Thank you for sharing this sentiment, CAT! We appreciate it. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Thus, I do consume nonsentient creatures like, crustaceans, bivalves, sea vegetation; like seaweeds, corals, sea urchins, etc. According to many studies, these are nonsentient creatures of the sea.

Thank you for sharing this thought, Marsha. We can only do the best we can do! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Hello Ursula! Thank you for sharing this, and for being open. It sounds like you’ve come to a great compromise–making ethical choices while still listening to your body. You found a sustainable middle ground that keeps you healthy. That’s not a compromise to feel uncertain about, that’s exactly the kind of thoughtful, self-aware eating we hope everyone gets to! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Hi Libby! Thank you for such a thoughtful question, and congratulations on 15 years of a whole food, plant-based lifestyle.

You’re making a genuinely good point about vegetable oils. Omega-6 fats compete with omega-3s for the same conversion enzymes in your body, so cutting out vegetable oils does remove one obstacle that trips up a lot of people trying to convert ALA (the omega-3 in flaxseed) into the long-chain forms your body actually uses, EPA and especially DHA. That’s a real advantage, and it’s likely helping you more than you may realize.

That said, even under ideal conditions, with low omega-6 intake and consistent ALA sources, conversion of ALA to DHA is still typically quite low, often well under 5%, and it varies a lot between individuals based on genetics, age, and other factors that have nothing to do with your diet quality. Research on long-term vegans, including people eating very clean, whole food diets, has consistently found that a majority still test low on the omega-3 index (a blood test measuring EPA and DHA levels in red blood cells), even when they’re getting flax, chia, walnuts, or hemp regularly. This isn’t a reflection of doing anything wrong, it just seems to be how conversion works for most people, regardless of how well the rest of the diet is dialed in.

DHA in particular matters for brain health long term, since it’s a major structural component of brain tissue, and levels tend to matter cumulatively over decades rather than something you can fix quickly later in life.

So the honest answer to “is my tablespoon of flaxseed enough insurance” is that it might be, and it also might not be, and the only real way to know is to test it rather than assume. An at-home omega-3 index test, or asking your healthcare provider about it, would give you a clear, individualized answer instead of a guess. If your levels come back solid, wonderful, you can stop wondering. If they come back low despite your excellent diet, a modest algae-based DHA and EPA supplement (a clean, plant based, ocean-safe source) can close that gap without requiring any change to your food philosophy.

Since this touches on your individual labs and health history, we’d also encourage looping in a doctor or registered dietitian familiar with plant-based nutrition to interpret your results and guide any decisions from there. FRN can’t offer personalized medical advice, but this is a great, specific question to bring to a professional armed with actual numbers.

Thank you again for such a sharp question, and for being part of the Food Revolution Network community for so long. We hope this was helpful. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Thank you for the question, Petra!

Carp pond farming, as practiced traditionally in the Czech Republic, is actually one of the gentler forms of aquaculture out there. It’s what’s called extensive or semi-extensive farming, meaning the carp largely live on natural food already present in the pond (algae, plankton, insects), supplemented with cereal grains rather than fishmeal made from other fish. That matters because it avoids one of the biggest sustainability problems we see with carnivorous farmed fish, like salmon or trout, which require large amounts of wild-caught forage fish to produce their feed. Research on Czech carp ponds has also found mercury levels well within safe regulatory limits, so from a contamination standpoint, pond-raised carp tends to look fairly reassuring, especially compared to large predatory ocean fish.

Trout is a different case. Farmed trout is a carnivorous species, so trout farms typically rely more heavily on commercial feed that includes fishmeal and fish oil, similar to salmon farming. This brings some of the same concerns we discuss in our fish article: waste and uneaten feed accumulating in the water, routine antibiotic use in crowded conditions, and a shift toward a less favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio compared to fish that eat their natural wild diet. That said, trout farms are generally less environmentally intensive than large-scale ocean aquaculture, and freshwater systems can be easier to monitor and manage than open-water pens.

On the nutrition side, both carp and trout provide protein and some omega-3 fatty acids, though freshwater fish generally contain less EPA and DHA than fatty cold-water ocean fish like salmon or sardines. So while they’re a reasonable protein source, they’re not going to be your most concentrated omega-3 option.

And as you point out, none of this changes the core ethical question. Farming conditions can be more or less sustainable, but the fish are still being raised and killed for food, and there’s growing scientific evidence that fish do experience pain and stress. That’s a values-based line each person draws for themselves, and there’s no amount of sustainable farming that erases it if it matters to you.

If you’d rather sidestep the question altogether, algae-based DHA and EPA supplements remain a solid way to get those same beneficial fats without navigating any of the fish welfare or contamination questions.

Thank you again for such a thoughtful question, and for being such an engaged part of the Food Revolution Network community. We hope this was helpful. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

I’m glad this gave you a little more insight, Andrea. Thanks for reading. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Glad you enjoyed it, James! –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Thank you for sharing this, Karen! I’m sure some of our members will want to research this further. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Angela!

Investigative reporting from outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Associated Press, along with research from groups like the Environmental Justice Foundation, has documented migrants sold into slavery by labor brokers and traffickers and forced to work without pay or under crushing debt on commercial fishing vessels and in seafood processing plants, particularly in Southeast Asia. NOAA Fisheries notes that this kind of forced labor is especially hard to address because fishing vessels are often isolated at sea for months or years at a time, which makes it difficult for workers to escape or report abuse. One investigation of Thai fishing crews found that overwork, illegally low pay, and debt bondage affected more than 75 percent of the fishermen interviewed at some point over five years. And because roughly 80 percent of the seafood eaten in the US is imported, it’s genuinely hard for any individual shopper to know for certain that the fish on their plate wasn’t touched by this kind of exploitation.

So your concern is absolutely valid, and you’re not alone in weighing it heavily. A few things that may help if you want to explore this further:

Some tools exist to help identify higher risk supply chains, though they’re aimed more at retailers than individual shoppers. Certifications like the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Fair Trade Certified seafood label do include some labor standards, though as you might expect, no label is a perfect guarantee. Choosing domestically caught fish from countries with stronger labor protections and more oversight, rather than imported seafood from regions where these abuses are most documented, can reduce (though not eliminate) the risk.

Given everything you’re already navigating with your health, and the fact that you’ve already scaled back significantly, it sounds like continuing to lean into plant-based omega-3 sources may be the simplest path that aligns with your values. Our fish article actually points to algae-based DHA and EPA supplements as a way to get those same beneficial fatty acids without the ethical or contamination concerns tied to fish altogether. Ground flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts also contribute some omega-3s, though your body converts them less efficiently than the algae-based forms.

Since you’re managing a cancer diagnosis, we’d also gently encourage you to keep your oncology team looped in on any dietary changes so your nutrition plan stays aligned with your treatment. FRN can’t offer personalized medical advice, but it sounds like you already have a thoughtful, well-informed approach.

Thank you again for asking such an important question, and for being part of this community. We hope this was helpful, and we’re grateful for everything you’re doing to align your health and your values. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Sharon, and for being here in our community. –Ina, Food Revolution Network Team