Restaurants Set to Sue BP Over Deepwater Horizon Spill

by Sarah Parsons · 2010-05-19 13:00:00 UTC
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At this point, many folks across the world are cursing BP and the company's treacherous oil rigs. Environmentalists, fishermen, scientists, even BP's own employees are downright sick of the oil tycoon's shenanigans and its total inability to clean up its own mess. Now, restauranteurs are joining the fray. Restaurants and seafood distributors in Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and Lousiana recently filed lawsuits against BP seeking compensation for losses incurred as a result of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

And while shelling out more dough obviously won't reverse the damage BP's wrought on the Gulf, we can't blame restaurants for wanting some dollar bills to help wipe away their tears. Plaintiffs say the oil spill itself is causing a drop in tourism (aka fewer camera-toting, fanny-pack-wearing tour groups hitting up the areas' dining establishments). Plus, oil's damage to fisheries (just yesterday, an additional 19 percent of the Gulf's waters were closed to fishermen) means eateries have a harder time finding fresh, local seafood that isn't prohibitively expensive.

And while industries across the board are surely suffering from the spill's effects, I can't help but fear for the Gulf's sustainable restaurants. Seeking out fresh, local, seasonal ingredients isn't always such an easy feat. It often requires chefs to be more inventive than their conventional counterparts in order to account for which ingredients are available and in-season. Sometimes producing eco-friendly fare even requires spending more dough, or taking extra steps to acquire the best ingredients. The fact that these restaurants may suffer more than others because they forgo cheap, imported crap really tugs at my foodie heartstrings.

Whether or not restaurants win their lawsuits isn't really the point. BP can shell out all the money lining the company's coffers and it still won't reverse damage done to the Gulf, fishermen, restaurants, wildlife, and everyone else affected by the spill. The real action that needs to be taken is for lawmakers to put a stop to offshore oil drilling. Put your distaste for BP and other oil companies into action by signing this petition that tells President Obama to end new offshore drilling.

Photo credit: Vincent de Groot via Wikimedia Commons

Sarah Parsons is Change.org's Sustainable Food Editor. Her work has appeared in Popular Science, OnEarth, Audubon and Plenty.
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