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10/20/2009
More than two dozen top chefs and culinary leaders from across North America have signed an open letter to “Save Our Seafood,” pledging to serve only sustainable seafood items and to recruit peers and customers to the cause.
The letter was released today (October 20, 2009) in conjunction with release of a benchmark scientific report from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and its Seafood Watch program outlining the threats to healthy oceans from current fishing and fish-farming practices – and the steps it will take to assure a future with healthy oceans.
Signatories include Alton Brown (Be Square Productions, Atlanta), Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill/Topolobampo, Chicago), Susan Spicer (Bayona, New Orleans), Rick Moonen (rm seafood, Las Vegas), Fedele Bauccio (Bon Appétit Management Co., Palo Alto), Michelle Bernstein (Michy’s, Miami), Suzanne Goin (Lucques, Los Angeles), Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger (Border Grill/Ciudad, Los Angeles), and Michel Nischan (The Dressing Room, Westport, Conn.).
The pledge includes a commitment not to serve items from the Seafood Watch red “Avoid” list –seafood rated by aquarium scientists and outside experts as destructive of healthy oceans.
Copies of the pledge, the seafood report and a new “Super Green List” of seafood that is optimal for human health and is caught or farmed in ways that protect ocean ecosystems, are available at www.montereybayaquarium.org/seafoodwatch.
“Great chefs are opinion leaders for peers and the public,” said aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard. “We’re honored that these distinguished culinary figures have partnered with us in our efforts to assure a future with healthy oceans.”
Many of the chefs have been honored by the aquarium at its “Cooking for Solutions” culinary celebrations – events that began in 2002 as a way to raise public awareness about the connection between fishing and farming practices, and the healthy of soil, streams and oceans.
Suzanne Goin will be recognized as chef of the year at the 2010 Cooking for Solutions celebration, and Rick Bayless – a past chef of the year – will be recognized as 2010 educator of the year. Alton Brown was honored as educator of the year in 2009.
“Every bite you take is like a vote... a statement of values,” Brown said. “I value healthy oceans, oceans that have cared well for mankind through the ages. It's high time we took better care of our seas and the bounty they produce. There are a lot of ways each of us can help but eating by Seafood Watch is a great way for all of us to help.”
Bon Appétit Management Co. and its founder and CEO Fedele Bauccio were the first national food service company to fully embrace Seafood Watch guidelines for purchases at all of its 400-plus client properties.
The chef and culinary leaders open letter reads:
Ocean wildlife is threatened today as never before by human activities. And nothing exacts a greater price than the scope and scale of global fishing to feed our growing global appetite for seafood.
As individuals and as a society, it is imperative that we take action to assure a future in which the oceans can thrive.
As chefs and culinary leaders, we have a special responsibility. Through our menu choices, our purchasing decisions and the platform we enjoy to reach the public, we are in a unique position to help turn the tide.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program – backed by rigorous, peer-reviewed science and updated twice a year to reflect the latest information on the state of seafood items in the U.S. market – offers a powerful tool for chefs, seafood buyers and consumers. Seafood Watch allows us to use our purchasing power, and our influence, to make a difference for the oceans.
The Aquarium’s new report, Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood 2009 documents the threats facing ocean wildlife today, and the many hopeful signs that point to a better future – if we take action now.
We therefore pledge:
• To serve no wild-caught or farmed seafood from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch red “avoid” list.
• To communicate our commitment – with peers and the public – so others will join us.
• To use our talents to introduce to new dishes demonstrating that sustainable seafood is also delicious to eat.
The oceans are resilient, and fish populations can rebound – if we give them a chance. Through our actions, we intend to be part of the solution.
Since 1999, Seafood Watch program has become a recognizable standard and reference point for millions of conservation-minded consumers, and for restaurateurs and major seafood buyers in the United States.
It has distributed nearly 32 million consumer pocket guides with seafood recommendations covering all regions of the United States, and partnered with Compass Group and ARAMARK – the two largest food service companies in North America – to help shift millions of pounds of seafood purchases to more sustainable sources.
In 2009 the Monterey Bay Aquarium celebrates 25 years of inspiring ocean conservation.
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