Wal-Mart pioneers environmental labeling
imported shrimp is farmed with environmental sustainability in
mind.
The retail giant has partnered with Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) and Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC) to certify that all foreign shrimp suppliers adhere to Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards.
The move suggests that Wal-Mart intends to take a bigger role in encouraging environmental sustainability along the supply chain.
"This certification is just one way Wal-Mart is working to source products in environmentally sound ways - and deliver these high-value products at affordable prices to our customers," said Peter Redmond, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for deli and seafood.
Wal-Mart has immense influence within the food industry. Market analyst Global Insight claims that the expansion of Wal-Mart over the 1985 to 2004 period can be associated with a cumulative decline of 9.1 percent in food-at-home prices, a 4.2 percent decline in commodities prices, and a 3.1 percent decline in overall consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index-All Items, which includes both goods and services.
The corporation's involvement in such a scheme is therefore a major fillip for the environmental movement.
The BAP standards provide quantitative international guidelines and auditing procedures throughout the shrimp production process. Wal-Mart guided the development of the new standards with the GAA, assistance from leading technical experts such as Dr. Claude Boyd with Auburn University, and various non-governmental organizations such as Conservation International.
"We felt the governance structure and geographic scope of the BAP program best fit our environmental goals, and it was the right thing to do for our customers," said Redmond. "With this new certification, when customers buy shrimp in our stores, they can be assured it is farmed in a way that is sustainable and helps protect the environment.
"Soon, a certification stamp on the package will reinforce that fact."
The initiative underlines the fact that the US food industry is waking up to the need for better labels. American consumers are becoming a lot more label-conscious than they once were, mostly due to growing nutritional awareness.
The twice-yearly global ACNielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey found that North Americans were more conversant with food labeling than consumers in other parts of the world, with 64 percent claiming to 'mostly' understand food panels.
"As consumers study more closely the seafood they eat - as well as where it came from - continued demand for BAP certification will improve the image of farmed shrimp," said GAA president George Chamberlain. "We are grateful for Wal-Mart's initiative in driving improvements in the BAP standards that will benefit the entire shrimp-farming industry."
The BAP standards address such issues as mangrove and wetland conservation, effluent management, drug and chemical management, and microbial sanitation. They align conservation stakeholders and shrimp farmers in a comprehensive program that includes participating shrimp hatcheries, farms and processing plants.
