Greenpeace

Camry Haskins is a student in the Spring Greenpeace Semester class here in San Francisco. She is originally from the bay area and is currently a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Her post was sparked after Casson Trenor, Greenpeace USA Seafood Market Campaigner, came to give a briefing to her class last week. Check out her story below!

On Monday, January 31st 2011, I found myself standing in front of the seafood counter at Whole Foods.  My attention was captivated by the transparent rating system that lets customers know which fish are the best and most sustainable fish to purchase.  What really struck me about one of the tags was that it read “not yet rated."  As I looked down the counter I quickly realized that around half the fish were labeled in this manner.  I don’t know about you, but in my life the use of “not yet rated” is rarely a positive thing.  It lead me to envision movies that lean in the direction of pornographic, children’s video games with graphic violence, language and abuse, and the power to keep selling something because you have yet to include a negative attachment.

So when Casson Trenor, the Seafood Market Campaigner at Greenpeace came to speak to my Greenpeace Semester class, I knew that I had to ask him about it.  I learned that my concerns were not unwarranted.  If the marking is unclear then you should just stay away.   Whole Foods is a store that ranks high on Greenpeace’s rating system.  In fact, they rate as third from the top.  This means that there are seventeen other stores that fall below Whole Foods in sustainable seafood purchases.  Now I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, if the third highest supermarket is confusing in their sustainable seafood options, then there must be room for even more improvement.

So who’s the highest in the ranking?  No it’s not Trader Joe’s, though it has recently risen to number five in the ranking.  Target is surprisingly perched at the top of the sustainability totem pole. Generally shopped at for its cheap household gadgets, electronics and clothing, Target now also boasts one of the most sustainable seafood selections around.  So next time you are casually shopping through Target and get a seafood craving you have no need to worry about driving to another store; just walk over to the grocery section and grab yourself some wild Salmon and feel good about the fact that you are taking a step in promoting sustainability.

Check out this Supermarket Seafood Sustainability Scorecard, but note that none of the supermarkets on the list rank higher than a pass rating.  This means that there is still a ways to go before we reach complete sustainability!  Before your next grocery shopping trip, check out which fish you should keep off your dining room table!