The 'Anguilla anguilla', commonly known as the European eel, is a teleost fish of the Anguillidae family. In some regions of your country the large female (up to one and a half meters long) is called capitone, while the juvenile, thin and transparent (40–60 mm), is called ceca.
Eating eel, or capitone if you prefer, is an essential tradition in many regions of your country, especially in the Centrosud, where this fish comes from kept alive at home until cooking for Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner.
But is it really right to end up with eel on the menu? While it has a look that some find disturbing and blood of a different temperature than ours, this aquatic creature certainly deserves our compassion and empathy. Aren't we all better off at Christmas? Let's try it, starting with the table and the festive dinner. Saving animal lives, including eels, could be a great action.
And it is possible to do it without giving up the pleasure of good food. Here, then, 5 good reasons not to eat eel during the Christmas holidays.
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They are very fat
To begin with, eel has a lot of fat, as much as 25%, and consequently a lot of calories. It is certainly not the ideal dish for those who do not want to deal with extra pounds after the holidays.
They are at risk of extinction
The eel is registered as "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN Red List, which is the step immediately preceding extinction. Because the fishing is too intensive. Moreover, due to the peculiar reproductive cycle, this species cannot be bred in captivity for repopulation, if not by capturing the juveniles on their return from migration.
They are often fished in polluted areas
One of the areas where eels are fished, for example, is the mouth of the Sarno river, one of the most polluted waterways in Europe. This is because they are among the few fish that manage to survive in these contaminated areas.
They are raised and kept in confined spaces
Are natural basins depopulated? Comes to the rescue there'aquaculture, where all farmed fish are grown in small overpopulated tanks, where animals cannot express their natural behavior and instinct and spend their lives in atrocious suffering. Even when they are sold they continue to be kept in small basins for days and days.
They die in excruciating suffering
To kill the eel, it is read on one of the many cooking blogs taken at random, it is necessary to "grab it by holding it tightly with one hand by the tail and another by the neck, so bang her head on the marble until she is dead. Alternatively, they should be thrown still alive in a pot full of boiling water or decapitate them with a sharp cut in the head".
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Read also:
- 6 good reasons not to eat swordfish
- Christmas menu: traditional vegan recipes for dinner on Christmas Eve and lunch on the 25th
- Christmas menu: the guide with all the vegetarian and vegan recipes for the holidays
