An Ocean of Ideas

Following up on our last post on sustainable fisheries we thought it interesting that the New York Times has a blog interview today with Casson Trenor who works with Greenpeace on these particular issues.

Take a look and give us your take on the recommendations offered.

We feel that although Mr. Trenor says that consumer education isn't ultimately going to be the solution to our fisheries depletion the end result of greater customer awareness and knowledge will, in fact, lead to greater customer oversight of retail buying policies. Obviously, if customers know which questions to ask at their seafood counters, then certain responses will either satisfy them or cause them to take their dollars elsewhere. That dynamic would also follow through into demands of our policy makers to support sustainable fisheries standards and hold them to regulating the industry.

Consumers must always place themselves in positions of power when it comes to how our food is produced, otherwise we remain susceptible to shortcuts and greenwashing that seek to confuse and divert our collective attention.

Trader Joe's To Sell Only Sustainably Harvested Seafood

The grocery store chain Trader Joe's has announced it will only sell seafood harvested sustainably by the end of 2012. This comes in response to criticism and a campaign by Greenpeace and also to address numerous customer requests over the years. 

The company said it will begin working with third-party groups to define sustainability, ensuring that canned, frozen and fresh fish sold in stores across the country will come from sustainable sources. They will also create more specific labels for fish, including catch methods and Latin names.

Most of us are already quite aware of the dangers of overfishing around the globe and we can applaud such efforts to change unsustainable and ignorant business practices. We can only hope that the entities that are put in place to monitor and oversee this policy ensure that the entirely of the commitment by Trader Joe's is adhered to.

WAIT A MINUTE!!! Shouldn't we be able to do more than just hope!! We as consumers are the recipients of and participants in all sustainable and unsustainable business practices. So, it is also up to us to play our roles as overseers of these commitments. Clearly, if we believe in something and yet are confronted with red flags indicating conflicting information or claims, we must make it known that we are aware of the "greenwash" and that we intend to hold all up to those standards at all times.

Snyder's Follows Frito-Lay's Lead, Offers Sustainable Packaging

Just a few weeks after Frito-Lay  rolled out the 100% compostable SunChips bag, Snyder's of Hanover has announced sustainability packaging of its own. Like Frito-Lay, the pretzel maker has decided to use plant-based materials in some of its packaging. The polylactic acid resin (PLA)-based bags, produced by Clear Lam Packaging, replace petroleum-based plastic bags in Snyder's line of organic pretzels.

There are a number of advantages to the PLA bags, according to Greener Package. The 90% plant-based bags require half the energy for production and spew 52% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than comparable petroleum packaging.  No word on if the PLA bags are saving Snyder's any cash, however.

Kudos to Snyder's  for following in Frito-Lay's footsteps, but consumers should ask: Why are the PLA bags limited to the company's organic line of pretzels? Snyders reps were away for the holidays and not immediately available to answer. Here's hoping Snyder's ultimately expands the initiative to all of its products.