Food & Water Watch Partners with Chefs Nationwide
For Healthier, Safer, & Sustainable Seafood Choices

Now more than ever consumers are choosing to shop smarter, and eat healthier and more sustainable food - a trend that has been sweeping across the country and is visible in the crowds at farmer's markets and other fresh food venues. Although many people may assume they are limited to buying produce or meats, consumers will now be able make better choices about the types of seafood they eat with the help of a new campaign and a chef on a mission to educate restaurateurs and other chefs about clean, green and safe seafood.

Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, has joined forces with Chef Joseph "Rocky" Barnette to promote a new seafood recommendation card called the Smart Seafood Guide that lists substitutes for some of the most popular, but potentially harmful, seafood choices, the consumption of which may impact the environment, the economy and people's health. Chef Rocky has been meeting with chefs from New York City, to New Orleans and other culinary Meccas across the country, talking about healthy seafood alternatives and is researching which wholesalers and purveyors provide the best seafood choices. He is also working with restaurants to sign the Food & WaterWatch Four Fish Pledge to buy and serve local seafood as often as possible, to reduce reliance on imported fish products, to accurately label seafood (including country of origin), and to promote seafood that is cleaner, greener and safer and in agreement with the Smart Seafood Guide. (You can view the guide through the link below)

BIOGRAPHIES
Marianne Cufone has been involved in natural resources management, and specifically fisheries management for the past 15 years. She is currently the director of the fish program at Food & Water Watch - a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. She has worked on issues such as offshore and inland fish farming, seafood safety, and oceans policy.

Ms. Cufone is a recognized expert in fisheries and has testified before Congress. She also teaches courses and guest lectures at assorted academic institutions. She currently maintains positions on assorted natural resource advisory boards for Hillsborough County, the State of Florida and the federal government and sits on several Boards of Directors. Ms. Cufone has authored and contributed to published works in environmental magazines, professional publications and other circulations distributed throughout the United States. She is a member of: the Florida Bar, the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, the American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and the American Fisheries Society.

Previously, Ms. Cufone was a Program Manager for a national conservation organization. There, she represented the organization and its members before federal and state natural resource management bodies, coordinated outreach and networking efforts and supervised staff. She was also primarily responsible for developing program policies based on scientific data for the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic and Caribbean regions on fisheries issues.

Joseph "Rocky" Barnette, Food & Water Watch's partner chef, loves to cook-and eat-fish: broiled on open flames, salt-encrusted in a charcoal oven, or chopped into a spicy Mexican ceviche. After growing up and attending cooking school in North Carolina, his style is distinctly influenced by the regional cuisine of the American South. He's a man of many tastes, though; his favorite city, he says, is New York, for its diverse restaurant scene. Most recently, Chef Rocky has spent three and a half years as Executive Sous-Chef at The Inn at Little Washington, in Washington, VA. He now spends most of his time educating chefs nationwide about sustainable, better food choices they can make and turn into delectable recipes to place on menus. He is passionate about serving up good, healthier and sustainable foods. To read more about him please see a complete interview with him here at: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fish/seafood/get-cookin-contest/Chef-Rocky-Barnette-Interview

RESOURCES
Smart Seafood Guide:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/seafoodguide

Seafood Contaminants fact sheet:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fish/seafood/seafood-contaminantsSeafood Buying

Guide fact sheet:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/take-action/consumer-tools/seafood-buying-guide