The conservas industry, although very trendy as of late, has historically been guided by conglomerates that sacrifice quality and the environment to drive down price as quickly as possible, resulting in the regrettable “Chicken of the Sea” reputation that the industry is trying to shake today.
Several years ago we started noticing a shift in the world of seafood; tinned seafood, to be exact. We poured over information and discovered that a renaissance of sorts was happening in the canning industry. Specific attention is being paid to how fish is caught, with strict measures against overfishing aiming to provide sustainable and highly nutritious food sources. Harking back to old time practices of conservation, the producers we work with are fishing seasonally, in optimal conditions and canning immediately to preserve freshness and nutritional value. The canning process extends the shelf life immeasurably and makes conservas one of the wisest and most value dense food choices currently available.
People need a new jacket every five or ten years, but they eat three times a day. If we really want to protect our planet, it starts with food.
– Yvon Chouinard
Harvesting Mussels
The founder of Patagonia (with their own conservas provisions line), Yvon Chouinard, really says it best: “People need a new jacket every five or ten years, but they eat three times a day. If we really want to protect our planet, it starts with food.” For Yvon, it started with rope-cultivated and nutrient dense mussels, which don’t require any farming or additives to prosper and are naturally regenerative, actually cleaning the waters around them. Responsible fisheries and canneries are well aware of how to cultivate the sea to obtain abundant sources that are lower on the food chain. Thankfully the world is more aware today than we were just a few years ago about the dangers of overfishing and over polluting our waters. In fact, there is even occasional good news to report! Some species are being removed from endangered lists as their populations are being properly managed. We’re proud to say that our producers are the ones leading the pack in making the waters a prosperous and sustainable environment for all.
Conservas Gift Bundle
Unfortunately, our producers remain in the vast minority. The modern agricultural complex will not give way easily and, perhaps because the category is trendy, it is actually becoming harder to identify responsible canneries. We’re savvy to this and vet our purveyors cautiously, examining their fishing and labor practices to confirm, without doubt, that they are doing things the right way; out of respect rather than the bottom line. We’re proud to offer a wide array of responsible producers coming to us from all over the world, from the Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, to the famous Galician coast, up to Nordic waters, and seemingly everywhere in between! All of our producers stand by their unadulterated and clean products with the same pride we do for our market.