Invisible Realities in Global Food Systems
Consumers are increasingly demanding more information about the food they buy, while global trade is reducing our line of sight into critical issues.
#1: Consumers don’t know the full story behind their seafood.
It is the world’s most traded food commodity, yet in many cases consumers don’t know the origin or journey of the seafood they consume. Consider that 90% of seafood in the US is imported and 20% of consumer seafood on average is mislabeled. Inefficiency, fragmentation and sometimes corruption within seafood supply chains has led to a lack of visibility, but our team is working to create change using technology and sustainable sourcing.
#2: Globally we are wasting as much seafood as we consume.
As much as 50% of seafood is wasted or discarded, while 89% of global wild fish stocks are at capacity or in decline. The global seafood industry is heading toward a point of crisis. While other proteins have made massive strides in recent decades, food waste and supply chain inefficiency has become the norm for seafood. We are working with partners at each point in supply chains to deploy technologies that can reduce waste and increase consumer awareness about the journey and authenticity of their seafood.
#3: Supply chain opacity is perpetuating inequity and injustice.
More than 1 out of every 10 people on the planet rely on seafood for a portion of their livelihoods. While seafood is an essential part of global economic output and food production, we are blind to the injustice and sometimes criminality that is occurring within supply chains. The UN FAO estimates that 700KG of seafood are stolen every second through illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and it is the source of countless injustices from unfair wages to human slavery. Our team is working to shed light on these invisible realities.