Consumers want to support sustainable seafood, but Big Aquaculture can\u2019t compete with independent fishers on sustainability. This means grocery store marketing representing industrial seafood as sustainable is key to keeping the Big Aqua system growing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Northeastern grocery chain Hannaford aggressively markets its seafood as sustainable, when in reality it \u201csells industrially farmed salmon whose production inflicts grave harms on pristine marine ecosystems and has caused the destruction of marine life around the world,\u201d according to the complaint in this case. Hannaford parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is the largest grocery retail group on the East Coast. It is also the parent company of Food Lion, Giant Food, and Stop & Shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One major Hannaford supplier, Cooke Aquaculture, is the only farmed salmon supplier operating in the Gulf of Maine, and Hannaford sells Cooke products labeled \u201cGulf of Maine\u201d or \u201clocal Gulf of Maine\u201d across New England and New York. A global corporation headquartered outside of the state, Cooke is notorious for converting acres of Maine\u2019s seabed into fish feedlots, fouling bays and inlets across Downeast Maine with chemicals, trash, nitrogen pollution, and fish waste, and threatening local fishing communities, economies, and ways of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lawsuit alleges Hannaford\u2019s marketing is unlawful under New York\u2019s consumer protection laws, and exploits consumers\u2019 clear preference for \u2013 and willingness to pay more for \u2013 seafood products they believe to be sustainable. The case is a putative class action on behalf of all New Yorkers who purchased <\/strong>farmed salmon products from Hannaford, within the relevant statute of limitations. The plaintiff is represented by FarmSTAND, the Center for Food Safety, Reese LLP, and Jennings & Earley PLLC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n