Our wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon offers special appeal to those—like many of us here at Vital Choice—who like their wild salmon firm and flavorful.

These sustainably harvested fish are a super-healthy source of protein, rich in long-chain omega-3 essential fatty acids, and potent natural antioxidants.

And sockeye is a nearly unrivalled food source of bone-saving, cancer-curbing vitamin D, with a whopping 1,100 IU per 6-oz serving, or nearly triple the US RDA.

Our flash-frozen portions come vacuum-sealed for superior quality and convenience. Certified Kosher by EarthK

Vital Choice fresh-frozen organic blueberries, strawberries and red raspberries are rich in anti-aging antioxidants, and draw customer comments like this:
“OH MY GOODNESS! I cannot believe the flavor ... the taste reminds me of something from my childhood. Thanks for a great product!

Berries are incredibly healthful foods, and it's smart to seek out organic berries, grown without synthetic pesticides.

Our organic berries come in convenient one pound bags, each yielding about 3-1/2 cups. They freeze well, so you can keep plenty on hand!

The striking results of research published early in 2007 affirmed prior indications that higher fish consumption by pregnant and nursing mothers benefits their children’s development.

Specifically, the children of mothers who ate more fish than is advised under US guidelines (12 oz per week) scored higher on tests of intelligence, social and verbal skills, and showed greater physical dexterity, compared with the children of mothers who ate less fish than US guidelines allow.

(See “Findings Verify Safety and Value of Higher Maternal Fish Intake”.)

Now, the results of a study from Holland suggest that children develop better motor skills when their mothers’ blood is higher in omega-3 DHA at time of birth (Bakker EC et al 2007).

DHA is the fish-borne omega-3 that occurs very abundantly in human brains and eyes, and it's the omega-3 fat considered most essential for proper child development.

Fetuses get their DHA from their mothers, so maternal intake of DHA during pregnancy is crucial.

And as the Dutch found, a pregnant woman’s DHA intake “… can have an effect on quality of movement in later life.” (Bakker EC et al 2007)

These findings support similar results from Australia, which showed that the children of mothers who took fish oil supplements during pregnancy developed better hand-eye coordination (Dunstan JA et al 2006).

Omega-3s and child development

The Italian authors of a recent evidence review summarized the science on fats in fetal and child development: “… an optimal balance in omega-3/omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid ratio is important for proper neurodevelopment and cognitive functions …” (Assisi A et al 2006)

This is why the US FDA approved addition of omega-3 DHA and omega-6 AA (arachidonic acid) – the most important fatty acids for brain development – to infant formulas.

(As one would expect, given the naturally high concentration of omega-3 DHA in mothers’ milk, here seems to be little developmental difference seen between breastfed children and children who receive omega-3-supplemented formula.)

Research into children's behavior and intelligence demonstrates that pregnant and nursing women who consume relatively small amounts of omega-3s from fish may prevent optimal brain and visual development in their children.

But much remains to be learned. In 2003, the Dutch authors behind the new motor-skills study probed ...

You’ve heard the claim: corn, soy, sugarcane, and other “bio-fuels” can help wean America and the world off of petroleum.

And folks using recycled deep-fryer restaurant oil to run their diesel vehicles – like the tour busses for Willie Nelson’s and Dave Matthews’ bands – are being awarded halos.

But how real are the benefits claimed for ethanol from corn or soy, or bio-diesel from french-fry pits and Malaysian palm oil plantations?

The devil is in the details, according to the authors of a new Swiss study, whose conclusions were reviewed and ratified by scientists at the Smithsonian Institute.

The Swiss say that recycled deep-frier oil is indeed a good alternative to petroleum for diesel engines, because it is recycled, and because its environmental impacts are much less than those of the oil it is replacing.

But corn, soy, and sugarcane – currently, the three main sources of ethanol for cars – didn't fare nearly as well in their comprehensive new analysis.

US bio-fuel corn boom pollutes with cutting petroleum 

The food-or-fuel face-off Current ethanol production represents only about three percent of domestic gasoline consumption, but it consumes 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop. In September of 2006, Lester Brown, the president of the non-partisan Earth Policy Institute, noted in a Washington Post opinion piece that the amount of grain needed to make enough ethanol to fill a 25-gallon SUV tank “… would feed one person for a full year.   And, as he wrote, "If the United States converted its entire grain harvest into ethanol, it would satisfy less than 16 percent of its automotive needs.”

