Chefs for Seals!
Posted on August 11, 2009 - Filed Under Charity, HSUS, Modeling Q & A, NB Videos, Nigel Barker Today, Photography, Press/Interviews, Travel Shoots
Last week I took the train with my crew down to Washington DC to photograph 70 top chefs and restauranteurs who have recently joined the boycott Canadian Seafood campaign. Once again demonstrating the growing number of movers and shakers who are not just against the seal hunt but are willing to make a stand. The event was hosted at Policy restaurant by Chefs for Seals.
Meshelle and Cathal Armstrong, owners of Restaurant EVE spearheaded the event and got the chef community involved. Additionally, we were joined at the event by celebrity chef Michel Richard of Citronelle and Bethenny Frankel, author of Naturally Thin and one of the stars of “The Real Housewives of New York City.”
Ellen Gray and Chef Todd Gray of Equinox restaurant in D.C. are strong advocates of both sustainable fishing and humane farming. According to Ellen, “You can’t just jump on the organic and free-range bandwagon when there are so many other issues involved in the animal production of food.”
At their restaurant, the Grays publicize the Certified Humane label and talk to customers about what it means.
“Restaurants are a great place to spread the word about animal issues because everyone listens to chefs,” Ellen says. This applies to both customers and to other chefs. Both Todd Gray and Cathal Armstrong are well-respected chefs, and their concern over animal welfare issues has influenced others in their profession.
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Still, Ellen says, there is work to be done in the industry to educate chefs and encourage them to make more humane choices. “You got them here today,” she says, “now keep telling them what to buy.”
To underscore the participation of chefs in the boycott of Canadian seafood, a mural with the words “Save the Seals” painted by local graffiti artist Andrew Funk served as the backdrop for our group photo. Visiting chefs also had an opportunity to leave their hand prints in red on a large canvas titled “In Our Hands.” The canvas will tour galleries around the country to promote the boycott.
Recalling the seal campaign of the 1970s, one guest remarked, “I remember having a poster of a doe-eyed white baby seal in my room—right next to my Led Zeppelin poster. Then the campaign ended.”
But the hunt hasn’t ended yet—though it’s getting close, For more info please go to www.protectseals.org
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[...] To learn more about the hunt visit ProtectSeals.org! To see more pictures from the event, stop by NigelBarker.tv! [...]
Love the graffiti! Although I am a rare breed that thought graffiti is and always has been “hot” or in-the-now. Do you think graffiti will make a bigger impact on pop culture in the future?