The Ocean

Ocean Hero: Barton Seaver

Photo: Barton Seaver

Photograph courtesy Barton Seaver

Name: Barton Seaver
Place of Birth: Washington, D.C.
Current Home: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Cook and ocean advocate

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I remember being fascinated by so many different things as a child that having a career in just one avenue never seemed to settle with me. I was, however, happy to have lavish daydreams of being a major league baseball player or other such boyish fantasies.

How did you get started in your field?
I grew up with a deep-seated respect for food through my parents' cooking. It was such an essential part of our everyday lives that it seemed natural for me to continue in the trajectory that home cooking inspired in me.

What is a typical day like for you?
One of the great joys but also great difficulties in my life is that I don't have a typical day. I am engaged in such myriad activities that each day is different from the last. When distilled, my days are all variations on a theme, united by my mission to better relate humans to their ocean resources. Currently I am working on my first book and so I am spending a lot of time testing recipes for use in home kitchens.

What inspires you to dedicate your life to the ocean?
At heart, my dedication to the ocean is driven by my belief that ocean health is ultimately a humanitarian issue. The oceans have come front and center in my life as I have learned that they are the fundamental life source that enables humans to exist as we do. The oceans are both a great uniter and a great equalizer, in that we all equally rely upon them.  I believe the way in which we interact with our oceans largely informs us how we should interact with each other. Sustainability to me is quite simply about people.

Do you have a hero?
I have many heroes, including the Cousteau family, Enric Sala, and Sylvia Earle. But as a group, I believe the fishermen who provide for us through personal danger deserve the same honor as the Jeffersonian agrarian hero. Fishermen provide for and enable their communities. To me, their daily activities amass to an overall heroic endeavor. That being stated, I am working on creating a change in the way that we fish so that we may begin to restore the ecosystems that we have damaged in our quest for food.

If you could have people do one thing to help the ocean, what would it be?
Incorporate more vegetables into your diet. The benefit is for our oceans, for our communities, for our families, for our waistlines, and for our overall health. Seafood is a healthy source of protein and fats, and we should be consuming it in a responsible manner, but nothing is as beneficial to all interests as a diet heavy in vegetables.

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