SCIENCE; SOCIETY; SUSTAINABILITY.

April 22, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. It was a significant movement in American history that achieved political alignment and united social stratas. In 1990, it went global and boosted worldwide recycling efforts. Earth Day today faces an ever urgent task of ramping up efforts to save the world.

Whether our focus is on promoting a plastic-free environment; eating less meat to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; saying “no” to produce that’s endangered or risks upsetting the balance in the food chain and their ecosystems; or just simply being conscious in using our own containers instead of takeaway packages; our agendas make a collective difference in creating change. Companies too are paying attention as consumers are looking deeper into the mechanics of being truly eco-friendly. We take a look at how packaging suppliers are innovating as well as restaurants and hotels that are doing their part in eco-conservation (pg 32).

In Indonesia’s Seasalt restaurant in Seminyak, sustainable seafood is their speciality, and this month, we take a look at the dishes that you could whip up for a dinner party (pg 52), from smoked gindara fish and skipjack tuna to hamachi. The Indonesian archipelago is the largest in the world and is home to a rich marine ecosystem that boasts abundant fish species to inspire chefs. Fisheries, small-scale suppliers, chefs and an independent foundation talk about their sustainable sourcing efforts (pg 14).

For chef-owner Josh Niland of Saint Peter and Fish Butchery in Sydney, his passion for practising a sustainable approach towards seafood has given him quite a reputation for serving up fish nose to tail and in dry ageing fish to bring out unami notes and texture (pg 36). Fancy some fish fat caramel macarons, fish eye chips or yellowfin tuna prosciutto?

Exotic or otherwise, there is no doubt that seafood is an important source of nutritious protein and micronutrients such as selenium, iodine and zinc, not forgetting omega-3 fatty acids. But the state of our oceans and the depletion of global fish stocks warrant some concern. This makes it even more important that chefs source seafood that have been sustainably caught and do not jeopardise the continued population of endangered fish species. We take an in-depth look at what seafood retailers, fish farms and food tech companies are churning up in the industry (pg 26.)

Stay healthy and eat well!