Salmon-friendly agricultural products are leaping
right onto grocery store shelves this month. In the first attempt
to market produce made with the Pacific Northwest’s dwindling
salmon population in mind, the nonprofit Pacific Rivers Council has
introduced a “Salmon-Safe” program.
Twenty-four
producers, ranging from wineries and vegetable growers to apple
orchards and rice farms, have been certified by the council’s staff
agronomist, who has spent over 15 years working to improve
conservation on farms. If a grower meets the council’s criteria,
which include controlling stream-polluting erosion and using pest
and weed controls that don’t poison salmon, it earns the
Salmon-Safe logo and, the council hopes, the attention of
shoppers.
By marketing items produced with
salmon-friendly methods, the council hopes to entice consumers in
the Northwest and farmers to support agricultural practices that
keep rivers clean for salmon. “This is the beginning of a
win-win-win arrangement for consumers, farmers, and the
environment,” says Tryg Sletteland, head of the Portland,
Ore.-based organization.
*Alan
Schussman
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Watch for fish-friendly foods.
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