Sushi can be sleek and dressed up for date night. Or, if you want to keep things casual, it can be packed in a bento for lunch on the go. Chefs around the world adapt traditional Japanese forms to please local palates, but whatever the setting or occasion, seafood is still what makes sushi, sushi.
However, seafood is under scrutiny and its problematic production is nudging the culinary world toward a reimagination of what sushi can be.
As they currently operate, global fisheries pose substantial threats to habitats, species conservation, and the global food supply, according to an extensive United Nations report and many other sources. And it’s possible that the effects of catching and farming fish are even greater than official analyses indicate, because there are certain data points in the chain of supply and production that aren’t always reported.
From a human health perspective, there has long been concern about the accumulation of toxins and heavy metals in seafood, especially with large species near the top of the trophic chain – where toxins accumulate – such as tuna. Farmed salmon could be the most toxic food in the world.
And scientific studies continue to indicate fish are capable of experiencing pain, so consumers with concern for animal welfare are becoming increasingly wary of how seafood industry practices can harm individual animals.
A Shift Toward Alternative Seafoods
With all of these issues plaguing the health of planet, people, and Pisces (among other biological taxa), the search is on for solutions. Scientists, consumers, chefs, and entrepreneurs are all joining in. One of the most promising interventions they’ve identified so far is a shift toward alternative seafoods, whether they are made from plants or animal cells.
Although they are not yet produced on a large enough scale to completely solve the problems associated with traditional seafood, these alternative products show great potential for making waves, and the industry is growing fast. The Good Food Institute (GFI) reports a collective investment of $175 million in alternative seafood companies in 2021, which was nearly double the amount invested in 2020.
Alternative seafoods haven’t reached a low enough price point yet to be accessible to everyone. But there are some places where consumers are already willing to pay a little extra for specialty fish, and those places are becoming some of the earliest adopters of alternative seafoods: American sushi restaurants.
Now Serving: Plant-based Fish
Plant-based fish products contain no animal cells. These products may be made from tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, konjac, tapioca, sea vegetables, seasonings or other ingredients – all prepared to mimic the appearance, texture and taste of seafood.
Right now, most major U.S. cities have at least a few restaurants that serve sushi made with plant-based fish alternatives, and two of the most common options are mock tuna and mock salmon. Many consumers are more willing to try a new food for the first time in a restaurant, rather than preparing it at home, according to Chris Kerr* of Gathered Foods, quoted in the GFI report. So, restaurants are often where diners try plant-based fish alternatives for the first time.
One of those restaurants is Beyond Sushi, an entirely vegan sushi concept with multiple locations in Manhattan, New York. Some dishes there are crafted with traditional vegetables prepared in creative ways, while others star mock tuna and mock salmon. Owner and Executive Chef Guy Vaknin said he prefers the plant-based fish products from Vegan Zeastar and Current Foods because they have good texture and a mild flavor, which makes them versatile.
“I love the tapioca-based products because they really mimic the texture of raw fish, which lends itself to an authentic sushi experience,” Vaknin said.
It’s not just vegans who seek the plant-based menu at Beyond Sushi. Pregnant customers and customers with seafood allergies have also appreciated the opportunity to enjoy sushi risk-free, Vaknin said.
Plant-based fish is still somewhat of a novelty on American restaurant menus, but you can expect to see more and more of it in the near future. GFI reports $13.9 million in U.S. retail sales of plant-based seafood last year, an increase of 42 percent since 2019. The plant-based seafood market share is nowhere near as big as that of plant-based chicken or beef products yet, but it’s inching closer with each passing year.
Soon to Make a Splash: Cultivated Fish
There are other consumers who struggle with the idea of giving up seafood entirely, although they are concerned about its impact. For them, a new answer is on the horizon: cultivated meat. Other terms have included cultured meat, cell-based meat and clean meat – these all refer to the same category of products.
Cultivated meat (or fish) is genetically identical to animal-sourced meat, but it does not require raising or killing any animals. To produce cultivated meat, first a sample of cells is taken non-invasively from a living animal. The cells are placed in a container called a bioreactor and fed a combination of nutrients that mimics the biochemistry of a living animal’s body. A few weeks later, the cells have multiplied and grown into a mass of meat that is ready to be prepared exactly the same way you would prepare meat from an animal.
The first cultivated beef burger was produced in 2013, but cultivated meat and fish products still are not available in the U.S. market, mainly because of challenges related to scaling and FDA regulation. But some experts in the industry think certain types of cultivated fish will be the first approved in the United States, likely within the next few years. Restaurants in Singapore are already serving cultivated chicken.
San Diego-based BlueNalu is one of the 20 companies GFI reports are currently developing cultivated meat and fish worldwide. BlueNalu has so far focused on cultivating bluefin tuna because of the fish’s global popularity in sushi.
“By centering our initial efforts on the high-quality toro portion of bluefin tuna, we aim to demonstrate culinary excellence with the most prized portion of the most sought-after fish in the most iconic marketplace for seafood.” said Lou Cooperhouse, president and CEO of BlueNalu, in a statement released earlier this year.
BlueNalu secured a partnership with a Japanese foodservice leader called Food & Life Companies, which operates more than 1,000 sushi restaurants across Asia, so that BlueNalu’s cultivated bluefin tuna will be served in Food & Life’s restaurants.
Another U.S. company, Wildtype, is focusing on cultivated salmon first and recently announced a partnership with Pokeworks, a poke bowl concept with 66 locations nationwide. “This is a significant milestone as we move closer to bringing our cultivated salmon to restaurants, grocery stores, and eventually kitchen tables across the U.S.,” Wildtype Co-founder and Chief Scientist Aryé Elfenbein said in a statement on the company’s website.
Unlike with plant-based fish, vegans aren’t the primary target audience for cultivated fish. Industry leaders expect environment-, health- and welfare-conscious omnivores to be the ones driving the demand. Whether some plant-based restaurant concepts like Beyond Sushi will expand their scope to offer cultivated meat is “a big debate in the vegan world right now,” from Vaknin’s perspective.
“The global impact of fish consumption is truly astounding, and we need to take action now,” Vaknin said. “Incorporating these [cultivated fish] products in the restaurant industry would make a huge impact, which I definitely support.”
But for now, Vaknin’s content with the plant-based products that are on the market.
“The vegan industry is always innovating, so I'm excited to see what comes next,” he said.
*No relation to the writer.
Cat Kerr has been involved with cafes in Orlando, Fla. as a public relations manager and barista since 2018. She is a full-time communications professional with a background in news writing, and she’s an occasional contributor to World Tea News and Bar & Restaurant.
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