fish frequently.
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