A Must-Have for Seafood Lovers
The 2010 Smart Seafood Guide is the only current guide that addresses sustainability, food safety and socio-economic impact of different kinds of seafood. Its release comes at a critical time, when the safety of seafood from the Gulf is in question.
All right, seafood lovers… pay attention. Most of you, on average, eat approximately 16 pounds of seafood each year, 4 of which is shrimp. Most of you want safe, sustainable seafood, and you’re probably aware that there are many things to consider.
Consumers need a resource that addresses factors, such as sustainability, food safety, and the socio-economic impact of many different kinds of seafood; the 2010 Smart Seafood Guide will help you navigate those waters.
The Smart Seafood Guide is a complete resource to understanding various seafood selections while keeping specific considerations in mind. It is being released at a critical time—consumers have posed many questions recently regarding the safety of Gulf seafood in light of the BP oil spill.
Unfortunately, some consumers have turned to imported seafood due to concerns about the safety of domestic options. However, rampant food safety violations occur throughout the industry. Did you know that less than two percent of all imported seafood gets inspected?
This year, we’ve even awarded imported coastal-farmed shrimp the dubious honor of “Worst Seafood.” Most of our imported shrimp come from countries where health, safety, labor and environmental standards are not as strict as they are in the U.S., meaning there is greater risk of buying seafood treated with illegal chemicals, antibiotics and pesticides. This is why it’s so important to know where your seafood comes from.
There are a lot of reasons to be knowledgeable about the seafood you’re buying, which is why it’s important to note a few things about this particular seafood guide.
-It’s the most comprehensive seafood guide available.
-It includes information on over 100 types of seafood.
-It offers background on U.S. seafood production and regulation.
-It is the only guide that considers the socio-economic impact on coastal and fishing communities.
-It steers consumers away from seafood raised in factory farm conditions.
-It steers consumers away from choosing seafood obtained through fishing practices that pose threats to both the marine ecosystem and public health.
-It steers consumers away from unregulated imports, depleted fish and seafood that is more likely to contain harmful contaminants.
The 2010 Smart Seafood Guide is free for all to use—it’s an online tool designed to help consumers find seafood based on taste or U.S. region of origin. In addition, Food & Water Watch has developed smaller, printed versions that you can carry with you and reference before making a purchase at markets or restaurants.
-Rich Bindell
Thanks for compiling and sharing this information.
The wallet-sized guide prints as 11 inches wide. It would be great if you could fix the printer settings so it really does fit in your wallet, and when it prints it can be cut and folded correctly. The Monterrey Bay guides print correctly if you’d like a template to mirror.
And then a question: we’ve been trying to ask about seafood at the restaurants we eat at (mostly in Cincinnati and around the Midwest), but very, very rarely does anyone know the answers to any of our questions about sourcing. Do you simply recommend not eating the seafood then? I would love to have a one pager or guide targeted to restaurants to hand to owners/servers so that they are educated about why we ask these questions.
Thanks,
Gavin
Hi Gavin. I’m sorry that you’re having trouble fitting our Seafood Guide into your wallet, but I can help you make it happen. You can probably make a simple adjustment on your printer, manually. It could just be that you need to change the settings. The file for the card is 8 inches wide and double-sided. It’s designed to be folded twice until it’s 2 inches wide—the size of a standard business card. If you have any trouble, we would be happy to mail you one, if you like—feel free to contact me directly: RBindell@fwwatch.org. The Monterey Bay Aquarium guide that you suggested we look at for design purposes is a good one, but it was important to us to provide a consumer resource that addressed factors such as sustainability, food safety, and the socio-economic impact of many different kinds of seafood. Our guide is the only one that does so.
Regarding your seafood sourcing question: Your idea about a guide targeted to restaurants is a good one. I’ll share it with our researchers and designers.
In the meantime, consumers should be able to get correct information about the seafood they are eating. Someone in a market or restaurant should be able to look at the packaging the fish came in, or look at a purchase order and provide information. If not, then it’s up to your comfort level and personal preference whether to opt for a product with little information. If they don’t have sufficient information about their seafood, I tend to order something else or move on to another market or restaurant.