I guess I am no longer shocked by humans and are seeming inability to advance even in the 21st century. but, this is a case where americans can make a difference!
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/ct-seafood-slavery-20151214-story.html
The article I read on this topic pointed that that the supply lines are so complicated that it’s almost impossible to know the original source of the shrimp. The only answer seems to be to boycott shrimp all together.
maybe domestic shrimp farming in the united states maybe another idea.
I don’t buy Asian shrimp. Even before knowing this, I’d read about the conditions of the swamps they’re “farmed in” nd how bad they are environmentally and healthwise. This of course, is even worse.
I have only ever purchased local seafood. First choice is out of a cooler from someone I know with his or her own boat. We only eat at seafood restaurants serving local seafood. That’s because it’s what I grew up eating. If local isn’t available, we just eat something else.
Wow. This is a modern day version of The Jungle.
I always try to buy locally both for environmental and safety reasons. Hauling food halfway around the world is a waste of fuel and as this story shows, cleanliness is an issue.
Read the article in yesterday’s NYT. It’s a lot more than just WF and Red Lobster.
Made me sick to my stomach reading about the horrendous situation and plight of these people who are forced to work in these sheds.
I try to buy locally also, but will look at the labels more carefully when I buy frozen shrimp.
HI’s most valuable export is prawns farmed in HI. I’m allergic, so don’t consume much shellfish.
This just breaks my heart. Certainly there is enough money and demand for the product for it to be done ethically. Our country should not be bringing in products made by the pain and misery of others. If it’s “too hard to trace the supply chain” then they need to make a new transparent supply chain.
I was really surprised to read that Whole Foods was on the list. I don’t eat much fish (maybe 6-8 times a year, but I need to change that); when I do buy it, I buy it at Whole Foods (tilapia is the only fish I’ll make). And if it’s been a few months since I’ve been in there to buy tilapia, I’ll always check at the fish department that they’re still getting their tilapia from the same kinds of sources. For a long time I would only eat wild caught tilapia, but it became very hard to find. Someone told me WF sells farm-raised, but they have very specific requirements with their suppliers on what their tilapia are fed and how they are kept in the farms. So I always ask, and the clerk always tells me how they’re raised (I don’t go in often enough that they remember me from time to time, and I go to two different WF stores), so I feel good about what I’m purchasing. They really seem so sure of where their seafood comes from… some of it, obviously not.
terwitt I do not eat fish but I do eat crab,lobster,shrimp scallops.
no fish, oysters or clams (yes I am weird)
since most shrimp seem to come from asia this is a problem moral/issue for me.
Remember the poster, Mini? Got me to be very careful about shrimp sourcing, water quality and other factors. WF claims their source in Thailand passes muster, supports their community. And this: http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/15/news/companies/whole-foods-shrimp-slave-labor/
But Mini’s point was that the whole industry is terribly problematic. Alas.
WF “claims”
I try to pay attention to where seafood is coming from. I like to get seafood from US sources. We eat a lot of Alaska salmon, usually from Harris Teeter.
I stopped buying Asian shrimp a few years ago when I read about unsanitary /unsustainable conditions --didnt know about the forced labor. That is bad! I am lucky because my H spends a lot of time deep sea fishing and we eat lots of fish in season–blue fish, strippers, fluke. We also go scalloping in the fall for bay scallops–some years ate better than others but if we cant get any during the recreational season we buy them during the commercial season and flash freeze to use during the year. We had bay scallop chowder on Christmas Eve.
scallops like shrimp are awesome no matter how you make them!
LOL… yes, I eat crab and shrimp, too (but really no lobster, and no scallops).
I definitely want to start paying even more attention to where they’re coming from.