AOL Columnist Hooked On Half Truths

If you stumbled upon Sally Deneen’s AOL column published under the banner Green Police, there are a number of things you should keep in mind.

Because apparently the eco cops asked Sally to remain silent on a few issues of fact that she is aware of, but chose to leave out.

Like the fact that 70% of the canned tuna Americans actually eat is Skipjack and a quick look at the status of the stocks shows none of the five skipjack stocks are overfished and none of the stocks are experiencing overfishing. Regardless of whether your skipjack came from the Western Atlantic, the Eastern Atlantic, the Western Pacific, the Eastern Pacific or the Indian Ocean, the stocks are in good shape.

So, before we start touting the brilliance of Monterey Bay Aquariums advice, shouldnt we set the scene? One that opens with: 70% of the canned tuna Americans eat comes from healthy stocks. Seems like a logical and factual beginning point.

Oh and speaking of the tuna Americans actually eat, lets take a minute and talk about affordability. Canned tuna makes a healthy, brain-boosting lunch for the kids and you can fill your cart with cans thatll run you just over a buck eachthats a healthy affordable story that average Americans who are focused on making the rent can understand. Specialty brands that run close to 4 and 5 bucks a can, while wrapping themselves in eco-dressing, may be a good choice for Sallys clique, but not for average families.

Should the sustainability of canned tuna be monitored? Of course it should. Should what Americans buy be dictated by unfounded fears created by lists that lack proper perspective? I think not.

And by the way, just what is Monterey Bay Aquarium doing to insure the health of those canned tuna stocks they are apparently so concerned about?

It would appear they are hmmmm making lists.

That brings me to another little nugget left out of this piece. Canned tuna companies worldwide are doing much more than neatly arranging the names of species in a given order on a piece of paper. In fact, theyve partnered with WWF in the formation of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a multi-million dollar operation whose sole task is the promotion of science-based tuna sustainability. I noticed amongst the hand wringing and bloviating of all the Environmental Defense-type experts there was no mention of ISSF or WWF curious.

Whats also curious is the headline: Group Urges Boycott. Is that what Monterey Bay Aquarium is doing? The definition of boycott is: preventing dealings with, as a means of intimidation or coercion. I wonder if Sally got the all clear from the Aquarium to announce its goal to intimidate and coerce moms who are selfishly intent on feeding their family healthy affordable meals?