Last week the Associated Press released a report that revealed most shrimp eating Americans have been consuming a product processed and cleaned by slaves in Thailand.

AP reported that slaves are imprisoned by their captors and forced to work up to 16 hours a day deveining, peeling and cleaning shrimp in “shrimp sheds” attached to distributing plants. Some slaves — including children — have been processing shrimp for over a year, with little or no pay, fueling a $7 billion export industry. According to AP, much of the shrimp distributed in the U.S. made its way via supply chains of companies like Kroger, Aqua Star, Waterfront Bistro and Chicken of the Sea and end up in popular grocery stores across the nation. The AP based their findings on U.S. Customs reports, which listed over 40 companies distributing slave-tainted shrimp. They also reported that they found shrimp linked to forced labor in grocery stores in every state in the U.S. The product also made its way onto plates in restaurants like Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

With shrimp being a holiday hors d'oeuvre and ingredient for favorite dishes for many Americans, the question of whether Ballardites have been consuming shrimp produced by force labor piqued Ballard News-Tribune reporters.

To answer this, the BNT surveyed every major grocery store in Interbay and Ballard for brands linked to slave shrimp. Stores included Whole Foods and QFC in Interbay and Safeway, Ballard Market and Fred Myer in Ballard. Freezers and display coolers were surveyed. Any brand not mentioned in the AP report was examined for the source of the shrimp. Almost every brand listed Thailand as the source.Furthermore, reporters found that every store surveyed carried at least one brand reported to be linked to slave labor by U.S. Customs records. Some stores only offered those brands, specifically, Kroger. Whole Foods offered the most variety of shrimp sourced from places other than Thailand . Fred Myer and QFC offered the least.

So who’s buying the shrimp?

BNT reporters surveyed 10 individuals on N.W. Market Street in Ballard. Citizens were asked where they buy groceries, if they have bought or eaten shrimp in the last year and if they read the AP report, which appeared on the front page of the Seattle Times last Tuesday.

At least seven of the 10 citizens surveyed said they bought groceries at one of the major grocery outlets BNT reporters surveyed in Interbay and Ballard. Others reported stores not surveyed or farmers markets as their source for groceries. Eight of the 10 reported they had bought or consumed shrimp in the last year. The two that had not purchased or consumed shrimp were vegetarian or allergic. When asked about the AP report, only four said they had read it or heard about it.

The Ballard News Tribune will not pretend they have produced a sound study of shrimp consumption in North Seattle. Obviously there are undeniable confounding variables, layers of biases in their approach and holes in their methods. However, the fact remains that the slave shrimp are in Ballard, stores are selling them and Ballardites are eating them.

BNT findings are similar to what the AP reported last week, which is that Americans consume 1.3 billion pounds of shrimp per year, equating to roughly 4 pounds per person. 90 percent of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported.

The BNT also asked Ballardites if knowing about the slave-made shrimp affects their shopping decisions. One Ballardite, Paul — who asked that his last name not be used in this report — said that he heard about the AP slave-shrimp report but had not read it yet. He said just hearing about it has changed his idea about eating and buying shrimp.

“If it says right there on the label that its from Thailand then I’m probably not going to buy it, but just because it’s from there doesn’t mean its produced by slaves,” said Paul.

According to the AP report, Thai Union, shrimp supplier to both Red Lobster and Whole Foods, assured the companies that their shrimp had not come from slave labor, despite the AP report. Thai Union also reported that they could not “guarantee” all of their processors followed their “code of conduct.”

Others individuals surveyed by the BNT said that they do not plan to buy shrimp but that they would eat it if it were offered at a holiday party. Still, the majority individuals said they would not buy or eat shrimp this holiday season.

A cashier at one of the grocery stores the BNT surveyed admitted to not hearing about the AP report. He was not aware that the company he works for sells a product suspected of being tainted by forced labor. When told about the report he shrugged and said, “Welcome to American consumerism, I guess.”