Honolulu (August 27, 2024) — Fourteen out of 16 major US grocery retailers received failing grades in Greenpeace USA’s latest scorecard on tuna supply chain practices, highlighting ongoing issues in human rights and sustainability on the high seas. The new report, The High Cost of Cheap Tuna 2024, 3rd Edition, finds that while some retailers have made improvements in sourcing tuna, U.S. retailers’ current human rights and sustainability practices are failing.
Of the 16 retailers, only Aldi and HyVee passed the scorecard and Trader Joe’s finished last, with a 12% score. Trader Joe’s score reflects the retailer’s failure to respond or complete a survey and its website providing almost zero transparency on its sustainability and human rights practices.
The report shows that:
- Aldi topped the rankings with an overall score of 71% or a C when converted to a letter grade.
- This marks the third year in a row that Aldi has placed first overall amongst all other retailers.
- The bottom tier scores in the report include Publix and Wegmans both at 21%, Meijer with 18%, and Trader Joe’s last with 12%.
Each retailer received an overall environmental score and an overall human rights score. Only Five retailers — Aldi (74%), Ahold (53%), Hy-Vee (66%), Sprouts (62%) & Whole Foods (70%) — received passing Environmental scores.
On Human Rights Scores, all but one retailer — Aldi (66%) — received failing scores. All retailers scored worse on Human Rights than Environment.
The US imports roughly 80% of its seafood, and is the world’s largest market for canned tuna. One of the major factors driving the global tuna industry is increased demand for canned tuna, which the National Fisheries Institute reports is the third-most popular seafood item in the US, with sales expected to grow in coming years.
US retailers, given their economic power, play a key role in determining the human rights outcomes of tens of thousands of workers, who often toil under slave-like and inhumane conditions, according to study co-author Charli Fritzner, US Project Lead, Global Fisheries, Greenpeace USA.
“As one of the world’s largest seafood markets, the US government and the retailers who profit from it have the responsibility and the leverage needed to drive change and reform global tuna supply chain practices,” said Fritzner. “In every single scorecard category, there are retailers implementing positive practices and policies, which tells us that with concerted efforts towards wider adoption of best practices, sustainability and respect for human rights are possible–it’s just not a priority yet.”
The Urgent Need to Protect Ocean Workers and Wildlife
There are approximately 128,000 fishers ensnared in forced labor, who may be isolated at sea for months or even years at a time. These workers are often cut off from their families, with no way to communicate with the outside world while at sea–which leaves them vulnerable to exploitation, such as little to no pay and both physical and mental abuse. Research shows that there is an overlap between labor rights abuses and illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. These linked issues result in the depletion of tuna stocks, excessive bycatch of marine life caught on tuna lines, and numerous labor abuses on board. The documentary Before You Eat, produced by the Indonesia Migrant Workers Union (SBMI) with support from Greenpeace Indonesia, exposes some of the harrowing stories of migrant fishers forced into illegal fishing and subjected to human rights abuses.
While many are eyeing the 2024 US Presidential Election in November, Greenpeace USA says now is the time to demand more action from federal policymakers.
“The next administration, Democrat or Republican, needs to take these threats to our oceans and at-risk fishers seriously by advocating for, enacting, and rigorously enforcing stronger regulations to block seafood products associated with forced labor and environmental harm from entering the US market,” added Fritzner. “Americans expect their seafood to be free from modern slavery and environmental devastation. These abuses should not end up on our supermarket shelves or served on our dinner plates.”
Greenpeace USA argues that major retailers like Kroger, Costco, and Walmart have the opportunity and the resources to set the benchmark for sustainability and labor rights in the tuna industry. Walmart alone is the world’s largest retailer with nearly $650 billion in global revenue for its fiscal year 2024. By moving beyond mere promises and taking action, Greenpeace USA states, large retailers can drive industry-wide improvements and deliver significant, meaningful change.
The release of the report coincides with a Greenpeace USA press conference and launch event today in Honolulu, Hawaii, at which they presented the findings of a five-week expedition and fisheries investigation in the Pacific Ocean, which found rampant shark fishing on longlines. The team also interacted with several fishing crews, sharing care packages and WiFi to allow the isolated fishers to connect with family and their unions. Greenpeace is calling on states to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty that would allow protection of 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 and create marine protected areas allowing ocean biodiversity to recover and thrive.
The Pacific Ocean is a hotbed for overfishing, with high-income countries playing outsized roles in the global tuna marketplace in both procurement and consumption. One of the largest tuna brands in the US, Bumble Bee, for example, is owned by the world’s largest canned tuna trader, a privately owned Taiwanese company called FCF.
For 16 years, Greenpeace USA has periodically invited retailers to complete a survey on their policies regarding the sourcing and marketing of tuna and tuna products sold in their stores; then grading those responses and compiling a report. Prior to 2021, the survey’s questions focused exclusively on retailers’ environmental and sustainability policies. The questionnaire was later expanded to incorporate human rights and labor protection policies. For 2024, the survey adds two non-scored questions to provide additional context.
Methodology
Retailers were scored with percentage grades based on 39 questions that were sorted into six categories:
- Tuna procurement policy (20%)
- Traceability (20%)
- Advocacy and initiatives (10%)
- Human rights and labor protections (25%)
- Current sourcing (20%)
- Customer education and labeling (5%)
In addition, every question (across all categories) was also classified as pertaining either to environmental issues, human rights issues, or both, providing each retailer with an overall environmental score and an overall human rights score.
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Contact:
Tanya Brooks, Senior Communications Specialist at Greenpeace USA
(+1) 703-342-9226, [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa
