Target Corp. said Tuesday that it had eliminated all farmed salmon from its fresh, frozen and smoked seafood sections at stores nationwide. This decision includes national brands and Target's own Archer Farms and Market Pantry labels. All salmon sold under Target-owned brands will now be wild-caught Alaskan salmon; the company also said sushi made with farm-raised salmon will be made with wild-caught salmon by the end of the year. The discount giant said it wanted to ensure that its salmon was "sourced in a sustainable way that helps to preserve abundance, species health and doesn't harm local habitats." The company said salmon farms can hurt the environment through pollution, chemicals and parasites...read more
And all farm-raised Americans and their city cousins should stay the hell out of Target Stores.
5 comments:
Farmed salmon is not like farming wheat or crops. And this is a free market decision by Target. Do you not like the free market?
I daresay that choosing not to shop at a given store because of its policies is itself a free market decision. Nobody on here urged the government to shut them down or anything like that.
That, right there, is one of the big things that is amok in politics today. All you have to do is pronounce a moral judgment, and it is automatically interpreted as a desire to use the power of the state to force every knee to bend to your wishes.
First, I was trying to have a little fun.
Second, Anonymous #2 has got it right. If Target makes a business decision to placate the environmental community, then those who are harmed by the environmental community can chose to not do business with Target.
And besides that, I once organized a boycott of Worland, Wyoming. See
http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/2009/10/travesty-miscarriage-of-justice-cowboy.html
When Greenpeace applauded Target for taking farmed salmon off of the shelves, what Greenpeace didnt say is that it was paid $300,000 by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
U.S. tax returns and the foundation's on-line database show that since 2000 the David and Lucile Packard foundation has granted more than $60 million to support the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and promote MSC-certified fish - most of which is Alaskan. This included $12.7 Million to get Wal-mart and other large U.S. retailers to preferentially sell MSC-certified fish and at least $12.4 Million to "reform" fish farming (read: thwart the competition).
Facing stiff competition from farmed salmon, the value of Alaskan wild fish lost 75 percent of its value over the 1990s. Alaskan fishermen not only lost their prime markets, they nearly lost their cherished way of life. Since 2002 and the bad press over farmed salmon, consumers and restaurants have been swayed back to "wild" salmon. The ex-vessel value of Alaskan salmon has tripled from $125 million to $409 million in 2008.
Taking farmed salmon off of store shelves is wrong for three reasons:
1) Salmon farming avoids some of the worst risks to wild salmon: over-fishing, ghost nets, by-catch, and the strain of Alaska's ocean-ranching of billions of hatchery-born salmon on the food chain and the carrying capacity of the Pacific ecosystem. Unfortunately, its too cold for salmon farming in most of Alaska.
2) Farmed salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, according to a report from the U.S. Institute of Medicine, farmed salmon is higher in omega-3 fatty acids than any other commonly-eaten fish and lower in mercury than almost all other fish. Harvard scientists estimate that eating fish weekly reduces the risk of a fatal heart attack by one third. The American Heart Association estimates that cardiovascular disease kills 2,400 Americans every day and cost $409 BILLION in 2009.
3) Fish farming provides sorely needed jobs in rural communities. In contrast, commercial fishing is seasonal. Canadian tax-payers spend about $30 Million per year on employment insurance for commercial fishermen in British Columbia alone.
So, who benefits from the campaign against farmed salmon?
When it comes to salmon, Alaska believes its got the real thing. The fuss over farmed vs. "wild" salmon is as much about marketing as Pepsi vs. Coke.
Protecting a livelihood and a cultural heritage is a noble pursuit, but thwarting the competition in the name of sustainability is not the way to go about it. In today's tough times, there are far better ways for American foundations to use wealth and tax-free privileges.
More info: http://fairquestions.typepad.com/fishfarmfuss/2010/01/greenpeace-marketing.html
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