NASHVILLE, NC (March 26, 2021)—Douglas Hines, chairman of Atlantic Natural Foods, leader in shelf-stable, plant-based foods, including Loma Linda brand TUNO seafood alternative, said:
“As leaders in all areas of the seafood industry for more than 40 years, we—industry veteran Mike Easterbrook, our partner in the U.K. and EU and I—have witnessed more than most in today’s seafood world.
“Watching Seaspiracy was a timely reminder, not just for our world governments and legislative bodies but for us as individuals, about the impact that our day to day lives and mindless consumption of animal protein can have on our oceans and human life.
“Over the decades, oceans have been abused by rampant fishing practices, misrepresentation of vessel catches, trash piles in the high seas, harmful bycatches, plastic pollution, human trafficking and, on occasion, corruption.
“Social and environmental responsibilities are ignored in favor of the gains to be made in big money catches like pacific blue fin tuna and yellowfin in the Indian Ocean.
“Our growing population and increasing demand for protein-rich food sources are only going to swell the burgeoning strain on our oceans. We humans have caused this, and it is now our responsibility to do what we can to help reverse our harmful impacts.
“This needs to be driven by world governments, who have a responsibility to drive forward international, industry-wide reform and guidance to manage and protect our ocean resources, address climate impacts, stop polluting our oceans with plastic, and eliminate widespread abuse of human lives.
“But on an industry and individual level there is so much we can do. Collectively, we would have an enormous impact on protecting the future of our oceans.
“As consumers, making conscious choices to switch out our protein sources from animal to plant-based could help save thousands of fish a year from being killed in our oceans. As a food manufacturer and retailer, it is our responsibility to empower consumers to make this choice, by providing a range of sustainable, nutritional, versatile, and tasty plant-based protein products.
“This is why we at Loma Linda we are pragmatic and care about the future of the world we live in. We believe one positive option for the seafood industry is to create an alternative delivery and style, a product which meet generational need and establish a culture which stops placing blame on others for abuse by us all.
“The team at Loma Linda is working to make a difference by creating new and healthy protein sources for consumers to choose from, in the hopes of allowing our future generations to enjoy seafood in their diet while protecting one of our most vital ecosystems – our ocean.”
About Atlantic Natural Foods
Headquartered in Nashville, NC, Atlantic Natural Foods is the leading shelf stable manufacturer and provider of Loma Linda®, TUNO™, neat® and Kaffree Roma™ brand products. Its mission is to provide affordable, sustainable and healthy sources of plant-based protein food for all lifestyles and people to live healthier, longer lives. The company operates its own manufacturing facility as well as a joint venture project in Thailand. The brands are sold throughout the U.S and in 17 countries, including the U.K. and Australia. To learn more about Atlantic Natural Foods, please visit www.atlanticnaturalfoods.com or follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
