Fish Food Fiasco

[AJ Grottke]

Well, I am about 2 weeks away from getting the first fish for my first AP system.  I have done some research on fish feed options, and it seems that the consensus is that there is no organic feed in the US (which completely sucks).  If anyone does know of a OG feed plz speak up! Looking at standard feed, they all have alot of corn and soy in them.  Most likely these are GMO (genetically modified organisms).  If there is GMO in the fish feed, then it is entirely possible that all the organisms grown within the AP system are contaminated :(  We do not know for sure how the GMO's assimilate into the surrounding organisms and what their effects are. I feel that this is a hughe bottleneck in the AP community.  How the hell can the AP produce be "organic" if GMO's were put into the system (which they are in the feed)???  The organic label has turned into a sham for big corporations to make money, which destroys the original vision of the small, local, and earth-friendly farmers who originated the idea of OG certification. Most small farmers cant even afford the certification process (like me and my peers lol).  Sorry, enough rambling...  So does anyone know of a non-GMO feed available? It is really important to mine and the worlds health, to avoid GMO's if at all possible.  We need to put pressure on these companies to make non-GMO or even better organic fish feeds. I have already emailed 3 feed companies stating how important this issue is.  This transition to organic fish feed by the feed companies will have to be powered by the will to make the earth a better place, not by money. Commercial aquaculturists are the main group who supports these feed companies, and large aquaculture facilities may not be able to or want to pay a premium for Organic feed.  This would make  producing organic fish feeds for the feed companies non-profitable. AP growers need to send more emails, and make it better know to these companies that Organic Feed is a MUST HAVE!  We must also let them know that while the number of small scale AP growers is low now, that wont last for long.  The demand for the organic feed will grow larger everyday, in my opinion, and any feed company that does end up creating organic fish feed will be pioneers of the health food movement. This is due to AP's feasibility in producing healthy local food with little H20, space, and other inputs.  Let me here what you guys think about this, or even better if some1 has found non-GMO feed share some info on it.

[Ben Levi]

Here it is almost a year later than the original post, and we're getting ready to get our first AP system. We run a small certified organic farm here in Colorado, and we're concerned also about what kind of food to feed our fish. Do you have an update on non-GMO Tilapia food (or even organic)?

Thanks,

Ben