While at one of my local sushi dives last week I noticed that Atlantic Salmon was on the menu which was a little confusing since I live on the Pacific Coast. You know, that place where you can get all sorts of fish? Why on earth did they need to ship in farm raised Atlantic salmon when there were so many better alternatives? So, when I got home I sat down and wrote to the management.
Dear Management,
I have been a long time customer and love the Blue C experience. However, I was dismayed recently when I noticed that you had Atlantic Salmon on your menu. Farming practices for Atlantic Salmon are harmful to our oceans and the Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for farmed salmon due to high levels of PCBs and dioxins. Being in the Pacific Northwest we have access to fantastic alternatives to Atlantic Salmon which are both healthier for consumers and better for the environment. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has great information on environmentally friendly seafood, as well as resources for restaurants. I hope you consider this information in future purchases of seafood.
Thanks from a concerned customer
and I actually got this e-mail in response the next day!
Courtney,
Great email and thanks for sending along the information. I'm going to ask our distributor about their source because you are correct this is something we need to be sensitive to. It's one of the reasons we carry Sockeye Salmon on the belt as well.
Interestingly we are in talks with a new supplier that we think people will be very excited about. It is a long process but at the end of it we hope to have a very clear map of where all of the seafood we serve originates on a consistent basis.
Thank you gain for reaching out to us. I appreciate it.
Best regards,
Steve Rosen
Co-Founder, Blue C Sushi
Woot! I've never had a company respond positively to my environmental requests before so I'm super excited. Yea for encouragement that someone out there IS listening and that maybe I can make a difference!
2 comments:
Hooray! Small local places are the best, and they're the most likely to listen to you. Local businesses need all the customer support they can get.
Awesome! Sounds like Blue C Sushi is a place worth going back to over and over again. Don't let the lack of helpful responses get you down - I've been hit by dozens of them on my letter writing campaign to reduce packaging. But, most of the responses usually include coupons for free or reduced price products, which makes even a null response somewhat worthwhile. You can view some of the responses at my Environmental MeetUp group site. Keep up the good fight!
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