Wegman's grocery store recently teamed up with Environmental Defense and announced a first-of-its-kind purchasing policy for farmed shrimp.

Since shrimp accounts for about 25 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. every year, these new purchasing standards will help reduce the environmental concerns about shrimp and seafood in general.

Fish farming can be counterproductive environmentally. But done right, like the new Wegman's plan, it can produce eco-friendly and healthy seafood.

This plan requires producers to eliminate antibiotics and chemicals, avoid damaging sensitive habitats, treat their waste water and reduce the use of wild fish to feed the shrimp. These rules come with aggressive performance monitoring.

Now, it's time other seafood retailers followed Wegmans' lead. Please sign the petition to tell your grocery store to adopt sustainable seafood practices!

Dear [Your Grocery Store],

As someone who gives thought to the environmental impact of what I eat, seafood is of particular concern. I am writing you to ask you to adopt eco-friendly standards for purchasing seafood, particularly shrimp.

The purchasing policy should address the key environmental impacts of shrimp farming, by requiring farmed shrimp producers to:

• Protect sensitive wetland areas, like mangroves, by requiring that farms are above the high tide line


• Operate and site their farms in compliance with all local and national laws, and not impede the access of local communities to public resources;


• Use no groundwater, and protect and monitor the quality of groundwater and soils;


• Meet stringent health standards for contaminants like PCBs, ensuring that shrimp they produce are safe to eat regularly;


• Use fewer wild fish in shrimp feed, helping conserve ocean fish stocks;


• Eliminate escapes of farmed shrimp into the environment;


• Eliminate the use of antibiotics, other antimicrobials and pesticides;


• Eliminate the use of genetically engineered shrimp;


• Use best practices to prevent disease and prevent the spread of disease to other farms or wildlife;


• Reduce water pollution by treating all effluent;


• Stock farms only with hatchery raised shrimp;


• Strictly limit the control of wildlife predators at shrimp farms; and


• Demonstrate compliance with the purchasing policy through annual public reports and third-party audits.

Adopting a policy with these standards would surely help you gain an advantage as environmental standards inevitably become tougher.

[Your comment]

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]