Environmentalist Banned From Restaurant

by Clare Leschin-Hoar, Posted Aug 27th 2010 @ 12:00PM

We can't help but wonder if Guido Rahr, president of the Wild Salmon Center in Portland, Ore., thought he was smack in the middle of ABC's hidden camera series, "What Would You Do?"

Rahr spotted Atlantic bluefin tuna on the menu at Sinju Restaurant's Pearl District location while having lunch, and proceeded to do exactly what groups like Seafood Watch, Environmental Defense Fund or Blue Ocean Institute encourage: he politely spoke up. And as a result, got himself banned from the restaurant. That's right, according to Rahr, they said he was no longer welcome at Sinju and would refuse to serve him.

In an email dated August 16, to Mike Chen of Sinju's management team, Rahr writes:

"I have been a regular customer of Sinju for years and the Wild Salmon Center has given Sinju quite a bit of business. So when I saw Atlantic Bluefin tuna on the menu, I felt it was important for Sinju to know that this is not just another declining species, but perhaps the most high profile endangered fish species on earth."

Rahr had been eating at Sinju for nearly a decade. The headquarters for his environmental group is located in the Ecotrust Natural Capital Center, across the street from the restaurant, and is home to several other conservation and sustainable development groups who share similar concerns about endangered species.

Rahr didn't just mention that bluefin was overfished, he took the time to come back with printed materials detailing the seriousness of their plight in the hopes that at the very least, the team at Sinju would think twice before putting the fish on the menu again.

"I was surprised that Sinju's reaction to all this was not to stop selling bluefin, or to even politely disagree with a loyal customer, but to ban me from eating at Sinju," he continues in his letter. He has not yet received a reply from the restaurant to his letter.

Rahr, who says he doesn't recall seeing bluefin on the menu prior to this incident, is still stunned.

"I'm a regular customer. I didn't just walk in out of nowhere, and I did it in such a respectful way. I mean, this is Portland we're talking about," he says.

While the restaurant isn't alone in being pressured to stop serving bluefin, their ban on Rahr for broaching the topic has caught the attention of industry watchers. Kristofor Lofgren, owner of Bamboo Sushi, recognized as one of the most sustainable sushi restaurants in the nation, located just three-miles from Sinju, says he's disappointed that Sinju wasn't open to a conversation about conservation, but adds that environmentalists need to be more thoughtful about their own food choices.

"When you're the head of an environmental organization devoted to the preservation of one of the most important species economically and culturally to the Northwest, and you eat at a place that doesn't serve wild salmon, that was surprising to me. I'm surprised that Ecotrust, or any members of Ecotrust, would support or align themselves with any organization that doesn't directly support their initiative and mission back," says Lofgren.

Filed Under: Food Politics
Tags: fish, salmon, Seafood Watch, sushi, sustainable

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Reader comments (Page 2 of 5)

8-29-2010 @9:06PM Elroy said... Yeah......boycott until they serve foie gras and veal.

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8-28-2010 @1:35PM Robert said... It sounds like Sinju is just one example of a much broader problem with the official Japanese attitude on preserving sea mammals and fish, including dolphin and rare whales, not to mention the endangered blue fin tuna. The international community has watched for years as the Japanese fishing industry repeatedly breaks international laws protecting these species. It will be interesting to see how this industry fairs under mounting pressure from the media and the public who are becoming aware of this issue for the first time in groundbreaking films like the recent Cove.
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8-28-2010 @5:12PM GregK said... I live just a couple of blocks away from Sinju, so take this for what it is worth:

- Japanese fishing culture has little to do with this; Sinju was started and is managed by a Korean gentleman.

- Being a Sushi fan, I use to eat at Sinju regularly (like 2-3 times a week). Stopped going once I realized that every other restaurant I frequented treated me like, well, a regular. I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda guy and everyone at Sinju still looked at me like a leper every time I walked in to spend at least $50. Not a huge loss in my life, there are better sushi places.

- Related to point 2 above, the people who run Sinju are cold pricks. This is sort of well known around town. They DO generally have the freshest fish of most of the local joints, but you pay through the nose for it.

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8-29-2010 @8:59PM Elroy said... Exactly Greg...vote with your dollar and if selling blue fin isn't illegal, what's the problem? This bone-head should shut his yap, support free enterprise, order something other than the blue fin, or eat elsewhere. All this freakin' on line drama over a fish. Gimme a freakin' break.

