Grocers Join Seafood Boycott

WASHINGTON — Seafood from Canada has been boycotted by a number of U.S. supermarkets and restaurants in an effort to end Canada’s annual seal hunt. The companies have joined the Humane Society of the United States’ ProtectSeals Campaign, which encourages companies to shift buying away from Canada’s seafood in an effort to convince the Canadian government to put a stop to the annual seal hunt. Much has been written in the consumer press about the brutality of the seal hunt, which includes the killing of baby seals.

Some of the grocery stores and other companies that are participating in the ProtectSeals Campaign include Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter, WinCo Foods, Publix Super Markets, Lowe’s Food Stores, Rosauer’s Supermarkets and Yoke’s Fresh Markets. They join more than 4,500 other grocers, restaurants, chefs and seafood distribution companies that are participating in the campaign. Many are boycotting some or all seafood from the Canadian provinces involved in the hunt, and others are boycotting seafood from all of Canada.

Since the boycott began, the value of seafood industry exports from Canada to the United States has fallen dramatically, according to HSUS.

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