WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to welcome My Organic Market to its roster of more than 4,500 grocery stores and restaurants that are participating in The HSUS' ProtectSeals campaign.
To help end the annual slaughter of baby harp seals off the east coast of Canada, MOM's has pledged not to sell any Canadian seafood from the seal-hunting provinces in its grocery stores until Canada ends its commercial seal hunt for good.
"MOM's is really pleased at the opportunity to join the ProtectSeals campaign," said Vice President Lisa de Lima. "As a company, our mission is to protect and restore the environment, and we are excited to help lead the way on this important issue."
My Organic Market, headquartered in Rockville, Md., operates stores in Maryland and Virginia. Founded in 1987, as a home delivery/mail order provider of organic foods, MOM's has grown to become the Washington/Baltimore region's premier chain of locally owned and operated organic grocery stores.
MOM's recently pledged to carry only seafood derived from the most stringent standards of sustainability. To earn this "green" designation, MOM's buys seafood sourced exclusively via methods that maintain population balance and protect the surrounding environment. De Lima says, "MOM's sees its pledge to the ProtectSeals campaign as an obvious component of the same overall goal: to be good stewards of the natural environment."
"We are thrilled to have My Organic Market join our effort to bring Canada's commercial seal hunt to an end," said Patricia Ragan, director of The HSUS' ProtectSeals Campaign. "Along with thousands of other companies and hundreds of thousands of individuals, MOM's is sending an important message to Canada."
Since the launch of the ProtectSeals campaign, the value of Canadian seafood exports to the United States has dropped dramatically, providing financial incentive for Canadian fishermen to stop supporting and participating in the annual seal hunt.
Other participating grocery companies include Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe's, BiLo Supermarkets, Harris Teeter, Earth Fare and WinCo Foods.
Facts about Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt:
- Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals, with nearly one million seals killed in the past five years.
- Restaurants, seafood distributors and grocers participating in the ProtectSeals campaign pledge to avoid Canadian snow crab, or all seafood from Eastern Canada, or seafood from all of Canada until the hunt ends for good. The HSUS has signed pledges from all boycott participants.
- Canada exports nearly two-thirds of its seafood to the U.S. producing $2.5 billion annually for the Canadian economy, compared to less than $8 million generated in 2008 by the commercial seal hunt.
- More than 95 percent of the seals killed each year in the commercial seal hunt are less than three months of age. The majority are about one month of age or less. Many have not yet eaten their first solid meal or learned to swim properly at the point they are killed.
- Because of global warming, ice is thinning in the Canadian birthing grounds of the harp seal. In 2007, more than 90 percent of the seal pups died in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence due to melting ice. Despite this, Canada went on with the hunt.
- Since the ProtectSeals seafood boycott went into effect, the value of seafood industry exports from Canada to the United States has fallen dramatically.
For more information about the campaign to save Canadian seals, please visit humanesociety.org/protectseals.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.
