Cargill Feed4Thought survey finds that 88 percent of Americans are willing to pay more for seafood that is certified as sustainably and responsibly sourced

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Seafood is in higher demand than ever before, with 82 percent of Americans adding salmon, shrimp and tilapia to their lunch and dinner plates. However, they won't settle for just any seafood. They want to know where it's coming from and that it was sourced responsibly, according to a June 2017 Cargill Feed4Thought consumer survey.

The survey, which polled more than 1,000 U.S. residents, found that 72 percent of American consumers believe seafood is important to their health and nutrition. Eighty-eight percent of those same consumers are willing to pay more for seafood that is certified as sustainably and responsibly sourced. This especially appeals to the younger generation, with 93 percent of millennials agreeing they are willing to pay more.

"The majority of American consumers believe seafood is important to their health and nutrition, but they also want to have peace of mind as to where it came from - and that's where we can play an integral role," said Einar Wathne, president, Cargill Aqua Nutrition. "We are committed to delivering healthy seafood for future generations, and we know we must do this in a way that is responsible and meets consumer preferences."

Cargill Aqua Nutrition meets customer demand for sustainable, responsibly sourced feed
Cargill Aqua Nutrition produces feed for salmon, tilapia and shrimp in 18 countries and is dedicated to tailoring feed solutions to customers' needs. It has 38 specialized aquaculture feed facilities and three dedicated innovation centers for aquaculture, which together produced 1.74 million tons of aqua feed in 2016. Cargill Aqua Nutrition provides 2.7 billion seafood meals from its salmon feed alone.

To meet customer demand for the highest standard feed, Cargill Aqua Nutrition supplies feed that meets the requirements of a number of industry certifications. Cargill facilities in Canada and Chile hold both Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and GLOBAL Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP) certifications. Cargill plants in Scotland and Norway are Global GAP-certified, while factories in Honduras and Nicaragua are BAP-certified. Cargill Aqua Nutrition also supplies feed which meets the requirements of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), an organization focused on environmental and social responsibility in the farmed seafood supply chain. Cargill continues to work with ASC to develop feed standards for the future.

"It is important that the seafood industry earns consumer trust," said Avrim Lazar, convener of the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI). "That's why we work very hard to meet third party, rigorous certification standards. Consumers deserve independent assurance that the seafood they eat is sustainable and responsibly sourced."

Every year since 2010, Cargill's aqua nutrition business has also published a sustainability report, which follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and conveys important performance results against environmental and social indicators. The report highlights the strides Cargill Aqua Nutrition has made in sustainability and responsible sourcing.

Results from the survey were released at The Aquaculture Roundtable Series Aug. 16-17 in Bali, Indonesia, where Wathne was a keynote speaker. The survey also found:

Out of the five seafood options given, 47 percent of Americans prefer shrimp (the majority).
Eighty-four percent of Americans trust that their seafood is sourced in a safe and responsible way.
Seventy percent of Americans say where and how their seafood is sourced impacts their purchase decision.
About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 150,000 employees in 70 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Cargill Animal Nutrition
Cargill's animal nutrition business has more than 20,000 employees at more than 275 facilities in 40 countries. Fueled by our innovation and research, we offer a range of products and services to feed manufacturers, animal producers, and feed retailers around the world, helping put food on the plates of nearly one billion people around the world every day. Cargill's animal nutrition business offers a range of compound feed, premixes, feed additives, supply chain and risk management solutions, software tools and animal nutrition expertise that is unmatched in the industry. For more information about Cargill Animal Nutrition, visit: http://cargill.com/animal-nutrition.

About Cargill Animal Nutrition's Feed4Thought Survey
Feed4Thought is a regular consumer survey effort from Cargill Animal Nutrition that explores key perceptions and opinions about important topics in the animal protein supply chain. The online survey for Cargill Animal Nutrition was conducted by ORC International. The survey was conducted in June 2017, and polled a demographically representative sample of 1,010 U.S. adults.