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8-29-2010 @10:45PM Debbie Mc said... I have to agree about the Japanese people not caring about what they do to certain fish and mammels. (and yes i know that is a very general comment and not all are like that) What a restaurant serves is their business, but they could find some other fish i'm sure. It is our personal choice as to where we eat, if you don't agree with something... there are millions of other places to eat.

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8-29-2010 @11:06PM lalayna said... Robert,
Well said, I agree that many in the Japanese culture have no respect for this planet. I might add that other Asian cultures practice the destruction of animals all for the mighty dollar and because of unfounded beliefs and superstitutions. Like the killing of Tigers in China for their fur, bones, penises, and organs which have no benefits to man other than making money and exploiting the ignorant who believe in the witchcraft. Boycotting businesses that sell these endangered and inhumanely killed animals as well as passing new laws that bann these practices is a must to stop the rape of this planet, not only in Asia but around the globe we must educate everyone on the loss for everyone if these practices are continued. It's an enormous task but worth doing because ultimately humans will become enangerd or even extinct and all that blood money won't be worth jack.

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8-28-2010 @3:47PM North Country Rambler said... Whether Guido was inappropriately banned is really academic. If the restaurant insisted on continuing to serve blue fin tuna, I am quite certain that he would not go back. And neither would I. And neither should anyone else.
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8-30-2010 @3:01PM Verdi Farman Farmaian said... I know Guido personally and we recently dined in Portland. I can verify he is a gentleman and a highly respected internationally known conservator of the Pacific Wild Salmon. He has devoted his life to conservation of marine species. Sinju should be grateful to Guido for informing them that the blue fin tuna was an endagered species. I suggest Sinju should write a public letter indicating that the blue fin tuna will be removed from the menu and an apology will be sent to Mr.Rahr with an invitation to come back to Sinju. Then we can all go to Sinju again.
Verdi Farman Farmaian, Member,Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole.
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8-30-2010 @8:08AM Elroy said... Guido is an arrogant elitist that needs to mind his own affairs and stop running running a private citizens business unless he has a financial stake in it. What a jerk!

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8-29-2010 @8:06PM xve298 said... Well perhaps the chef was not about to be bullied!
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8-29-2010 @8:11PM paymyownway said... BOYCOTT THIS RESTAURANT. This is unbelievable!

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8-29-2010 @8:24PM grwhitaker said... It's our country too, doofus...
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8-29-2010 @8:29PM Wendell said... You rock!
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8-29-2010 @8:31PM whatever said... "politely spoke up", writer's bias? hmmm, my thought is that he caused a commotion in the restaurant that was uncalled for and that is the real reason he was banned. Businesses are not in the habit of turning away repeat customers
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8-29-2010 @8:53PM Rog said... Joe--- Its illegal to tape someone on the phone without informing them, however public is public and anything can be recorded,video or audio.
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8-29-2010 @8:57PM dale said... are all of you on drugs or what? it must not be too endangered if the gov. still allows it to be caught and sold and served . prolly like in most places , it,s still fished but only a certain amount per year. this is done with lots of different seafoods. ban this and ban that and someone will have to remburse all the fishermen who can,t pay thier bills for not being able to catch what they,ve been catching for years .
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8-29-2010 @11:38PM Robert said... I hear a lot of frustration here over the idea of limiting fishing and hunting of endangered species into extinction. So is the contention here that we should eat and kill whatever we want without any concern for preserving a species that may disappear forever? Does it really matter whether the subject is a fish, a marine mammal or a land mammal? Why favor the protection of rare pelicans in the gulf who are threatened by the BP oil spill yet attack those who support the preservation of a highly evolved and intelligent fish that is also in danger of the same fate? Why do we consider some species worthy of protection while others are not? Where is the common sense in this way of thinking?

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8-29-2010 @11:38PM Robert Grillo said... Robert here, not on drugs here but a few glasses of wine. The government just protected a rare species of wolves in the southwest of which there is estimated to be approximately 200 left after much public pressure. I cite this example to demonstrate the point that the government's decision to place a species on the endangered species list is driven by many motivations, both political and economic. Many species have in fact gone extinct, namely 1/3 of the world's amphibians while governments idly sit back and watch this happen. When a prized food delicacy meets the endangered species list, you can expect a lot of political theater!