Should you ever find yourself feeling too happy, there is perhaps no better way to blacken your mood than listening to panels of scientists discuss the subject of sustainable seafood. The litanies about plummeting populations, environmental degradation, and human shortsightedness will depress even the most robust psyche.
In the face of all this gloom and doom, it was refreshing last week when Julie Packard, executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, kicked off her organization’s annual Sustainable Foods Institute on a positive note—or rather several of them: After ignoring the issue for years, franchise restaurants and the food-service industry are finally beginning to remove unsustainable seafood from menus.
A survey released earlier this month by Seafood Choices Alliance shows that the percentage of chain restaurants and seafood retailers and wholesalers who have “taken action to remove seafood items from their product list due to environmental considerations” nearly doubled—to 37 percent from 20 percent—between 2001 and 2007. This is huge news: Americans spend more than twice as much on seafood at restaurants than they do on seafood for home consumption.
And the news ahead looks even better. Packard said that in April Aramark, a $12-billion-per-year food- service colossus with operations in 19 countries, partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to adopt new practices: All of its American kitchens will immediately begin transitioning to sustainable seafood, becoming 100 percent fish-friendly by 2018. This follows a shift toward sustainability announced two years ago by Compass Group, another huge food-service company.
It’s not only large corporations that are beginning to see the light. Packard said that everyday consumers picked up more than 12 million of her organization’s “Seafood Watch” cards last year. The cards, which tell which seafood is sustainable and which to avoid, are comprehensive and easy to use; they fit into any wallet or purse; and they are free. If you care about seafood sustainability and don’t already “carry the card,” click on this link for a download.
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