Expert Ham-Taster, Not Expert Workers Rights Advocate

Posted by Erin Zimmer, May 2, 2008 at 1:00 PM

Paula Deen may not be all giggles this weekend at a cooking demo show she's hosting in Atlanta. Protesters like Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover are expected to show-up and chastise her affiliation with Smithfield, a North Carolina-based food plant notorious for brutal, inhumane working conditions. But hey ya'll, "I have no particular expertise in these [labor] matters. I only have expertise in how ham tastes, and how it is processed," Deen told Diane Rehm last year.

Expert or not, she's heard the nightmarish stories about Smithfield workers losing arms and legs in the pig-processing factory. But that hasn't stopped her ties with the company, including a special Mother's Day menu for next weekend, filled with caramelized bacon and other forms of Smithfield piggy. Dean has always defended Smithfield in the past, arguing that "we all have complaints about our work. It's called work for a reason." But when does work become torture?

This weekend won't be the first Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show demo with anti-Paula protesters. Last November, we told you about one in Washington, D.C. where a few crowd members started yelling. Deen responded with a signature cackle, continued frying something in butter and the show went on. Why so blasé?

As our commenter Jerzee Tomato pointed out, "pork is a big deal, and Smithfield is such a huge employer in NC. I don't think you will see Ms Deen walk away from her nicely compensated endorsement. She has built a brand around her name and that brand is going strong."

Maybe she'll consider switching pork brands when Sharpton and Jackson give her a talking-to this weekend?

This issue materializes at an interesting time with consumers clipping coupons and scrambling to find cheaper food options. Brands like Smithfield could grow during such economic crisis, which could mean a lot more of Deen caramelizing Smithfield bacon.

About the author: Erin Zimmer, our Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a new media analyst and frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other local publications. While Georgetown's food columnist, she investigated the cafeteria's omelet station, Hoya coffeeshop's cultish pumpkin muffins, and what exactly the basketball players ate.

15 Comments

Tags: Paula Deen, pigs, pork, protest, Smithfield

15 Comments:

Great post. I'll add social unconsciousness to the list of things that make me dislike her so much.

jayfallon at 1:57PM on 05/02/08

I'm sure as shootin' Miss Deen knows nothin' 'bout such things but if y'all talk about high-fat foods and lotsa bacon grease, she's yur gurl!
Ms. Deen is basically really good at one thing and one thing only and that my friends, is self promotion. What concerns Ms. Deen first and foremost is MONEY! That's as simple to figure out as her macaroni and cheese.

RichardCrystal at 2:44PM on 05/02/08

I am also so glad you posted this. Shame on Paula Deen and shame on Smithfield bacon. I never would have known about their safety record and such, so I really appreciate learning of it.

puppymomma at 2:44PM on 05/02/08

It's about time she got some bad press. They should also mention that she's trying to kill us with her food. Remember that recipe for the cheeseburger with an egg on top of it, and she used a crispy creme donut in place of a hamburger bun? Consult your cardiologist before buying any of her cookbooks.

philn at 2:55PM on 05/02/08

Yeah, besides having nasty ham, they are a large contributer to the big factory farm waste problem.

http://www.riverlaw.us/newsupdates.html

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters

GingerSnap at 3:56PM on 05/02/08

I stopped buying their products when I heard about the Pagan River case. I'm not going to support a company who's corporate culture is so destructive. Hearing about these labor issues only shows me that I made the right decision.

MerMade07 at 4:12PM on 05/02/08

That's a shame about Smithfield and Paula but she sure didn't invent the hamburger with a fried egg on top and I tell you its genius ;)

bobbob at 4:23PM on 05/02/08

I never liked her until now.

If she buckles under pressure from those charlatans I'll go back to not liking her.

srhcb at 5:47PM on 05/02/08

Mmm mmm mmm. The ire might better be directed at the stockholders of the company, no? All the "little people" who want their old-age investment portfolios to remain healthy.

But Paula does wear those big damn diamond rings. Such a nice target.

