The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy

Sushi has changed from yuk to yum. This book makes eating raw fish an intriguing case study of hunter-gatherer global economics. "The Sushi Economy" traces eating raw tuna from nineteenth-century restaurants in Japan to twenty-first century ocean ranches in Australia. Small pieces of fresh raw fish were first preserved using vinegared rice. The rice, first thrown away, came to be savoured as part of the meal. This was "Edo-mae nigiri" raw tuna sushi. Centuries later a Japan Airlines executive began flying Canadian Bluefin to Tokyo to use spare cargo space. Then an Australian fisherman began ranching tuna by herding the wild fish into ocean corrals. Now researchers are trying to raise tuna directly from fertilized eggs. Wherever tuna are found; wherever sushi is sold: entrepreneurs are innovating and communities are growing. This book entertains and informs, leaving the reader with a wonderful example of modern economics and success.

In _The Breakfast Club_ from 1985, Molly Ringwald's character brings her lunch to detention, but it isn't the typical brown bag the other kids have brought. It is a tray of sushi, and the rest of them are astonished, maybe because they have never seen such a food before. It is a scene that is now quaintly dated, even after only a couple of decades, because although a Big Mac might still be more the prevalent norm, and although sushi is still something of an exotic food, it is popular rather than mysterious. The way this came to be involves marketing, technology, and a shrinking planet, and is the story of _The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy_ (Gotham Books) by Sasha Issenberg. Sushi is based on raw fish, mostly tuna, but it isn't really fresh and it decidedly is not simple. This is not a book that will make you wince or feel guilty over your next tuna roll, and it may even beat the drums for globalization. We do have, even in small towns, the capacity now to enjoy this tasty delicacy, and as Issenberg writes, "In few places are the complex dynamics of globalization revealed as visibly as in the tuna's journey from the sea to the sushi bar." The sushi story is the story of tuna, and Issenberg follows the fish backward from market to its origin in the sea. The main market is the Tsukiji which takes up 57 acres in Tokyo, where a few hundred buyers gather to take a look at tuna brought in from all over the world. This is a huge market of $6 billion a year, and one fish alone might routinely go for $30,000. The great change in the market came starting in 1972 when there was a first Tokyo auction of Canadian bluefin tuna, brought by plane from a region where the fish were considered worthless. The tuna, rice, and seaweed delicacy with which we are familiar, Issenberg says, "served by a sushi chef to a customer seated before him - is in fact no older than the California roll," which was itself an American invention of the 1960s. "Sushi had started as a form of preservation," Issenberg writes, "but it was becoming precisely the opposite: a way of using the infrastructure of modernity to chaperone a delicate dish around the world." This has resulted in overfishing, and attempts to farm tuna, "moving the ocean's biggest, fastest, toughest fish into a cage and keeping it there for months or years." Of course aficionados sniff at the quality of farmed tuna meat, but that doesn't matter to those who, say, like a cheap tray of tasty sushi from the supermarket. There are wonderful profiles in this book, like the Caucasian tuna chef who successfully brought sushi to Austin, Texas, or the self-appointed sheriff of Libyan tuna poaching who uses Google maps to monitor illegal fishing, or the disciples of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon who entered the market in Gloucester, Massachusetts, or the champion tuna tosser at the Port Lincoln Tunarama Festival, or the star of _Iron Chef_ who is opening a sushi restaurant in Mumb

In the spirit of Mark Kurlansky's terrific books about the histories of salt, oysters and cod, comes this brilliant book by Sasha Issenberg about sushi. Sushi is the cover, but this is really about tuna, a fish once thrown back into the sea or simply thrown away. His book raises the bar and it is as comprehensive a look at the industry as one can get. Having grown up at a time and in a place where sushi was unheard of, Issenberg rightly begins and ends his book in Japan. From the vast Tokyo fish market known as "Tsukiji" the reader is transported to Canada, Los Angeles, Gloucester, Spain, Australia, China and more. How did this once lowly fish attain such a high status? Sasha Issenberg tells us in a narrative style that is low-key but fascinating. Economy is indeed a central part of this book and it is intriguing to read about the rise and fall of tuna as a commodity. But the personal testimonies, included here, make the book shine. Each chapter stands on its own but I was particularly drawn to the beginnings of shipping tuna from Canada to Japan in the early 1970s. These people were real pioneers in the industry and to think this has all occurred in my lifetime is equally admirable and impressive. I highly recommend "The Sushi Economy". Sasha Issenberg has compiled a broad-based look at sushi...where it all began, where it is now and where it might be headed. It's a compelling work and a book not to be missed.

This book indulges my curiosity about sushi, answers questions I never even knew to ask about sushi, tells great stories of the history of sushi, explains the intricate market system for sushi in an accessible way, and much more. Why would you read this book? Some possible reasons: you love applied economics, you love sushi and wonder how it came to be, you are curious about how globalization has impacted how people eat, you are a supply-chain manager, you are planning a trip to Tokyo, etc. I love books about getting in touch with your food & drink and this book is very well written and over-delivers on that promise without ever sounding dry or clinical. As is true under the surface of many great accomplishments of history, a precious select few great people made great contributions to get us where we are today. This book offers an illustration of those people in the context of the sushi market. IMO, this book is as compelling as food books get.

I love sushi, and I love economics, but even if I cared for neither, "The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy" would still be an entertaining and eye-opening read. A tale of culture, globalization, cuisine, and historical drama, "The Sushi Economy" traces back the modern explosion of sushi back to the 1970's. Although sushi had been sold by Tokyo street vendors in the 19th century, its rebirth as a culinary and cultural staple began when Japanese air shippers, after dropping off shipments of manufactured goods in North America, brought back North Atlantic bluefin tuna--at the time considered worthless and fit only for cat food--rather than fly home empty planes. Concurrent advances in refrigeration allowed seafood to be shipped large distances, and this increase in supply, along with a booming post-war economy, fueled Japanese demand for premium sushi and saw the rapid expansion of sushi bars throughout the country. Japanese overseas expansion brought sushi along with it and spawned a growing network of suppliers, including fishermen and the newer fisheries, and specialty distributors, as well as black market dealers and smugglers. The seafood infrastructure, however, was only one part of the sushi explosion, as innovative sushi chefs became entrepreneurs, initially marketing sushi as a chic, upscale delicacy but then broadening its appeal by adapting to local flavors and cuisine. Despite its specific origins from a small, island nation, sushi has become a global cuisine and the economy that supports it a global one as well. "The Sushi Economy" may be one of the best examples of this new, global economy at work as Issenberg traces the origins of the sushi on our plate, formerly an exotic delicacy but now almost as common as hamburgers, through the numerous retailers, distributors and suppliers back to the fishing grounds themselves, which may be half a world away. Yet despite this distance the innovations of the decentralized economy are able to bring you your fish within the small window of freshness that keeps a hundred-dollar-a-pound commodity from becoming cat food.