It's been quite the week for sustainable seafood news -- which makes it quite a good week for healthy oceans.
Start with the big news: Costco (huge retailer) and Sodexo (huge food service company) both made significant commitments to stop selling red-listed seafood and to start sourcing their wild-caught and farmed seafood from more sustainable sources. (You can read Costco's policy here, and Sodexo's commitment to source only sustainable seafood by 2015 here.)
They join other major buyers, like Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch partners Compass Group North America, ARAMARK, Santa Monica Seafood and Whole Foods Market, that have programs in place. Other major buyers (Walmart, Safeway and -- delightfully -- too many others to mention) are putting their commitments into action.
When Seafood Watch and Audubon began distributing consumer seafood pocket guides more than a decade ago, the movement was on the fringes. Now, with each passing day, it's clear that major buyers recognize that buying sustainable seafood is what's expected.
And as their purchasing decisions make their way down the supply change, we'll begin to see fishing fleets and fish-farming operations change their methods to meet the requirements of suppliers.
Of course, consumer demand is critical, too. That's why it's great to see today's article by Sarah Nassauer in the Wall Street Journal about the challenges facing eco-conscious buyers at the supermarket seafood counter. The Seafood Watch iPhone app (coming soon to Android smart phones) takes the guesswork out of the process.
And Bill Daley of the Chicago Tribune offers up tasty recipes for "Super Green" oysters -- an always-sustainable choice!
Here in the Midwest, there is a huge demand for high quality, sustainably grown food. Freshwater shrimp farming is profitable. We need more growers. For information on how to start, come to http://www.freshwatershrimpfarming.com
Posted by: Steve Frost | April 16, 2011 at 02:07 PM