Fish to feed the world

Categorie(s): Cases, Food for Mankind

 Tilapia is a very special fish. Growing Tilapia can help people who have not enough proteins in their diet, It is possible to grow Tilapia in a simple pond and the fish does not demand expensive fodder. If you take care to have enough algae in the water, and the water warm enough, they will grow.

Tilapias were known already in the old Egypt of the Pharao’s. The miraculous catch of fish in  the Bible is about Tilapia, a species that often swims   in great  groups

In developing countries  many childrens suffer from shortage of proteins. When you do not get enough proteins when small you cannot develop well, and you will suffer from that all your life. This concerns not only your body, but especially your mind: brains are very susceptible for protein  shortage.

Because it is cheap and easy to grow Tilapia can help solving this problem.

  • They do not demand much space, a shallow pond of several tens of square meters is enough for a good harvest.
  • Tilapia’s are omnivores, which means they can live on food rests from kitchens, etc.
  • Tilapia’s are not very sensitive for diseases, so you do not need to use pesticides.
  • Tilapia’s have a quick reproduction.
  • Tilapia’s taste good!

In warm countries they can be grown in open ponds; in cooler climates  they are grown inside, often in old stables.

The Tilapia International Foundation is a  international foundation, helping people in developing countries to start Tilapia farms, to improve the local diet.
Zie www.tilapiastichting.nl

Growing Tilapia is also possible in combination  with growing plants like tomatoes in greenhouses: tomaten en vis uit een kas (text also in english!).


Your task

Make groups of 3 or 4 students and choose per group  one of  the  questions. Find an answer and prepare a presentation for the rest of your class (powerpoint presentation, or a song  or  a short theatre play or whatever).


  1. Why is protein important for small children? Which types of food contain much proteins. (Mention at least three and explain why they contain plenty proteins).
  2. Why is food with plenty of proteins ususally more expensive than food that is mainly carbohydrates? Which foods contains a lot of proteins and which contains a lot of carbohydrrates. Which protein rich foods are cheap? Can you explain why?
  3. Why are many people in developing countries  underfed    (N.B. ‘underfed’ does not mean always hungry; ‘underfed’ means that you do not get the necessary nutrients)
  4. The oceans are overfished. That is why there is more and more fish farming. The most famous farmed fish is Salmon. Salmon only like food made from fish. Wy is Tilapia better?
  5. Find out which other fishes can eat food from plants (herbivores). Can they also be farmed? Why(not)?? And does it happen? Where?
  6. There is a Chinese saying: “when you give somebody who is hungry a fish, he will be hungry again to-morrow. But when you teach him to fish, you help hem for the rest of his life.” Explain why it is even better to help  with constructing a Tilapia fish pond near a school.

Another fish for sustainable fish farming is the catfish. This is also a herbivore, is very healthy ( contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids),  demands little space, they like to huddle together…

The upper picture is a European catfish (Silurus glanis) The farmed catfish is an African species. The European catfish is a hunter. The other picture shows a Tilapia.

It is helpful to work with the workingplan

If you use internet it is useful to keep a log internetlogboek