Green Mama Activism: Seafood Greenwashing at Trader Joe's

I've got to admit anytime I am in an urban area I am pulled to Trader Joe's like a moth to flame. All those great organic and natural products, such a tasty variety, and much lower prices than my small town's independent co-op.

But then I received this in my email inbox and was quite surprised. Turns out, Trader Joe sells unsafe fish harvested by unsustainable practices, all of which are not labeled, or communicated to customers at all. According to Greenpeace, in some stores there are even signs promoting their healthy and safe fish, when in fact most of the seafood they sell is neither.

Trader Joe came in at the bottom of grocery store chains for selling unsafe fish for consumers. And the fish are not safe for the environment, because we have no idea how it is harvested. According to Greenpeace,

"Sustainable Seafood Policy: Trader Joe’s
does not have a sustainable seafood policy.

Seafood Sustainability Initiatives: Trader
Joe’s is not affiliated with retailer groups, fishing
industry groups, seafood companies, third-party
auditors, or environmental conservation organizations
working on seafood sustainability.

Labeling & Transparency: Trader Joe’s does
not label seafood products so consumers can avoid
purchasing destructively fished species, and does not
promote sustainable seafood to customers. To make
matters worse, certain stores advertise that Trader Joe’s
seafood is sustainable (blatant misinformation when one
considers the actual seafood being sold). Beyond seafood
labeling required by law, Trader Joe’s only provides
its customers with information on mercury in seafood.

Red List Seafood Sales: Greenpeace surveys
found Trader Joe’s sells 15 of the 22 red list seafoods:
Alaskan pollock, Atlantic cod, Atlantic salmon,
Atlantic sea scallops, Chilean sea bass, Greenland
halibut, monkfish, ocean quahog, orange roughy,
red snapper, redfish, South Atlantic albacore tuna,
swordfish, tropical shrimp and yellowfin tuna."

Fish are red listed for reasons that include habitat impacts, fishing community impacts, destructive fishing methods, stock status, poor fishery management, pirate fishing, among other environmental concerns. Read this to learn more about the red list of fish.

I was very surprised to learn this about Trader Joe's. Hopefully with emails from concerned citizens, they will develop a sustainable seafood plan, and clearly communicate with the customers. Until then, shop for seafood where you know you won't be damaging oceans, or your body, and send along an email.