Sustainable Seafood Week NYC - Moving Manhattan Towards Responsible Eating

5 Things to Know About Sustainable Seafood

Sticky12 May 201705/12/2017sustainaLeave a comment

As more of the world becomes aware of the need for sustainability, even the seafood industry has taken steps. But just what is sustainable seafood–is there anything specific you should know about it?

1. 70% of Seafood is Currently Over-Fished

According to National Geographic’s page regarding Sustainable Seafood, nearly 70% of the fish that humans eat are currently exploited. An increase in the demand for seafood has even led many species to undergo a collapse. One of the most notable examples is the current tuna shortage, as reported by NBC.

2. The Consequences Go Beyond Our Dinner Plates

Dangers to fish populations are not only bad news for diners who love fish – the health of the ocean’s ecosystem is essential to the survival of the earth. Choosing sustainable seafood is more important than ever. We must replenish the oceans and secure a safe habitat for underwater life for generations to come.

3. How Does Sustainable Fishing Work?

In general, sustainable fishing entails only targeting plentiful species of fish, mollusks, and other seafood. It’s also strategically advantageous to target ocean life that is relatively low on the food chain; these fish reproduce at a faster rate and can rebuild thriving populations in a short amount of time. Sustainable fishing also involves technology to limit bycatch, which happens when other species of ocean life getting caught in fishing nets.

4. How Do Wild Fisheries Work?

Sustainable (also known as ‘wild’) fisheries are more difficult to run than standard facilities. A few difficulties include accurately monitoring the population of various species and allowing consumers to track the history of their seafood all the way back to the boat that caught it. If you buy farm-raised fish (and chances are you do), look for a variety that’s been produced in eco-friendly conditions.

5. Respecting Aquaculture with Your Purchasing Power

Another important buzzword in the sustainable fishing world is “aquaculture”. According to statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, more than half of the fish the world eats is produced by fish farms. Sadly, most of these farms aren’t committed to sustainable methods. Consumers can drive the direction of the fishing industry by only buying seafood from companies committed to limiting pollution and damage to river and ocean habitats.

Other Resources to Learn About Sustainable Fishing

We hope you’ve learned a little about why sustainable seafood is such an important cause. If you’re curious about some of the species currently being over-exploited, you can always check current updates from Seafood Watch, one of the world’s foremost ocean safety watchdog groups. Also useful is the World Wildlife Federation’s guide to sustainable seafood; we recommend downloading it to your phone so you can reference it when you shop for fish, mollusks, and other seafood.

Thanks for your interest in sustainable fishing. Together we can help protect more of the earth’s incredible, delicate ecosystems.

Best Boxed Food Delivery Services That Source Sustainable Ingredients

18 June 201706/14/2017sustainaLeave a comment

Boxed food delivery services are the craze, but not all of them work hard to connect with sustainably grown products. The good news is that it’s easy to find a trustworthy company that does. We did some research and found the five best businesses that make food sustainability their top priority. You can save yourself a trip to the grocery store and help your local farm community when you subscribe to any of these food delivery services.

1. Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh meal delivery ships weekly pre-portioned meal boxes nationwide. The service has professional dietitians and chefs that work together to create new recipes every week for all types of diets. They have built a massive data driven technology base that takes your food preferences and finds a local food supply chain to match preferred ingredients. Currently, their biggest suppliers are Growers Express based out of California and Murray’s Chicken. All of the companies they get ingredients from have missions committed to food and economic sustainability. Check out Hello Fresh reviews here.

Food services like Hello Fresh and Green Chef make eating responsibly a lot easier.

2. Blue Apron

Like Hello Fresh, Blue Apron also delivers recipe food boxes nationwide and gets their ingredients from larger farm networks. All of their suppliers are also committed to a sustainable food process that puts more back into the environment than it takes out. Blue Apron currently partners with over 150 farms across America. Its biggest suppliers are Seafood Watch and BN Ranch (which the company just acquired). When you order meals containing beef, you feel better knowing that BN Ranch only uses grass fed and pasture-raised beef. Blue Apron is also open about their standard for fresh non-GMO ingredients. In other words, your food won’t come from a lab and is picked a peak freshness.

3. Green Chef

Green Chef has a smaller delivery network than the larger food delivery services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. If you are vegan or vegetarian, you will be thrilled with their versatile meatless meal options. Currently, Green Chef delivers everywhere in the U.S. except for Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of Louisiana. They work with many smaller family farms to source ingredients for their recipe boxes. Unlike the larger companies, they only get ingredients from USDA approved organic farmers. All of their farmers practice humane animal treatment and sustainable growth processes. Even their packaging is eco-friendly.

