Greenpeace’s newest seafood sustainability scorecard shows the group has granted its “green” rating to Trader Joe’s, a company the group criticized in the past for supporting unsustainable practices.
Trader Joe’s joins Safeway and Whole Foods in earning the rating this year, in part because Trader Joe’s is now offering sustainably-caught tuna, according to a release from the group announcing the 2013 Carting Away the Oceans report.
Greenpeace also praised Walmart for introducing fish aggregating device (FAD)-free skipjack and pole-and-line albacore tuna.
“It’s great news that Walmart, Safeway and Trader Joe’s are all introducing responsibly caught canned tuna options, at a similar price to the environmentally devastating tuna available from Chicken of the Sea, StarKist, and Bumble Bee,” said Casson Trenor, Greenpeace senior markets campaigner. “This means there’s now a more sustainable seafood option available to almost every consumer in the country, so people don’t have to choose between their bank account and the planet.”
The report rates retailers based on a number of factors, including the sale of “red list” species, or species from stocks that have low populations. Retailers that sell those species rank near the bottom of the report.
“It’s hard to believe that brands like Kroger, Publix & BI-LO are continuing to sell tuna that’s sourced using destructive fishing methods, and sell red list species that are struggling for survival,” Trenor said. “This seems so far out of step with consumer preferences, which have encouraged most grocery retailers to offer more sustainable seafood options.”
