Is Whole Foods "Prison Tilapia" Good for American Aquaculture?

[marmar]

from minyanville's daily feed:




Is Whole Foods "Prison Tilapia" Good for American Aquaculture?
By Justin Rohrlich May 25, 2011 03:32 PM


On "Whole Story," the Whole Foods (WFMI) blog, Seafood Quality Standards Coordinator Carrie Brownstein writes:

"Unlike conventional grocers who may source tilapia from any old place as long as the price is right, Whole Foods Market sources all seafood, including tilapia, according to our Quality Standards."

One of the companies from which Whole Foods sources its fish is a Colorado aquaculture outfit called CCi, which raises and processes hormone-free tilapia.

And CCi is anything but "any old place."

See, CCi stands for Colorado Correctional Industries -- and its employees are convicted felons serving sentences for everything from murder to non-violent drug crimes. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed/2011/05/25/is-whole-foods-prison-tilapia/

[Shagbark Hickory]

1. Interesting. Not sure how I feel about it. Prisons already have a number of industries that can pose

unfair competition to private companies.
For instance, they mow the lawns, make signs, make furniture, amongst other things.
I'm more concerned with whether or not the inmates want to be doing that or if they are forced.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

2. As long as none of them are doing time for "fish fucking" I'm OK with it.

(well, not really. I don't do business with outfits using slave labor)

[hobbit709]

3. I don't go to Whole Paycheck to start with.

and tilapia isn't my favorite fish anyhow.

[Dreamer Tatum]

4. Not seeing any issue with this whatsoever. nt

[bobbolink]

5. Slave labor is one of the side benefits of For-Profit Prisons.

And it is why The War On Drugs (tm) will never be over.

[Mimosa]

8. Bobbolink, interesting take on why the War on Drugs continues

Since Whole Foods also buys products from China they may also be benefiting from their prison labour. But maybe not. Who can tell?

BTW, here's another reason to dislike Whole Foods.

http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/a-high-price-image-doesnt-always-mean-high-price-product/

[backscatter712]

6. Certainly, private prisons with a profit motive can get out of control in a hurry.

CCI and other private prison companies get paid by the prisoner, they reap the profits from prison labor, so of course, they're lobbying in state legislatures across the country to find creative new ways to make more people into prisoners.

At the same time, there are rehabilitative benefits to giving prisoners a job, paying them a little money, giving them job skills and giving them something to do other than stewing in their cells.

This is why I'm against private prisons, and think prisons should be run solely by the state. It eliminates the profit motive and makes it more likely that prisoners will be rehabilitated rather than exploited.

[JVS]

7. Don't worry. Prisoners do the jobs that free people don't want to do.

;-)