This weblog is a part of a collection referred to as Fish-nomics , inspecting essential subjects regarding seafood trade issues from an economist’s perspective.
Picture courtesy of Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS.
In 2022 the US Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) issued a report on seafood in class lunch applications. The report discovered that between 2014 and 2019, the USDA’s Nationwide College Lunch Program’s (NSLP) seafood purchases solely accounted for 1.5% of whole animal protein bought by this system. On common, the NSLP offered U.S. college students with solely 3 ounces of seafood per 12 months whereas the USDA’s personal Dietary Pointers for People advocate school-age youngsters eat 4-10 ounces of seafood per week relying on age.
Bettering entry to seafood for kids via the NSLP represents a chance to enhance scholar well being and improve demand for U.S. produced seafood. Rising the proportion of NSLP purchases of animal protein from seafood to fifteen% would require the USDA to purchase 55.7 million extra kilos of U.S. produced seafood per 12 months.
The necessity for extra seafood in class lunches is highlighted by the truth that USDA knowledge indicated that the majority U.S. school-age youngsters don’t eat the advisable quantities prescribed by the Dietary Pointers for People. Seafood is a vital supply of key vitamins, minerals, and nutritional vitamins together with omega-3 fatty acids, nutritional vitamins B12 and D, selenium, zinc, and iodine. Research relating to these vitamins, minerals, and nutritional vitamins have proven advantages together with diminished threat of heart problems, sure cancers, cognitive decline (together with Alzheimer’s illness and dementia), and melancholy, whereas doubtlessly enhancing immune perform, bone well being, eye well being, and fetal and toddler growth.
The USDA’s Strategic Plan signifies that one of many Company’s objectives is to assist and encourage wholesome consuming by working with colleges to enhance entry to nutritious meals choices, like seafood. Nevertheless, to do that the USDA might want to alert consumers for NSLP of the supply of latest seafood merchandise. The GAO report concerned interviews with 20 of those directors as to why they didn’t try to incorporate extra seafood in class lunches via the NSLP. The three mostly cited considerations included: worries about seafood security, scholar preferences for different animal proteins, and availability of seafood.
Instructional applications for directors, mother and father, and college students may lower considerations about seafood security and alter preferences for seafood, whereas instructional applications particularly for directors may improve the number of seafood provided via the NSLP. Between 2014 and 2019, the one seafood merchandise provided via this system had been Alaska pollock, canned tuna, and catfish bought from a complete of 11 distributors. Whereas these are good seafood selections, a greater variety of choices together with shrimp and salmon, the 2 most consumed forms of seafood within the U.S., may lower worries about scholar preferences for different animal proteins and improve seafood uptake within the NSLP.
Picture courtesy of Tyler Jones.
Together with shrimp within the NSLP would improve seafood in scholar diets and bolster considered one of America’s largest fisheries. Shrimp is by far probably the most consumed seafood kind within the U.S. and accounts for 29% of whole U.S. seafood consumption, and school-age youngsters are prone to be accustomed to and prepared to eat shrimp via the NSLP. Introducing shrimp into the NSLP may enhance the willingness of directors to attempt including different seafood choices to highschool lunches and make youngsters extra prepared to attempt different forms of seafood each in school and at residence.
Moreover, together with U.S. wild-caught shrimp within the NSLP would supply one other potential marketplace for the fishery. The U.S. shrimp fishery is likely one of the 5 largest industrial fisheries within the U.S.; nonetheless, cheaper imported shrimp has negatively impacted the fishery and the coastal communities that depend on the fishery. If the proportion of NSLP animal protein supply purchases from seafood elevated from 1.5% to fifteen%, and simply half of the elevated purchases had been U.S. wild-caught shrimp, the USDA would purchase 27.9 million extra kilos – or 10% of all shrimp landed within the U.S. in 2020. This kind of change to the NSLP would improve scholar consumption of nutritious high-quality seafood as advisable by the USDA Dietary Pointers for People and profit U.S. fishermen and coastal communities.
If you want to voice your considerations concerning the lack of wholesome seafood choices within the NSLP or different points essential to you, you should use this hyperlink to search out your elected officers and speak to them to specific your opinions.
For extra info or questions on seafood in class lunch applications, please contact Andrew Ropicki at aropicki@ufl.edu.
