Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Efforts in October by Rocco DiSpirito to save hundreds of thousands of seals in Canada from slaughter went rather unnoticed in the press -- except for a press release from the US Humane Society and a few coalition partners. Rocco's pitch to fellow chefs and the general public was to join him in boycotting snow crabs to force Canada to save the seals. The largest restaurant group which imports seafood, Red Lobster, has not joined some 200 other restaurants and companies (including Legal Sea Foods and Whole Foods Markets) in the boycott. Several factors have contributed to the campaign's weakness. First of all, in general, Americans have been focused on the hullaballoo of the Foie Gras War here in the States over the past year (see latest article). And let's face it: Canada is a low priority for most Americans, even below Mexico (since Canadians aren't pouring over our borders at the same rate) or semi-American dependencies like Guam -- or Puerto Rico. Particular to the celebrity chef part in the campaign, sadly the coalition really missed the boat when it chose Rocco as a spokesperson. In their press release, Dr. John Grandy, a senior vice president at the US Humane Society, crows, “We couldn’t be happier that Chef Rocco Dispirito is using his clout with consumers and his friendship with fellow chefs to end the seal slaughter in Canada." What clout? The press release cites Rocco's celebrity -- "known for being the star of the hit NBC reality series The Restaurant, is also the bestselling author of Flavor, Rocco’s Italian American and the upcoming Rocco’s Five Minute Flavor." OK, the cookbooks are enduring, but the Rocco they depicted is the prime time television Rocco of 2004. The Rocco of 2005 is host of a food talk show in the New York City area. His boat is fresh out of steam -- and clout. Further, Rocco is also former chef of two New York restaurants -- and since he does not have a restaurant with which to boycott Canadian snow crab, fellow chefs are unlikely to take Rocco's token boycott to heart themselves. Not very inspiring. Sort of like George W. Bush urging soldiers to war. In essence, the message is confusing. Superchefblog tried to straighten out the argument and apeal. Seal clubbers are almost always also snow crabbers. By boycotting the far more prevalent and therefore lucrative snow crabs, we can make our vote known in the pockets of the seal clubbers. For attention deficit Americans, this issue derived from from such mental acrobatics could become awfully "fuzzy" (to use W's technical term). That kind of a message needs to be crystal clear when delivered. Lastly and most importantly, American coalition partners, of which PETA is the most prominent, have clearly not lent their power and talents to this campaign. PETA & Co. have been focused on foie gras this year. That is, they have been trying to save a few thousand ducks and geese from (willingly and happily) gorging themselves a la gavage, rather than saving hundreds thousand seals from total extinction from the face of this planet -- to use advocacy-style language. Thank the stars, then, for Paul McCartney, who stepped in to lend real celebrity support to stop the slaughter of the seals (see press release). (Is this seal support a hint of some kind? Was Paul the walrus in "I am the Walrus, or was it John?) Slideshows: US Humane Society Press releases: US Humane Society PRNewswire Canadian Seafood Boycott AnimalConcerns.org Related news: Baltimore Sun Previous articles - Foie Gras War: Gordon Ramsay v James Bond Foie Gras War: Voodoo and Vigilantes Foie Gras War: Chicago Slaughterhouse New York Times on Foie Gras Before STORE WARS: The Meatrix Foie Gras War 2: Ban All Poultry? Foie Gras War From Boulud's gourmet hamburgers arise... delicate Philly cheesesteaks? Super Chef vs. Governator: Todd English Fights For Foie Gras Rights Rocco DiSpirito: Rossant on Rocco: New York Daily News Rocco DiSpirito: Super Duper Bowl "F" is for... "Rocco"? Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand? Rocco DiSpirito Wins TV Turkey Dinner Rocco DiSpirito: Pretty in Pink? Rocco DiSpirito: Ridiculed in the Rainbow Room More Reality TV Chefs (or Less)? Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me! Claude Troisgros: Riding de Rocco DiSpirito Star Rocco Barred from Reality TV Restaurant Rocco: Trapped in Reality TV's Twilight Zone? Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, animal rights --> back to superchefblog