Restaurant group runs NYC hotspots Tenjune and STK Steakhouse
The ONE Group and Executive Chef Todd Miller, who run some of the country's trendiest restaurants, have joined The Humane Society of the United States ProtectSeals campaign to send a message to Canada: The commercial slaughter of seals must end.
Miller, recipient of the 2005 Rising Star award, has pledged not to purchase seafood from Canada for any of The ONE Group's 11 restaurants and lounges until the hunt is brought to a conclusion. Some of today's most sought-after celebrities frequent The ONE Group's venues in New York City, Las Vegas, Miami and Los Angeles.
"I simply can not stand by and watch this kind of cruelty be perpetuated off the east coast of Canada," said Miller. "As an industry we need to speak out against this senseless slaughter and I will do my part to help bring this hunt to an end."
Miller and The ONE Group operate such nationally known hotspots as New York City's Tenjune.
"We are very pleased to have the support of Chef Miller and The ONE Group," said Pat Ragan, director of The HSUS ProtectSeals campaign. "Their commitment and their celebrity candlepower will further illuminate the urgent need to stop this archaic and cruel slaughter."
The ONE Group joins more than 3,000 restaurants, grocery stores, hotels and casinos across the United States who have pledged to support a boycott of Canadian seafood until the government-sanctioned hunt is stopped. Other campaign participants include Legal Sea Foods, Whole Foods Markets, Trader Joe's, Wild Oats Markets, Margaritaville Cafes, Ted's Montana Grill and Oceanaire.
The HSUS launched the campaign against Canadian seafood in March 2005. Seal hunting is an off-season activity conducted by commercial fishermen from Canada's East Coast. By encouraging restaurants, chefs and consumers to boycott Canadian seafood, The HSUS intends to convince that country's fishing industry to stop participating in and supporting the commercial seal hunt.
Increasingly, food service companies and industry leaders are responding favorability by factoring compassion into their dining selections. Restaurant companies across the nation are making clear to Canada's fishing industry that there are certain practices that are simply inconsistent with responsible, humane marine stewardship and that the commercial seal hunt is one of them. Until Canada's fishing industry rises to a higher level of compassion by giving up its support for and engagement in the commercial seal hunt, conscientious companies are electing to shift their seafood purchasing away from it.
Ryan Seacrest recently hosted the New Years Eve 2008 party at Tenjune. Additional events recently held at The ONE Group's venues include a premiere party for the much talked-about TV series "Gossip Girl;" a Godiva Liqueur party that Cameron Diaz attended; the 1-year-anniversary of Tenjune attended by Pete Wentz, Eve and P. Diddy; and the 5th anniversary of InTouch Weekly attended by Janet Jackson and Kanye West.
Facts:
Restaurants, seafood distributors and grocers participating in the ProtectSeals campaign pledge to avoid Canadian snow crab, or all seafood from Eastern Canada, or seafood from all of Canada until the hunt ends for good.
Nearly two-thirds of Canadian seafood is exported to the U.S. producing $2.5 billion annually for the Canadian economy, compared to well under $20 million generated each year by the commercial seal hunt.
Canadian government trade statistics reveal that Canadian exports of snow crabs – the primary target of the seafood boycott - to the U.S. have dropped by hundreds of millions of dollars in the two years since the campaign was launched.
In addition to the more than 3,000 of companies that are participating in the campaign, more than 490,000 individuals have signed pledges not to buy or consume Canadian seafood.
Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals, with more than one million seals killed in the past three years.
For more information on the campaign to save Canadian seals and to sign the boycott pledge, please visit humanesociety.org/protectseals .
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty -- On the web at humanesociety.org .
