Whole Story

What concerns you most about the seafood you eat? Take our poll on seafood and see how your thoughts stack up with others. Let’s fish for the future From 75 to 80% of the world's marine fishery resources are fully fished, over-exploited, depleted or recovering. With the growing demand for seafood, our choices are important. Every time we put wild-caught seafood on our plates, we can help ensure a long-term supply for ourselves and for future generations by choosing seafood that comes from healthy fish populations that are well-managed and caught using sustainable fishing methods. At Whole Foods Market, offering as much sustainable seafood as possible is part of our philosophy and we strive to do more. We are proud to be the first U.S. retailer to offer a variety of seafood from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified sustainable fisheries. To further our commitment, we are implementing a color-coded ranking program in partnership with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium, which provides information on the sustainability status for all non-MSC certified wild-caught seafood. Let’s turn the tide toward responsible fish farming Poor fish farming practices, including those that cause water pollution and other negative impacts on the environment—as well as the overuse of chemicals and antibiotics—are bad news. It is also standard industry practice to use artificial preservatives to lengthen shelf life. No wonder so many people are concerned about farmed seafood! The good news is that we at Whole Foods Market make it possible to put farm-raised fish and shrimp on your plate with confidence. Our farmer partners are doing it right and, with our industry-leading aquaculture standards, we know exactly where our farmed seafood comes from. We know what it was fed and what it wasn’t fed: we prohibit antibiotics, added growth hormones, and poultry and mammalian byproducts in feed. And with our strict standards we minimize the impacts of fish farming on the environment. All of our seafood is free from added preservatives. You won’t find seafood farm-raised to these standards anywhere else. Remember: Every bite has a story. Your conscious food choices make a world of difference. Learn more at Let’s Retake our Plates.