Serious Eats
Expert Ham-Taster, Not Expert Workers Rights Advocate
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.
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