Public Resource
Poll: Walton Family Foundation Urges Action on Seafood Traceability Ahead of World Oceans Day
Morning Consult and Walton Family Foundation

Most Americans consider sustainability an important factor when purchasing meat or seafood, and a clear majority support increasing seafood traceability. This new poll, released in advance of World Oceans Day (June 8th), finds that Americans widely value sustainability and transparency on the part of seafood suppliers. Among those who consume meat and seafood, 70% say that sustainability is an important consideration for them when purchasing meat and seafood products. Most also say that the country of processing (65%) and country of origin (61%) are important factors. Additionally, majorities of consumers say that human rights abuses and illegal practices would impact their seafood purchasing decisions if they learned about them: 65% say they would be more confident buying from a company if they knew it has a traceability program to avoid human rights abuses. 60% say they would be less likely to purchase seafood if slave labor was used to catch the fish. 58% say they would be less likely to purchase seafood if it was collected in an illegal manner. The idea of increasing traceability in the seafood supply chain is also popular, as 72% support increasing the traceability of seafood and 63% believe that increased traceability will increase the freshness of seafood.