Iron Chef America Bans Bluefin, But Nobu Still Won't
If you've been following the plight of the bluefin tuna, you'll be happy to know that there was a slight glimmer of hope this month—reflected off the blades of Iron Chef America's stars. In an impressive example of the power of one (in this case, one blogger), a bleak scenario was rapidly transformed into an opportunity for saving the species. The incident is captured in a great post by sustainable seafood author Casson Trenor.
At first, when visiting chef Makoto Okuwa prepared a dish containing otoro -- or bluefin tuna belly -- for a recent episode, it seemed like another blow for this embattled species. But quickly food blogger and sustainable seafood enthusiast Richard Auffrey called out the host of the show, Alton Brown, for condoning the use of bluefin. This incident was especially galling since Brown had, in the past, been outspoken against restaurants, such as Nobu, that serve bluefin. Brown immediately responded: He felt he could not act at the time because the show had no explicit policy banning bluefin, so he put an official ban in place following that episode.
That's right. One strong, fiercely critical rant by a blogger was enough to push an entire food show to stand on the right side of this issue. Admittedly, Brown did not go kicking and screaming.
Other times, against more resistant forces, it takes a whole lot more than one blogger to pressure for change. That seems to be the case with Nobu restaurants, which continues to serve bluefin on their menu. Help raise enough of an outcry against this careless and unethical behavior by adding your voice to the petition to get bluefin off their menu.
Take note, Nobu: the contestant who won that Iron Chef America episode was the one who didn't serve the endangered species...
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Marah Hardt
is a research scientist, writer, and consultant. She has written for Yale e360, Ecology Letters, and The American Prospect.
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