Why doesn’t Canada label farmed salmon? What can I do to support labeling?
Successive Canadian federal governments have long been proponents of the salmon aquaculture industry, supporting its growth and the relatively minor economic benefits the industry brings to struggling coastal communities while ignoring the global weight of scientific evidence documenting concerns associated with the industry. As an active proponent of salmon farming, the government doesn’t want to make it easier for consumers to identify – and possibly reject – farmed salmon in the marketplace. In general, Canada has lower consumer information standards than the US and the EU. The US, for example, requires all fresh and frozen fish labels to identify country of origin, whether the fish is wild or farmed and whether it contains colouring agents. Write to Industry Canada’s Office of Consumer Affairs and demand labeling laws to protect and inform Canadian consumers.
