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August 2, 2018 Aquaponics, Fish 4,971 Comments

Vegetarians, vegans and those interested in animal rights, occasionally ask us the question – is aquaponics ethical?

They worry:

•If the plants can be considered edible for a vegan (as they were nourished by fish poop)

•If the fish are harmed

•If the fish food is vegetarian.

Everyone has a different set of ethical principles but from our stand point – yes, you absolutely can enjoy aquaponics BOTH if you are vegetarian and vegan. Here’s why:

•The plants are nourished by fish waste – not the fish themselves! Vegetable crops all over India have seen animal fertilizer, so even the strictest vegetarian has consumed vegetables helped along by animal waste. Indian farming usually has animal labour involved too – our fish don’t have any work to do – except swim around merrily and poop!

•The fish are not harmed, in fact, as mentioned above, they have very nice lives and enjoy being fed regularly! Some people choose to eat their fish (which is fine, and an excellent source of organic protein) but it’s also completely fine to simply let them swim happily and provide the essential poop!

•Is fish food vegetarian? It completely depends on which fish you use. Just like humans, some fish are natural herbivores, and some are carnivores. So you may want to consider this when choosing the kind of fish to raise.

What do you think?

Written by Pippa Woodhead
Being a health-nut, London born Pippa has struggled to adjust to the lack of availability of lettuce and kale since re-locating to India. Previously naive to the extent of the worlds food struggles, she has now become obsessed with sustainability in food production and especially in India where it needs it the most (plus she’s also hoping to get her hands on some kale any day now). When she’s not writing for Aquaponics in India, she is usually found with her head in a book or in the kitchen experimenting with new vegetarian recipes.