Your media at work

The continuing quest to find something, anything to bash Gore with

Posted by David Roberts at 5:05 PM on 18 Jul 2007

Read more about: Al Gore | food | fishing | endangered species | oceans

People magazine reports that Al Gore's daughter Sarah just got married, revealing in the course of the article that Chilean sea bass was served at the rehearsal dinner.

In the Daily Telegraph, Australian Humane Society Rebecca Keeble writes that "only one week after Live Earth, Al Gore's green credentials slipped." Why? Because Chilean sea bass is endangered.

ABC politics columnist Jake Tapper, smelling the kind of vapid, gimmicky story upon which his profession thrives, asks, "could this be seen as the environmentalist version of Sen. David Vitter's public sanctimony/private enjoyment of love with a red-lit glow?"

Blogger Digby points out, "Unless somebody at the wedding was schtupping the fish wearing a diaper, I'm not sure I see the analogy."

Sierra Club's Pat Joseph traces the fallout:

It doesn't take long for Tapper's readers to remind him that: a) the groom's family throws the rehearsal dinner, not the bride's; b) while sea bass is indeed a fishery of serious environmental concern, some of the fish are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council; and c) Jake Tapper is a two-bit hack.

It's a wonder Gore doesn't want to run for president.

For story: Your media at work
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Chilean seabass

http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.a ...

"Slow-growing fish that breed late in life, Chilean seabass are naturally vulnerable to overfishing. And illegal fishing is rampant, especially in remote Antarctic waters where law enforcement is difficult. Fishing methods cause more problems: Bottom trawling can damage seafloor habitat, and longlining can take a bycatch of endangered albatrosses and other seabirds, which get hooked as they try to snatch bait, then end up drowning. "

I suppose if you don't really care about eating threatened animals, damaging the seafloor, and killing endangered seabirds, there's nothing wrong with eating Chilean seabass. Perhaps you can purchase a "seabass offset" which will go toward stopping illegal fishing or restore the seafloor somewhere else on the planet. Hey, what could possbily be of value down there anyway? Crazy scientists, studying seafloors!

Cheers!

by wiscidea at 5:28 PM on 18 Jul 2007

On the other hand

I have heard that many fish served to Americans as CSB are actually other, much less rare species, Americans in general having the gustatory sensibilities of starving longshoremen.

Can't say whether it's true, I'm jus' sayin.

The 5% Project

by JMG at 5:44 PM on 18 Jul 2007

Re: On the other hand

Which is why I'm going to be a pain in the ass here. Why does someone have to consume Chilean seabass when there are probably perfectly acceptable alternatives available? How many people could even tell the difference between well-prepared Chilean seabass and some other fish?

by wiscidea at 6:11 PM on 18 Jul 2007
[ Parent ]

Global Poverty

Nontheless, Al Gore has been fighting for an issue that is effecting this world and everyone on in it. It is better than what I can say for President Bush and his administration. Americans are put more at risk for violence since the start of this war. And our attention of preventing and stopping international terrorism has lead us into a war under false pretenses and meaningless as this one. More importantly the government has allowed extreme poverty to grow in America and in Iraq with thousands of refugees and people under extreme financial distress. The US is part of the UN's Millennium Development Project, which has the goal of eliminating global poverty. However by examining the conducts of our government, no poverty is reduced. Rather, poverty has increased. According to the Borgen Project, whose goal is to fight global poverty, it only takes $19 billion dollars annually stop world hunger and poverty. However, more than $340 billion dollars has been put into the Iraq war at a rate of $2 billion dollars per week. Our government needs to realize that it is indirectly funding poverty, violence and hunger, the three things that it pledged and vowed to eliminate. It is time for a change.

by mstessyrue at 6:21 PM on 18 Jul 2007

right and wrong

Rebecca Keeble was certainly confused, and regrettably misfired her weapon, Cheney-like, at a friend. Nevertheless it is indeed a serious issue, as WiscIdea points out, that Chilean Sea Bass (originally called Patagonian Toothfish, a name which was considered hard to market) is endangered, and the eating of it should be discouraged.

So far as the state of journalism goes, there will always be people like Rebecca Keeble. It is far more disturbing that Sierra Club does not chuck the insensitive Pat Joseph overboard. He had done his job when he exonerated Al Gore. He did not need to go on and suggest irresponsibly that the eating of Chilean Sea Bass was a matter of indifference.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 2:47 AM on 19 Jul 2007

After further consideration...

It really wasn't Al Gore's fault.

I've read that Buddhists (no, I'm not say Al's a Buddhist!), those who are vegetarians, consider it inappropriate to reject food freely given to one, even if it violates a dietary restriction. I think it has something to do with the fact that the animal is already dead and one should show some respect for its sacrifice, that it is inappropriate create a scene by condemning someone's behavior in public, and it is more valuable in the long run to preserve community harmony. Seems like a good idea.

So, unless Al took part in planning the meal, the press should leave him alone. It is really just another indication that Al Gore is a respectable person and would make a great President. The press appears desperate in its attempt to find some dirt to share. And all they can find is that his future son-in-law might not be as concerned about about the environment!

