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Picture from the homepage of a Swedish whole saler of so called "organic/ecological" tropical prawn
About Environmental Certification
Certification of products that are better for the environment
and/or take consideration of better working conditions is no doubt very
worthwhile. It is one of the most important tools available to consumers
who want to contribute to sustainable development. However, and because
of this, it is of utmost importance that consumers are able to trust the
labeling. Many corporations have tried to benefit from phony certification
of products, and it is the case that the aquaculture shrimp industry is
attempting to do so as well. This is an industry with documented bad practices
concerning the respect for human rights and the environment. See for example
the Mangrove Action
Project press release on the Global Aquaculture Alliance and Wal-Mart
shrimp-marketing.
It is also worrying that more serious companies and organisations such as
European COOP grocery chains and the German certifier Naturland are devoting
time and resources to phony certification and false marketing. See for example
the report Critical
Analysis of Certified Organic Shrimp Aquaculture in Sidoarjo for
more information on this.
