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Is Sustainable Seafood Really Sustainable?

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Tuna is perhaps the most popular seafood.   We eat it out of a can, we splurge on high-end sushi, and we prepare it in many other ways.   Some species of tuna are over-fished and some fishing methods are unsustainable.   As concerned consumers, we would like to know what sort of tuna we are eating.

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Wasting Less Food

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We have talked about the problem of food waste before.  About 40% of the food produced in the United States goes to waste, which is a truly shameful statistic.  According to a Business for Social Responsibility study on the subject, about 44% of the food that goes into landfills comes from homes.  About a third comes from the food service industry.

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Doing More Harm Than Good

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A group of more than 200 scientists and medical professionals has issued a consensus statement in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives urging that antimicrobial chemicals like triclosan and triclocarban should not be used in consumer products.  The experts say that these substances offer no health benefits and are actually causing health and environmental harm.

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Organic Food Is Increasingly Affordable

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Organic food is increasingly popular.  Food chains like Sprouts and Whole Foods as well as local food coops and health food stores have led the charge.  More recently, major supermarket chains have growing organic departments in their stores.  In fact, in 2015, sales of organic foods in the U.S. reached $43 billion, an increase of 11% over just the the previous year. 

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Seafood Fraud

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Food fraud means selling food products that have misleading labels, descriptions or promises that give consumers substandard, less desirable, counterfeit, and sometimes even dangerous products.  This sort of thing has gone on throughout history.  It leaves consumers feeling duped and distrustful and sometimes can lead to people eating foods that violate religious or moral values or that result in allergic reactions.

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Consumers And The Environment

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China passed the U.S. as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on Earth back in 2007, mostly due to manufacturing.  However, the great majority of all the products China produces are exported to the rest of the world.  China’s per capita consumption-based environmental footprint is actually small.  If you put the responsibility for environmental impacts on the consumer instead of the producer, we are all the culprits.

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WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)