Trader Joe’s or Traitor Joe’s?

Greenpeace started shenanigans outside of San Francisco Trader Joe’s stores, calling attention to the supermarket chain’s unsustainable seafood sales.

The protest is in response to TJ’s poor performance in a recent Greenpeace analysis of sustainable seafood policies at major supermarket chains. The chain ranked 17th out of 20 stores evaluated, being bested even by Walmart (No. 7). For the full scorecard, visit www.greenpeace.org.

During the demonstration, activists dressed in Hawaiian shirts similar to those worn by TJ’s employees. Among them were two protestors costumed as orange roughy (pictured), an endangered species listed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. According to Greenpeace, the company sells orange roughy and 14 of the other 22 red-listed seafoods.

Greenpeace advocates manned a booth outside of the stores asking customers to vote for sustainable seafood. Officials then wrote the stores a mock citation. The organization also has established a Web site (www.traitorjoe.com) with a lot of info about how TJ’s buying and selling is harming marine life.