In the fourth edition of the Greenpeace USA seafood sustainability scorecard - Carting Away the Oceans - half of the leading US supermarket chains for the first time received ‘passing’ scores for their seafood sustainability efforts.
Companies that moved into the ‘passing’ scoring range are A&P, Delhaize and Trader Joe’s.
“A significant change is developing among major US retailers,” said Greenpeace USA senior markets campaigner, Casson Trenor. “It’s now clear that Wegmans, Target and Whole Foods are making substantive progress reflecting their sustainability commitments while others such as H.E.B. and Costco remain committed to selling endangered species and destroying marine ecosystems.”
Supermarket chain Target rose from fourth place to receive top ranking, pushing Wegmans to second place and Whole Foods maintained third place on the Greenpeace USA ranking guide. Trader Joe’s, which had been ranked lowest of US supermarket chains in the last ranking has since moved to 10th place following the announcement in March that it is taking specific steps to develop a sustainable seafood operation. Safeway climbed from 5th place to 4th as Costco dropped from 10th place to 14th.
Of the 20 largest supermarket chains in the United States, several remain that have made no visible effort to increase the sustainability of their seafood operations and continue to ignore scientific warnings about the overfishing crisis facing the world’s oceans. These include: H.E.B., Meijer, Costco, SUPERVALU (and associated banners), Publix, and Winn Dixie.
To help ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems, Greenpeace is campaigning for a global network of marine reserves to cover 40% of the world’s oceans and for fisheries management strategies based on a precautionary, ecosystem-based approach.