Prompted by subsidies offered to growers of corn for ethanol, American farmers, mostly in the Midwest, have been rushing to expand their corn plantings.

US ethanol subsidies cost American taxpayers some $11 billion a year, and are raising food prices and contributing to eco-destruction here and overseas.

Ethanol refiners get a 51 cent tax allowance for every gallon produced. And the International Institute for Sustainable Development found that ethanol subsidies amount to some $1.38 per gallon, or about half of ethanol's wholesale market price.

In America, conventional methods of growing corn accelerate soil erosion and deplete aquifers, which are essentially irreplaceable.

Corn fields also require vast amounts of petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides that end up in rivers and groundwater and continue to expand an already enormous “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.

None of these costly impacts get considered when politicians tout the alleged societal benefits of corn-based ethanol.

Nor do proponents like to mention the huge amounts of petroleum needed to grow corn for ethanol. (Conventional fertilizers and pesticides are made from oil.)

By most calculations – including those of the new Swiss study – these energy inputs match or exceed the energy provided by ethanol made from corn.

In other words, we are wasting public money and irreplaceable water and soil resources in pursuit of a false promise of energy independence.

America’s corn boom destroys Amazon acreage indirectly
The rise in corn production in the US is having unintended negative consequences on one of the world’s most precious bio-resources.

From 2006 to the end of 2007 US corn production rose 19 percent, entirely due to demand for ethanol, while soy harvests fell by 15 percent. This has pushed up prices for corn, and for conventional beef and pork raised on the grain.

And, this subsidy-driven shift from corn to soy has nearly doubled global soy prices since late 2006.

After the US, Brazil is the world's largest soy producer. Higher world prices for soy are accelerating destruction of that nation’s Amazon rainforest and tropical savannas, to make room for more soy acreage.

The main soy-producing states in Brazil have seen a spike in Amazon fires and forest destruction over the last several months, with no explanation other than fast-rising soy (and beef) prices (STRI 2007).

Swiss study highlights environmental impacts of bio-fuels 

Most studies that have attempted to evaluate different bio-fuel crops have focused on their capacity to cut greenhouse-gas emissions or fossil fuel use.

Some studies suggest that corn-derived ethanol in the United States and Europe consumes more energy than it produces (Adler PR et al 2007, Ulgiati S 2001), while others show a small net energy gain (Crutzen PJ 2007).

Compared with oil, nearly all bio-fuels reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but input-free weeds such as switchgrass easily outperform input-heavy corn and soy (Bala G et al 2007).

Earlier this month, scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute analyzed a new study commissioned by the Swiss government, whose authors sought to gauge the relative merits of 26 bio-fuels.

The Swiss scored each fuel using an index that takes into account relative reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions and ...

There's no easier way to enjoy a tasty meal rich in protein and healthful omega-3s than to open a can of Vital Choice Wild Red™ Alaskan Sockeye Salmon.

If you've only had supermarket brands, you're in for a very pleasant surprise!

The rich red color of its luscious meat and brimming Salmon oil reveal the rare culinary and nutritional quality of our Wild Red™ Sockeye ... the succulent fruit of stringent purchasing and processing standards.

Some prefer their canned Salmon skinless-bonless, but many love our Traditional Style Wild Red™, with skin and soft edible bones for extra flavor, calcium and omega-3s.

“I received my Salmon and I'm just blown away at how good this stuff is! I am so thankful I can now get my daily dose of wild Salmon when I'm traveling, and add to that, no preparation required.” -- Melody Liddell

Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon Slimmer’s Salad

Serves 4

2 cans (7.5 oz. each) Traditional pack or Skinless-Boneless Wild Red Alaska canned Sockeye Salmon

15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3 handfuls watercress

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

3 celery sticks, sliced

3 large tomatoes, sliced

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

Mint leaves or chopped parsley

• Drain the salmon, reserving 2 tbsp of the liquid. Remove the skin and bones, if desired, then break the salmon into large chunks. Set aside.
• In a salad bowl, mix together the beans, watercress, red onion, pepper, celery and tomatoes. Season.
• Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil and salmon liquid. Add to the salad bowl with the salmon chunks and toss gently to mix. Serve, garnished with mint or chopped parsley.