Trader Joe's received an F rating on Greenpeace's seafood sustainability scorecard last year and unfortunately, held tight to its F for 2009 - despite the fact that over half of the other food markets improved their fishy ratings. The organic friendly, budget-friendly food market consistently scores lower than Target and Wal-Mart when it comes to sustainable sea food!

Greenpeace scored food markets on their fish purchasing policies (read the report here: http://go.greenpeaceusa.org/seafood/scorecards/scorecard-top20.pdf) , checking to see if any endangered "red list" fish food- like orange roughy, swordfish and Chilean sea bass - were still being sold and whether or not sustainable sea food policies and procedures were implemented.

None of the food markets got a "Good" score, but seven stores - with Wegman's, Ahold USA and Whole Foods topping the list - earned a "Pass" score. The remaining 13 food markets - including Trader Joe's - were labeled "Fail."

The idea here is if you do your seafood shopping at a major food market or grocery store, you'd be well advised to carry a Monterey Bay Aquarium Sustainable Sea food Guide to avoid purchasing any enviro-questionable sea food. (www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr-seafoodwatch/download.aspx).

If you're lucky to have co-ops or other health food markets close by, check to see if Greenpeace has given it a score because some smaller and indie stores actually get passing scores! At those places, your sea food shopping wont be as stressful, since you won't have to constantly consult your Seafood Watch guide.

However, if you're concerned about your mercury intake as well as species preservation, you'll still need a separate guide. Thanks to reader Mel, I've found a new seafood guide that combines all of this valuable food information. Neil Banas made an eco seafood guide (http://neilbanas.com/seafood-guide-2009.pdf) merging together eco and toxins info. Print it out as is a guide to sustainable, healthy sea food.