Perhaps Al should compensate for the Chilean seabass issue by quietly working to educate his future in-laws and other about threats to marine environments.

What really surprises me, however, is that the future in-laws would not be more aware of such environmental issues and have tried to show more respect for the Gore family!

Thanks Dave Roberts for the original post. It was very enlightening and encouraged me to think about these issues.

Peace.

by wiscidea at 6:23 AM on 19 Jul 2007

Allow me to connect the dots

I connect the dots and explain how the story got from People into an Australian tabloid and from there to Jake Tapper.

by TimLambert at 6:32 AM on 19 Jul 2007

blogfish

Blogfish also writes that it was sustainable seabass.

A lot of jumping-the-gun on this.

by odograph at 6:36 AM on 19 Jul 2007

sustainable shmushtainable

The link from Tim Lambert's post to the National Geographic article should make clear that even though one single fishery of Patagonian toothfish is considered "sustainable," that hardly means it is fine to chow down. The MSC certification is present on the OK fish, such as, we understand, is the only kind that Whole Foods stocks. Still, we read that that is only 10% of what is on the market generally. And it is the demand that keeps the price high, needless to say.

Really, the answer is abstinence from Patagonian toothfish, for now at least. That would hardly kill anyone, would it.

Here is an interesting detail, from the National Geographic article, which overlaps the thread on the fishery off the coast of Mauritania:
<<
But not all pirates escape the net of law enforcement. Earlier this month, conservationists hailed the conviction of Spanish fishing kingpin, Antonio Vidal Pego.

He was caught importing over 50,000 pounds (22,680 kilograms) of pirated Chilean sea bass at a Miami, Florida, dock.

Regarding the exhaustion of the West African fishery, it is made clear in that thread that subsidized EU fishers bear a great responsibility, if not the greatest. My guess is that most of those EU fishers are from Spain, which sends out some of the largest fishing fleets in the world.

As for poor Al Gore: WiscIdea is right on two counts.

It is polite to eat what your host serves to you as a guest. And it is a nice douceur, though hardly necessary, to know that the Buddhists will bless you for it.
In-laws can break either of two ways. Unfortunately for Al Gore, this bunch seems to have fallen out the wrong way.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 7:12 AM on 19 Jul 2007

"Your Media..." only by Default

Hey, all:

It ain't my fucking media. It probably isn't yours, or hers, or his either, nor is it ours. It is the corporate media, marketing the news and information they want us to have, to influence and even control what we think and how we act and what we buy and who we vote for. There are the exceptions that prove the rule: the independents, in print and on the Net. Attempts to marginalize and eliminate these exceptions also prove the rule.

Have I mentioned the Corporate Oligarchy?

David
Sustainability For Life

Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

by SustainableGreen at 7:19 AM on 19 Jul 2007

Fish Offsets--Yeah, that;s it!

Hey, all:

Yeah, what we oughta do is start marketing fish offsets, so pretentious people can do nothing but what they have done, and overpay some salesman who will then pay some dumb bastard a nickel to plant fish.

Environmentalism? Bullshit.

Laziness and Greed? Uh, yeah.

David
Sustainability For Life

Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!

by SustainableGreen at 7:30 AM on 19 Jul 2007

Just get the prices right

Our current goal ought to be undermining Dick Cheney's "conservation is about personal responsibility" frame at every turn. People resist the environmental message in part because they think it's "too hard" - not just too much sacrifice, but too complicated. Who, apart from the hard-core few, can remember what's "in" or "out" this month? Hence, this story fits into the intuitively appealing "even they..." framework. Even celebrities look crappy without their makeup on. Even senators are torn between childrearing and work duties. Even Al Gore's family can't handle all the confusing eco-friendly rules! It's not (necessarily) anti-Al, just a love of the irony.

Imagine a world where the environmental costs of every purchase were reflected in the price. No more lectures. No more confusing rules. (No more Ask Umbra, but hey, everything comes with a price.)

We wouldn't have to take along our little wallet guides to sustainable seafood and carry out a research project during every shopping trip; we'd just get to the fish counter, notice that Patagonian toothfish cost approximately the same per ounce as Beluga caviar, and (rightly) conclude that it is rare, expensive, and not what we ought to be eating for Tuesday night dinner. Instead we'd go with something cheaper - maybe tilapia? - confident that, since environmental costs had already been factored into the price, we'd also be having a lower impact on the planet.

I believe most people, who have no particular desire to eat Chilean sea bass but just a general desire for fish, would be fine with that.

If I were in Al Gore's position, I'd say something like, "This proves how difficult and confusing it is to always make the right choices when the environmental impact of what we buy isn't clearly signaled at the checkout counter. If it's confusing for my son-in-law - who's heard a lot of lectures on the subject - it's even more confusing for the average American. This is why EPA needs to be allowed to do its job again, and why caring for our natural resources needs to be a nationwide effort."

by eriqa at 9:23 AM on 19 Jul 2007

Deserves to be repeated...

eriqa wrote:

"...it's even more confusing for the average American. This is why EPA needs to be allowed to do its job again, and why caring for our natural resources needs to be a nationwide effort."

by wiscidea at 9:40 AM on 19 Jul 2007

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