Francis Mallmann "In 30 years, we will eat almost no meat or fish"

If anything stands out, it's his ability to reinvent himself. Or reborn from the ashes. But this time, Francis Mallman, the doyen of Argentinian chiefs, the father of all fires and meats, was encouraged to attack one of his seven fires: salmon to hell, l & rsquo; One of his flagship dishes was exiled from his letter The Reasons? Environmental Awareness Not only that. He even dared to question the sacred fire that is shaping his identity as a chef: "I'm known for cooking steaks and meats, and we're genuinely going to have to make some changes." I just finished a vegan and vegetarian cookbook. vegan as vegetarian, because I think we should start supporting change on the planet, it's impossible for us to keep up with this pace, "he says, leaving everyone surprised.

Salmon was the first step. Three months ago he decided to remove it from the menus of his ten restaurants, although this is one of the most requested and expensive dishes. "After 25 years of selling thousands of farmed salmon in all our restaurants, we decided three months ago to ban it because it disrupted the health and soul of our seas. It's never too late to learn and start over, and we apologize for the damage. " occasionally, "he wrote as a mea culpa.The critics of salmon farms are not new and the industry is defending itself.

What followed was a new reflection on how to cook and eat. "I think in 30 years we will not eat almost any meat or fish, it's impossible to continue doing the damage we do to the planet, with the cows and the way we fish," he warns. a beret. blue and preparing a crab lunch for about 100 people in front of the Beagle Channel. This time, with a very moderate fire, far from the huge fires near which he had the habit of playing.

The statements are confusing. However, they are part of a trend that prevails today in the letters of some
The most exclusive restaurants in the country or by Argentine chefs. Mauro Colagreco, German Martitegui, Fernando Trocca, Narda Leppes and others have joined a campaign against salmon farming and some have also decided to remove them from the letter. And the list of reference leaders adds more and more followers every day. Although the country's second-largest salmon industry comes from Chile, which sells more than 6,000 tonnes of salmon per year to Argentina, it defends itself from this campaign: "We comply with Chilean sanitary regulations in terms of quality and needs of more than 70 markets around the world, "they say. Salmon Chile, the chamber that brings together the salmon industry, says that "the use of antibiotics is strictly regulated and is never used as a preventative" because they are often accused. Recently, the Chilean justice has accepted a complaint from the NGO Oceana asking companies to report the quantities and clbades of antibiotics used since 2009.

Mallmann arrived in Ushuaia to participate this weekend in a campaign organized by the local community of Tierra del Fuego to prevent him from signing an agreement signed more than a year ago between the Kingdom of Norway , the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Fisheries. allow him to
install salmon farms in Beagle Channel. The Patagonia clothing brand has invited Mallmann to protest against the inhabitants of Ushuaia and the CLT, demanding a national law banning the installation of salmon farms in the Beagle Channel. Prior to the provincial election, a second-line official announced that the salmon farm project was no longer on the agenda. Probably because of the rejection obtained by the project, some people think that it is only a pre-election announcement. But, as Governor Rosana Bertone lost the election, we do not know what could happen. As a result, residents of Tierra del Fuego continue to protest because they want a national or provincial law prohibiting installation in the Beagle Channel.

THE NATION He contacted the Tierra del Fuego government to find out his position. But Fisheries Secretary Kevin Colli did not answer the calls. The outgoing governor no longer. The same thing happened during the consultation of the Argentine Foreign Ministry. "The project fell, by decision of the province," informed sources from the country's Ministry of Agroindustry, on which the undersecretary for fisheries depends.

The National Directorate of Food Safety and Quality of Senasa states that "all Atlantic salmon marketed in the local market comes from fish farms" in Chile and "made the object badytical determinations "pollutants harmful to health.

The salmon farms are lattice pits the size of a football field, set in the middle of a cbad to cultivate this variety which, according to experts who oppose its installation, would be in reality originating in the northern hemisphere and would be a predator. No competition for local biodiversity. If the project was successful, about eight of these pools would appear on every photo taken in front of the city of Ushuaia. Although they grow in cages, the presence of salmon ends, for example, with crab, experts say. For more than four years, scientists from Conicet have been trying to bring crab, the flagship animal from these latitudes, back to the Beagle Channel, after being predated by wild fishing. To do this, Gustavo Lovrich, a biology researcher at Conicet, is working with his team to raise larvae and reintroduce them so that they grow in a natural environment. A community of more than 50,000 spider crabs has already been reestablished and only small-scale fishing is allowed.

A few years ago, researchers from
National Geographic They began an investigation to find the last immaculate seas: the wild places of the oceans. There are 23 points in the world. The Beagle Channel is one of them because it is one of the largest biodiversity reserves in the world with 6 species of marine mammals, 20 aquatic and marine birds and about 40 bony and cartilaginous fish. "All this disappears.From the point of view of health, the effects of consumption are not known.But we know that there is bacterial resistance.For the environment, the impact is very The sea lions break the cages and escape the salmon and prey from other species.They fight over the food of the Magellanic penguin.The urine under the cages generates toxic algae that contaminate the animals. When the cage is gone, it's shaved, "adds Lovrich.

Mallmann's commitment

Mallmann says that two years ago he was concerned about the effects of salmon on health and the environment and that's when he decided
Rethink your kitchen. A one-way road that led to something that seemed unthinkable: moving away from meat to create a vegan cookbook, he said they would be affected by the arrival of salmon farms.

"Two or three years ago, we heard rumors about what was going on in Chile, and after reading it three months ago, we stopped serving salmon in our ten restaurants. It's never too late to make changes and start again, so do not grow Beagle, "says Mallmann enthusiastically. "Not only in the Beagle, there is a lot of salmon farming around the world and our intention is to stop that everywhere," he says.

– What was the reaction of the customers?

-We change fishing. In Argentina, there are many other fantastic fish: hake, chernia, we choose to serve other fish. We have not yet given an official explanation. If people ask for it, our staff is informed and explained. We have stopped using farmed fish of other types, such as branzino that grows in the Mediterranean. We only serve artisbad fish.

-Is veganism an option?

The kitchen is a romance with friendship, with flavors and with sharing. The recipe is not as important but the possibilities of everyone to do what he can buy. The time has come to make responsible purchases that do not harm the environment.

-What can you eat?

You must change the path. And the change comes from very young people. I think, according to my Instagram, that people aged 16 to 22 are changing and will make some very big changes. This generation has the ambition to do things and not the ambitions of my generation for money. That's what the change will bring. I hope