Certifying plant-based seafood products under a Gold Level version of their Friend of the Sea certification program
The World Sustainability Organization (WSO), in partnership with Good Food Institute- GFI’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative, has announced that it will begin certifying plant-based seafood products under a Gold Level version of their Friend of the Sea certification program.
Dr Paolo Bray, Founder and Director, World Sustainability Organization said, “Friend of the Sea (FOTS) and Friend of the Earth (FOTE) have different certification for sustainability. It looks at the impact of sustainability. The fishing method must be selected and should not affect endangered species. FOTE certification looks at the impact of development on the agricultural side on the previous habitat. The methodology needs to be similar to integrated best management practices, for eg. the best practices water efficiency, waste management, and accountability. The World Sustainability Organisation’s DNA is to promote more sustainable products so we are launching a golden or premium label certification for plant-based seafood to highlight at the B2B level those products which originated in a sustainable way and this can impact the market.”
Shloka Nath, Head – Sustainability and Special Projects, Tata Trusts said, “The best thing we can do for the climate apart from driving an electric vehicle is to move to alternative proteins. Mainstreaming alt protein involves consumer communication Getting consumers to commit to greener lifestyles could lead to great results. It is really just spelling things out because our food systems and supply chains are so complicated and opaque. Agriculture uses up 80% of fresh water in India so if you are using those for crops and then to use those as feed for meat we are not going to have enough water. We are already in the midst of a water crisis. Consumers think our choices begin and end in a grocery store but they don’t – making a consumer aware of how much our food really costs is important.”
The announcement was made during the Smart Protein Summit (held virtually between October 6-10, 2020) bringing together key stakeholders in business, innovation, scientific research, and policy to transform how we make our food.
The Summit is India’s largest event advancing the development of plant-based, fermentation-based, and cultivated protein, also known as alternative protein or smart protein. Hosted by the Good Food Institute India, the Smart Protein Summit is supported by sponsors ADM, AAK, Vega Foods, RichCore, PURIS, DuPont, and Wenger.