This is an interesting twist to a recent announcement by Mars Petcare stating they will be the first pet food company to use sustainably sourced fish. Greenpeace isn’t impressed.
On March 31, 2010 Mars Petcare (Whiskas, Nutro, Pedigree and many other brands) announced “its commitment to using ly sustainably sourced fish by 2020.” Mars, working with World Wildlife Fund, “aims to achieve the following milestones, across its entire petcare portfolio:
• “Only using fish from 100% sustainable wild catch and sustainable aquaculture sources
• “Replacing all wild catch whole fish and fish fillet with sustainable fish by-products and sustainable aquaculture.
• “Only using sustainable alternatives to marine fish ingredients. “
http://www.mars.com/global/news-and-media/press-releases/news-releases.aspx?SiteId=94&Id=1772
Ah, but Greenpeace seems to be very skeptical about this move by Mars Petcare. Quoting a Greenpeace UK blog post dated April 12, 2010 “Today, in my inbox, was a letter from Whiskas parent group, Mars, gleefully telling us Greenpeace folk how committed they were to sustainability, saving the oceans, and other such buzzwords. The tone of the letter suggests a smug grin that would make the Cheshire Cat jealous. It goes on to tell us how they are, like, so committed, that they will be working with the Marine Stewardship Council and by the end of 2010 the MSC logo will be adorning fishy-flavoured packs of Whiskas and Sheba cat food.”
The post continues…”So it is with a quizzical eyebrow that I direct you to a somewhat odd link to some new Whiskas product. Given that the End Of The Line has had such a big impact, you’d think, nay hope, that someone at Whiskas HQ had bothered to watch it. If they had, I rather doubt they’d think BLUEFIN TUNA FLAVOURED CATFOOD was a very smart move.”
“I mean, seriously. Endangered species flavour petfood? What’s next for Tiddles’ din-dins? ‘Roast Tiger flavour’? ‘Grilled Gorilla’? Or maybe ‘Limited Edition Dodo’?”
“But someone somewhere has seen sense, and after Mars’ PR team doubtlessly hacking up a few furballs, we understand that the line has been discontinued ‘due to public concerns’.”
The food seems to have been discontinued in the US as well. http://www.whiskas.com/meal_time/trays/wh_bluetuna.aspx
Thanks Greenpeace for clarifying things! To read the full Greenpeace post, click here.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author, Buyer Beware
Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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