Sustainability in hands of food professionals

It’s consumers who will ultimately decide if the sustainable seafood movement has legs, and it is the job of food professionals to make sure they are armed with the right information to make the right decisions — and it’s easier than it sounds.

That was the main message chef Kevin Cottle conveyed during the keynote address, Local & Sustainable Seafood: Why It Makes Sense at the International Boston Seafood Show on Sunday.

Cottle, executive chef at the Country Club of Farmington, said it is consumers’ jobs to do research and understand the fishing regulations and use that knowledge to help reform government polices regarding sustainability. He added that it is the responsibility of food industry professionals to help educate consumers as well as introducing them to new species.

“The more you know the more you can act,” he said. “As foodservice providers [we] can make the ultimate change — what we’re purchasing. We’re setting the trend for consumers, and it’s that easy.”

Cottle pointed to resources such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, Oceana and the Marine Stewardship Council as aids for both professionals and consumers.

“Retailers have no choice but to listen to consumers. We dictate what is going to happen. We dictate that they provide these types of food. You vote three times a day you eat three times a day. Don’t eat it. How simple is that?” said Cottle.

“Where there’s a will there’s a way,” he added. “The oceans are in crisis. We need to figure out a solution — through you, through everyone. We create the trends, and we create the market.”

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