It's Good Friday, so let's talk fish. Milwaukee's relationship with fish and, of course the fish fry, is unique and wonderful. I'm guessing here, but I bet we consume more fish than the average American.
Yet, according to many sources and a recent WSJ.com story, Americans are eating less fish than ever. A story this week began, "At a time when some Americans have started to improve their diets, they're increasingly turning their noses up at one of the healthiest foods around: fish."
It went on to note that "the average U.S. consumer ate 14.4 pounds of seafood in 2012, the last year for which figures are available, down from 15 pounds in 2011 and a record high 16.6 pounds consumed in 2004. That's far less than the average 82 pounds of chicken, 57 pounds of beef and 46 pounds of pork."
The WSJ story is great read and full of interesting facts and data. Read it here.
For me, it's the smell. And, yes I know some fish smells as my mom would say "more fishy" than others. Stink or not, it's why we eat mainly chicken at home and not fish. Fish is fairly easy to cook, bake or grill but the perception is that it's hard, possibly unsafe if handled incorrectly and again that fish smells up your entire home.
So, why don't you eat "enough" fish? I find that I love to order it when we dine out, but I rarely make it at home. I'm going to attempt to change this as I generally like fish. But, education needs to happen if America is going to ever replace beef or chicken in its diet.
Healthy is a great tag to hang on fish, but teach a man to cook fish and he'll cook fish forever. What do you say, fish industry?
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
