Fish and seafood are often presented as a more climate-friendly and healthier alternative to meat. However, this ignores the impact of fishing: Overfishing is the main cause of biodiversity loss in the oceans. Especially in rich (landlocked) countries like Switzerland, fish consumption should be reduced. This can be achieved, among other things, by replacing fish with plant-based alternatives. But are these alternatives ecologically beneficial? In the study for WWF Switzerland, the Carbotech experts used a life cycle analysis to compare the environmental impact of plant-based fish fingers with that of the original fish. The result is clear: the environmental impact of “real” fish fingers is 3.6 times higher than that of the plant-based alternatives.
