Do enviros have a sense of humor? Maybe not, judging by some reactions to the Legal Sea Foods ads in the videos below. Comments from Greenpeace and the National Resources Defense Council seem a bit stiff.
I think the ads are funny. What do you think?
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7 comments:
I'm not sure if they're funny, but isn't that really the idea behind "sustainable seafood"? That we "save" a species so we can continue to eat it?
I don't see where there's any problem with that.
The only problem comes in, I think, with people who really aren't environmentally aware, and see this as reinforcing their ideas that it's foolish to work to conserve species that we're eating.
I didn't find them particularly funny from a humor perspective, but I actually really like the message. There are many reasons why we should conserve marine life. I value the importance, ecosystem function, and aesthetic value of life in the ocean, but I also want to be able to steam up a bushel of Maryland Blue Crabs for my grand kids one day.
Agreed, this is one point of the sustainable seafood movement, saving animals so we can keep eating them.
I agree with the Southern Fried Scientist. They're sorta funny at best, but the message is actually pretty solid.
They're kinda funny. On the other hand, if I were an organization promoting sustainable fisheries for a variety of very important reasons (avoiding possibly huge changes in marine ecosystems, fish being an important source of food for billions of people in the developing world, etc.), I would be pretty pissed at a commercial that portrays this as a movement motivated by hippy-dippy, happy fishes swimming free sentiment.
If I were being mocked by a company that sells fish that are harvested in an unsustainable way, I would probably be even more pissed. If it was a company with a CEO who claimed science around sustainable fisheries was "flawed" and "outdated." (http://bostonherald.com/blogs/lifestyle/fork_lift/?p=3591), I would certainly not be amused.
Furthermore, knowing commercials like this are probably viewed by more people than PSAs that educate the public about the real problems associated with overfishing, I would probably be pretty depressed.
I suppose some environmental organizations may alienate the general public by being too serious. In this case, I think the ads are pretty offensive to anyone who cares about the future of our oceans. Perhaps it would be more helpful to use this controversy as an opportunity to educate, rather than to criticize these organizations for not having a sense of humor.
Also, I would actually go a step further and say that these commercials actually fall in line with what seems to be a pattern of trying to undermine the science behind sustainable fisheries management and the organizations that promote it. This isn't so surprising considering it's coming from a business that feels threatened by increased control over fishing. It is, of course, also extremely short-sighted for a company that, in the long run, depends on the continued availability of fish.
Animals are here to benefit mankind. Obviously we don’t want salmon to become extinct because I think it tastes good with soy sauce. So please, save the salmon from overfishing so that future generations...
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