It is often the case that what is present at retail becomes the standard for the consumer. Across the U.S., retailers are making the effort to align with sustainability partners to insure their customers are presented with the best product for purchase.
There are residual benefits to these efforts as well. The producers and harvesters are now planning in advance the measures they will need to meet to insure they are on the shelves at Whole Foods, Kroger, Walmart and other big box grocers. These grocers account for the lion share of the market and are key to the success of brands throughout our industry. Retailers have a responsibility just like restaurants to support the future goals of the WWF and GAA.
As a distributor and teaching chef in Dallas, I am often asked by my students where they can get seafood products in their town. I have been not only educating them on making sustainable choices, but I am also pointing them to retailers that support these efforts. The level of questioning by the students (our average consumer), is alarming. “I saw on TV that eating sushi will make me sick,” said one student, referring to an episode of HBO’s Entourage.
Of course, we cannot afford to have the consumer adopt an “all or nothing approach to their purchases.” Consumer confidence is key and we need to position sustainability properly to the consumer to insure they are not shying away from seafood purchases.
So, the question for our readers is, do you expect your local supermarket to make the right sustainable choices for you? Is sustainable seafood a standard measure or just nice to have?
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