Customers demand Trader Joe's practice seafood sustainability

From Greenpeace:

After coming in as one of the last on Greenpeace's Seafood Sustainability Scorecard, Trader Joe's finds its customers gathering to petition for change

Chicago– Following the release of Greenpeace’s seafood sustainability scorecard –Carting Away the Oceans – in which supermarket chain Trader Joe's ranked one of the worst among the national chains, Chicagoans from across the city have been rallying outside Trader Joe's stores to demand real change to their seafood sustainability practices.

Yesterday concerned citizens gathered outside Trader Joe's Lincoln Avenue branch to get petitions signed and inform the public of Trader Joe's harmful practices. This is the third such event in the Chicago area following events at the Ontario Street and Orland park locations. Greenpeace's mock website, www.traitorjoe.com, encourages concerned citizens to take action by calling their local branches.

Amy Pepper, from Uptown, joined the rally after learning about the Seafood Sustainability Report explained, “I shop at Trader Joe's expecting that they have environmentally friendly practices, I hope they listen to their customers and adopt a seafood policy that's sustainable and not harmful to our oceans.”

In the third edition of Greenpeace’s seafood sustainability scorecard –Carting Away the Oceans -- released this month, more than half of the leading supermarket chains in the U.S. have now made some sign of progress in increasing the sustainability of their seafood operations. However, Trader Joe’s has failed to show progress and is ranked at #17, the third worst ranking of the national supermarket chains surveyed.

Of the 20 largest retailers in North America, nine remain that have made no visible effort to increase the sustainability of their seafood operations and continue to ignore scientific warnings about the crisis facing global fisheries and the marine environment. These include: Aldi, Costco, Giant Eagle, H.E.B., Meijer, Price Chopper, Publix, Trader Joe’s, and Winn Dixie. Despite the progress of many companies, all continue to stock “red list” seafood like orange roughy, swordfish, or Chilean sea bass – some of the world’s most critically imperiled species. None of the companies featured in the report guarantee that they won’t sell seafood from fisheries that are harming sea turtles, dolphins, seals, sea lions, or other marine mammals.

"The good news is that seafood sustainability is now on the radar of many major retailers so we are seeing a shift in practices, but much more progress is needed," said Greenpeace’s Senior Markets Campaigner, Casson Trenor. "Unfortunately, our oceans remain in crisis and retailers that ignore this fact are contributing to the collapse of our marine ecosystems.”

The rankings follow:

1. Wegmans

2. Ahold USA (Stop & Shop, Giant)

3. Whole Foods

4. Target

5. Safeway (Dominicks, Genuardi's, Pavilions, Randall's, Von's)

6. Harris Teeter

7. Walmart
8. Delhaize (Bloom, Food Lion, Hannaford Bros., Sweetbay)

9. Kroger (Baker's, City Market, Dillon's, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, Ralph's,

Smith's, Quality Food Center - QFC)

10. Costco

11. Aldi

12. A&P (Food Emporium, Pathmark, Super Fresh, Waldbaum's)

13. Supervalu (Acme, Albertson's, Bristol Farms, Jewel-Osco, Save-A-Lot, Shaw's)

14. Giant Eagle

15. Publix

16. Winn-Dixie

17. Trader Joe’s

18. Meijer

19. Price Chopper

20. H.E. Butt (H.E.B., Central Market)

To help ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems, Greenpeace advocates the creation of a worldwide network of marine reserves and fisheries management based on a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach. Today, supermarkets can help the oceans and meet consumer demand for sustainable products by refusing to sell seafood from fisheries that:

· exploit endangered, vulnerable and/or protected species, or species with poor stock status;

· cause habitat destruction and/or lead to ecosystem alterations;

· cause negative impacts on other, non-target species;

· are unregulated, unreported, illegal or managed poorly, and

· cause negative impacts on local, fishing dependent communities.

B-Roll/Photos Available

Full report and details available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/reports4/carting-away-the-oceans

CONTACT: Nicole Granacki, nicole.granacki@greenpeace.org, 773-575-7335