Whole Foods to Eliminate Red-Rated Fish

A "red-rated" fish is a species caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment. Color-coded ratings such as this one have been developed by the Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium. According to the Seafood Watch program, fish to avoid in the central United States include imported shrimp, red snapper, and Lake Michigan trout, among many others. Best choices include wild Alaska salmon, and US farmed tilapia and rainbow trout, among others.


Whole Foods market announced today that, as of April 2, 2012, they will no longer sell red-rated fish in their stores, instead only making green-rated ("best choice") and yellow-rated ("good alternative") available. This means that sale of fish such as Atlantic halibut, grey sole, skate, and trawl-caught Atlantic cod will be discontinued. Click here for more information about this new policy.

Further sustainable seafood and aquaculture resources:

• Seafood Recommendations Guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2010
• Aquaculture Recommended Reading list from Wisconsin's Water Library
• Aquaculture: Water on the Web, compiled by Wisconsin's Water Library
• Aquaculture Research and Resources from the UW Sea Grant

Image via Whole Foods

Factory expansion leads to wastewater treatment problems in Massachusetts

Wastewater from factories and corporations affects everyone- especially the local community. A  $50 million expansion to a Massachusetts Coca-Cola plant producing the new beverage "Honest Tea" initially led to an increase in jobs, but has since caused problems for the town's wastewater treatment plant.

Since the expansion, the plant finds itself operating at capacity and still unable to manage the high volumes coming from Coca-Cola. The high sugar levels in the factory's wastewater is difficult to process and contains high levels of bacteria, which, due to high volume, must currently be hauled to another location.  Unless changes are made, this leaves room for little future growth in the city. To cope, the city will need to raise surcharge rates by 23 percent- or Coca-Cola will need to work more closely with the community to better manage such challenges.

• Click here to read more about the challenges posed to this Massachusetts town
• Learn about wastewater treatment with resources from Wisconsin's Water Library and the Wisconsin DNR.