Food Politics

Environmentalists who have lamented the serious decline of bluefin tuna stocks for decades are being bolstered by a significant move by France yesterday. According to today's New York Times article, France has agreed to support the listing of bluefin tuna as an endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) -- a move that will give the EU enough votes to support the ban on bluefin tuna trade at next month's CITES meeting in Qatar.

Many environmentalists say that while the move by France is significant, it simply isn't bold enough.

"What's needed is a five-year total moratorium on fishing [for bluefin tuna]," says Carl Safina, co-founder of Blue Ocean Institute, who first proposed a ban on bluefin tuna to CITES in 1991. "A ban on international trade only goes part of the way. People could still catch bluefin and sell them domestically in any country, as long as it's not traded across borders."

While France now supports the proposed trade ban, they're qualifying that support with an 18-month delay to appease the country's fishermen and to give them time to adjust.

"If it's just a delay to assist fishermen with the transition, which is what we think, then that's OK. But the problem is, the fishermen may stockpile all the fish they can get during the 18-month delay, further threatening the species and its recovery, and that's bad," says Susan Lieberman, deputy director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group.

The U.S. government has not yet declared its position on the issue, and for the time being, bluefin tuna remains on menus at restaurants and sushi counters both here in the U.S. and abroad.

by Catherine Donaldson-Evans

Veterans are incensed over the release in Russia of soda bearing pictures of dictator Josef Stalin and other World War II leaders.

The soft drinks will hit store shelves in early February, Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported this week. They were produced at a beverage plant in Volgograd, Russia, to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad -- Volgograd's name before the fall of the Soviet regime.

The sodas will be re-released in time for end-of-war Victory Day festivities on May 9.

The three drinks have portraits on them of Stalin, Marshal Gregory Zhukov and Marshal Konstantin Rokossovksy, framed by the words "Our cause is right – We have triumphed."

About 30 million people perished during Stalin's oppressive reign.

Under a new law against animal abuse in China, individuals caught eating either cat or dog meat could face a fine of 5,000 yuan (approximately $735) or up to 15 days in prison. Businesses involved in the practice could be fined up to 500,000 yuan (or $7,325), according to the Times Online.

The draft going to Parliament in April would be the first law against animal abuse by a new, increasingly animal-loving Chinese society that no longer has the taste for canine and feline meat.

The Humane Society, which has business departments devoted to combating puppy mills, stopping animal testing in laboratories and putting an end to animal cruelty, to name just a few, has recently bought stock in two fast-food chains: Jack in the Box and Steak 'n Shake restaurants. Um, what?

Before the righteous indignation kicks in, there's actually very clever reasoning behind the seemingly bizarre sale. The plan intends to influence both chains to change how they do business. The Humane Society wants both companies to stop buying eggs from hens confined to cages and pork from hog farmers who breed pigs in crates.

HSUS Corporate Outreach Director Matthew Prescott told Slashfood, "Americans don't support cramming farm animals into tiny cage and crates. It's cruel, illegal in multiple states, and many of Steak 'n Shake's and Jack in the Box's competitors are moving away from this type of abuse."

The folks that brought us the documentary, The End of the Line, showcasing the complex and often frustrating issues surrounding global overfishing, have launched the U.S. version of their Fish2Fork.com website. It's an interactive guide designed to publicly praise chefs who toe the sustainable line, while chastising those who don't. Instead of issuing stars, the site awards blue fish for sustainability and red fish skeletons for offenders who continue to serve well-known avoided items like bluefin, cod, Atlantic halibut, farm-raised salmon or freshwater eel.

No surprise that of the U.S.'s top ten list of worst offenders, seven are sushi restaurants. Bar Masa in New York was given the dubious honor of topping that category, closely followed by 15 East. Cheers were sent to Bamboo Sushi in Portland; Ray's Boathouse in Seattle and Barton Seaver's Blue Ridge Restaurant in Washington, D.C. for food-chain transparency and ethical sourcing.