4. SPUD

SPUD is also a smaller food delivery service network. Unlike Green Chef, its food boxes are not geared towards recipes. They operate more like a grocery shopping option. You simply go to their website, check out local natural grocery stores and farmer’s markets, and select what you want in your SPUD box. Although you can order non-organic ingredients, most of their options are proudly organic and local. Currently, they are only operating on the West Coast and Canada. You can check out their website to find out more about which local suppliers they use.

Rather than shipping recipe ingredients, SPUD ships organic groceries straight to your front door.

5. Door to Door Organics

Similar to SPUD and Green Chef, Door to Door Organics works within a smaller network to connect more closely with small grocery stores and local farmers. Their service delivers throughout Colorado, Michigan, Chicago, Kansas City, and parts of the east coast. Like SPUD, their food boxes are not recipe-based but grocery style. You can choose to be surprised each week with local and seasonal ingredients, or you can be more selective. They partner with hundreds of local farms and small companies in the surrounding area to ensure fresh ingredients. Door to Door also has options to select only organic produce and humanely raised meats.

5 Best Eco-Friendly, Sustainable Restaurants in Manhattan

22 May 201706/14/2017sustainaLeave a comment

New York City pulses with fantastic music, fashion, industry, and of course, food. As we as consumers learn more about where our food comes from, it becomes harder to find ethically sourced and delicious meals. Luckily, as our awareness of sourcing grows, many NYC restaurants have risen to meet the challenge. Thanks to our friends at Imperial Moving, here are five Manhattan restaurants that specialize in eco-friendly and sustainable seafood:

1. Crave Fishbar

At either its West Village or Midtown locations, Crave Fishbar has a good reputation. Crave serves meals prepared with seasonal ingredients, often sourced from Long Island fisherman, and was the first NYC restaurant to partner with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Crave offers a variety of dishes, from lobster curry and tuna tartare to grilled octopus and rib eye. They are probably best known for their raw bar; during happy hour, oysters are only $1 each!

2. Maiden Lane

Maiden Lane was born in the East Village in 2013. Owner Gareth Mccubbin aspires to bring the feel of a European conservas bar to NYC. The idea is to serve high-quality, hand-packed tinned seafood, sourced from Europe. The menu includes a huge variety of canned seafood, including octopus, oyster, squid, anchovies, and several types of sardines. Maiden Lane also has other small plates and sandwiches. Especially recommended: the open-faced whitefish sandwich with smoked salmon.

3. Seamore’s

Located in Little Italy, Seamore’s specializes in a range of less familiar types of fish. The sustainable restaurant has partnered with Sea to Table, a company that brings locally sourced seafood to nearby restaurants, and with Greenpoint Fish and Lobster, an organization that acts as the go-between for suppliers and their customer. A blackboard called “Daily Landings” lists the fresh variety of seafood that is featured, often including hake, redfish, pollock, porgy, and dogfish. The “Reel Deal,” a build-your-own entree in which you choose one of the featured fish and one of four sauces, is delicious.

4. Le Bernardin

This Midtown staple was founded in 1986 and rebooted in 1995 when chef Eric Ripert came on board. Le Bernardin continues to win awards after thirty years in the business. The menu features mostly high-end seafood dishes with Asian sauces, with a focus on sustainability practices. Though pricey, Le Bernardin is a perfect place to celebrate. Three categories make up the menu: Almost Raw, Barely Touched, and Lightly Cooked. The menu often changes but is known for its oysters, sashimi, and smoked yellowfin.

5. Mayanoki

For sushi, check out Mayanoki, a sustainably and locally sourced restaurant on the Lower East Side. It works directly with local fisherman and is the only sushi restaurant partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. The menu is served in a multi-course omakase style, in which you watch the food as it is prepared, and are told where it comes from. Since the menu changes depending on the fish available, always expect something different. Try the sea bass and scallop sashimi!

Courtesy of Imperial Moving & Storage

This article was posted by the generous support of our friends at NYC moving company Imperial Moving & Storage. These movers are committed to the environment and strive to make every household move as eco-friendly as possible. Whether it’s by eating sustainable seafood or using recycled boxes when moving apartments, we can all do our part to protect our earth’s natural resources.