Please Leave The Fish Alone!

I worry about a lot of things. It's true. I don't think I'm a born worrier because I'm a Taurus and most Tauruses don't worry. I think my worrying comes from Mom. She shows me stuff on the Internet that causes me to lose sleep at night and the thing I worry about the most is what we are doing to our planet.

I know people like to eat fish. Fish has been a staple in many cultures around the world for a long time. Fishing is how many people make their living. All of this wouldn't be a problem if there were enough fish for everyone which there isn't. People always talk about sustainable fisheries but is there really such a thing? Mom doesn't think so, at least not in today's world. If you step back and think about the word sustainability for a minute you'll see what Mom means. From an ecological perspective, sustainability means living today in a way so that you can meet your needs while preserving the natural world for the future. Are we doing this? Not with the six plus billion people that call Earth home pushing it's resources to the limit. There are a finite amount of resources for an infinite amount of people. This worries me.

Something else that worries me is Trader Joe's. Or should I say Traitor Joe's. They are deceiving the public with the fish they sell in their stores and this is not only morally wrong it's also bad for the environment.

Mom shops at Trader Joes for certain items. She likes their tofu, black bean burgers, and soup. She also likes their nuts and trail mixes, and will occasionally buy sweets there too. One thing she won't buy there is produce because so much of it is wrapped, really overwrapped, in plastic. Unnecessary plastic. Produce doesn't need need to be wrapped in plastic - duh! I'm not sure why Trader Joe's feels it's necessary but many people have issues with it. People also have issues with the seafood they sell, which is why Greenpeace created the mock website Traitor Joe.

The purpose of the Traitor Joe site is to raise awareness of the red list seafood Trader Joe's sells.

According to Greenpeace, Trader Joe's is the largest US grocer operating on a nation-wide scale that refuses to substantively respond to Greenpeace's inquiries regarding its sustainability policies and practices. Huh? What does that mean exactly?

If you are unfamiliar with the term red list it comes from Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. The program helps consumers and businesses make wise choices about the fish they purchase to ensure healthy oceans for today and the future. You can practice sustainable seafood eating if you follow the guide. Red listed fish is a no-no, yellow is okay, and green is the best. You can download a copy of Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Pocket Guide here. This guide will help you choose ocean-friendly seafood wherever you live.

Back to Trader Joe's. Greenpeace did a survey of fish sold in Trader Joe's stores and found that they sell 15 of the 22 red list seafoods. Two of the big species they sell are Chilean sea bass and orange roughy ( I won't even get into why people even eat these types of fish but let's just say it's all marketing). Why would Trader Joe's, a store that sells natural and organic food, sell red listed fish? This is the same store that is so careful about labeling all their private label products as vegan, vegetarian, kosher, etc. Why are they so careful about letting consumers know about some products and not about others, specifically fish? And why in some stores are there labels above seafood freezers touting their fish as coming from sustainable sources? False advertising or malicious intent? I think you know the answers to these questions.

So what can you do? If you shop at Trader Joe's, don't purchase their fish. If you feel strongly enough about their false advertising and poor seafood practices you should consider not shopping there. Another thing you can do is take action by sending a message to Trader Joe's VP of Merchandising Matt Sloan here. Because Mom cannot be part of these practices, she is no longer going to shop at Trader Joe's and is also sending a message to Matt Sloan

We decide what we will and won't buy each time we walk into a store. We make decisions to buy items based on several factors. Please let one of your factors be sustainability. We have the power to demand changes through our actions. Let your actions be seen, heard, and felt by doing the right thing.