|
|
Tweet |
Whole Foods to label seafood’s sustainability
"There has been a huge increase in attention and energy and enthusiasm (on sustainable seafood) from customers and buyers and fishermen,"
- Carrie Brownstein, coordinator of seafood quality standards for Whole Foods
The grocery chain on Monday launched a new color-coded rating program — with the help of Monterey Bay Aquarium and Blue Ocean Institute — that measures the environmental impact of its wild-caught seafood.
The program is the latest in a series of moves by major grocers to change seafood policies as concern rises about overfishing and the environmental effects of certain fishing methods.
Similar to a stoplight, seafood is given a green, yellow or red rating. A green rating indicates the species is relatively abundant and is caught in environmentally friendly ways. Yellow means some concerns exist with the species' status or the methods by which it was caught. And a red rating means the species is suffering from overfishing, or the methods used to catch it harm other marine life or habitats.