McDonald’s has announced that it will become the first U.S. restaurant chain to serve certified-sustainable seafood at all of its 14,000 locations across the country.
Packaging will be labeled by the Marine Stewardship Council, a nonprofit that sets sustainable fishing standards based on fish stock health, ecosystem effects, and the management systems of fisheries.
The Filet-O-Fish and upcoming Fish McBites will be made with MSC-certified wild-caught Alaska pollock. You’ll start to see blue ecolabels and a relevant marketing campaign for these products in February.
As one of the largest buyers of fish in the United States, this is a huge move toward more sustainable business.
“We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard,†said Dan Gorsky, vice president of the U.S. supply chain and sustainability.
McDonald’s has actually been serving MSC-certified fish at all of its 7,000 European locations since 2011, and several other companies have been working toward this goal as well. Target plans to only sell sustainable seafood by 2015, and after Earth Day 2012 Whole Foods stopped selling unsustainable fish.
This is one of many steps the fast food chain has taken to increase its sustainability. Some of its other efforts include phasing out gestation pens, and starting to serve coffee in eco-friendly cups.
Do these changes affect whether or not you eat McDonald’s?
Image CC licensed by Jason Ippolito: Filet-O-Fish burger
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