Sushi powerhouse Nobu is typically known for its Hollywood clientele, but this week the high-end restaurant chain is raising its profile for another reason. In response to environmental groups’ demands that it stop serving the expensive delicacy bluefin tuna, Nobu London has added a strange disclaimer to its menu saying: “Environmentally challenged. Please ask your server for an alternative.”
Needless to say, that’s not enough to satisfy the activist crowd. (As one New York magazine blogger points out, nothing ever does.) But there’s a lot more to this controversy than a restaurant’s reluctance to stop serving a $50 fish dish. To put it bluntly, Nobu investor Robert De Niro isn’t the only one raking in the cash from all the bluefin buzz.
Note that Nobu doesn’t call its bluefin “challenged” on this side of the Atlantic. There’s no need to. In the United States, per capita consumption of bluefin tuna is aroud one-seventh of one ounce. That’s less than a nickel weighs. Most bluefin is consumed by the Japanese, and in countries close to the Mediterranean Sea.
The day Americans find out they’re not the ones enjoying too much bluefin will be a very tough day in the fundraising departments of Oceana and Greenpeace. Not that we’ll shed a tear.
The Center For Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices. They can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 2012 the individual authors.