Karen Resta at 8:13PM on 05/02/08

@RichardCrystal........yur suthin' ac say ent (drawl?) is puttin' just a big ol' samyle on mah kisser en ahm thuraly injoyen it darlin'. y'all keep it up now, hear? unfort chu nat phrasin', since ah do know how yur mind works. ;) uhhhhhh, keep tawkin' purty ta me?

PerkyMac at 11:31PM on 05/02/08

This is every reason why she's wrong:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_127127,00.html

She may not have invented it, but she needs to be stopped.

philn at 11:56PM on 05/02/08

This is a woman who started her "cooking career" with nothing, so if she seems unduly preoccupied with money, I certainly don't blame her. I do not use Smithfield products for the reasons stated, but the degree of envy posted here sounds far more unhealthy than donut enrobed burger. Y'all some ugly people round here.

doodoolemonque at 1:41AM on 05/03/08

My own snarky comment was tongue-in-cheek, doodoolemonque. Some of the other's comments may have been also.

Your own post just shifted from commentary on the topic to a direct attack upon the other commenters though - which is crossing a certain line.

Paula is not all that important in my life that I would want to follow Sharpton, Jackson, Sarandon, and Glover into a fray against her. It is interesting that this is happening, though.

I don't buy Smithfield. The reason being that the products suck. No more, no less.

As to workers rights and violations of those rights, thank goodness this country has an excellent record of addressing these sorts of things. I can't remember when the activities of celebrities on either side of these sorts of issues made any real difference in the actuality of the corporate behavior, though. Usually it just brings about media attention for the celebrities who have chosen to attach themselves to an issue. Good for them, though. An open and free society is an excellent thing to be able to participate in - and there are many fashions and options to do so.

Smithfield is a publicly owned company. Who owns it? The stockholders. Therefore it is the stockholders who theoretically could ask for answers on these reported worker violations. Maybe they have, maybe they haven't. Knowing how many small investors (including anyone with a pension plan managed by a third party) do not have any idea exactly what stocks may be in their portfolio bringing them profit or loss it could be possible (and I think even probable) that many people who might want to speak out as stockholders of the company i.e. the owners of the company don't even have a clue that they are owners of the company. The downside of the sort of big-ness that yields corporate profits can be anonymity. Sort of like on the internet. Secret handshakes can be everywhere even without intent. :)

As for her diamonds, that was a reference to another thread. I do think she loves to flash that bling. I think it's sort of cute, myself.

I'm off to the Farmer's Market to see what's really local this week and then decide whether (as a single mother who must decide whether this dollar will go towards her children's education or a nice vacation or for this head of lettuce) it is worth it to pay twice as much for the goods that the farmers bring. I know I'm supposed to support the farmers but lurking in my mind is the thought that first of all I better support my own family. Maybe when I get to the point where I too own a farm I too will become political and righteous.

Until then, msn nicely provided me with my quote for the day, right there on my homepage:

Politics is opposed to morality, as philosophy is to naivete. - Emmanuel Levinas

Karen Resta at 9:13AM on 05/03/08

I like Paula Deen, I like her cooking, I cannot cook like her because it's not what I can serve at our home. The "Paula started from nothing" thing is also a topic. She was operating an illegal catering business out of her home. That is fact. No health inspection, no insurance, no safety net. If someone got ill she would have started with much less of nothing and a legal mess.
To hold Paul Deen up on a pedestal is asking for someone to come along and knock it down. Hero worship doesn't always convey well on here. You are free to worship anyone you want. I choose to worship people who did things the correct and legal way. Not selling food out the back door.
She is a story alright. She is the story of what you should not do. Doesn't matter if she was successful or not. Same with the Smithfield endorsement, her manager should have represented her a little better.
I do not begrudge anyone making a living. Just don't shove the beatified Ms Deen down our throats. We know the score and it was not a win win.

JerzeeTomato at 7:15PM on 05/03/08

I don't eat smithfield pork because of their treatment of employees

as for paula, i used to love her until i heard she went INTO plants and tried to talk employees out of voting for a union

HamLover at 3:59PM on 06/25/08

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