The “Big 3” canned tuna brands in the United States — Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist — have issued cease-and-desist letters demanding that Greenpeace pull its anti-canned tuna video off of the Internet, part of a campaign the environmental activist organization launched on Monday.
According to a CNBC report, in a letter to Greenpeace, Bumble Bee attorney Ben Lila said “Bumble Bee must object to the false, misleading and deceptive statements included in your campaign. The campaign in many material aspects is facially defamatory and constitutes trade libel and unfair competition in violation of California law.”
Attorneys for both StarKist and Chicken of the Sea sent similar letters to the environmental group on Monday.
Greenpeace, however, claims it has done nothing illegal and refuses to remove the video, despite the fact that even its supports aren’t happy with it.
Comments on YouTube include: “This is a very disappointing video. Although it is visually pleasing, it doesn’t do a very good job discussing the well-known facts and criticisms of the tuna industry. It almost feels like issues such as killing other species is a footnote to the cuteness. Maybe the target audience is for children. In that case, focus on cute dolphins getting killed. Reinforce things with some more facts or details. Not worth forwarding.”
Another observer wrote, “My heart is with Greenpeace on this campaign, but the video is really underwhelming. The message is buried (I’m still not sure exactly what it is). I’m glad you got a famous cartoonist to work on this, but unfortunately the final product misses the mark.”
“When responsible organizations want to promote change they enter into partnerships, have dialogues and make a difference. In this case, Greenpeace literally stabs tuna in the eye with a trident. You don’t see that type of nonsense from respected organizations. But perhaps it’s just donations rather than respect Greenpeace is most interested in,” said Gavin Gibbons, spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute. “Greenpeace has been threatening retailers and trying to shakedown tuna companies for years rather than sitting at the table with the adults and working on real programs and policies that make a difference. This latest stunt is evidence that its pattern of harassing industry rather than working with it continues unabated. In this country, Greenpeace marginalizes itself with this type of fundraising promotion and ends up being relegated to the role of carnival barker.”
In a blog post on its website, Greenpeace responded to the industry’s request:
“All three companies sent us cease-and-desist letters ... Yes, that’s right — they’ve made legal threats against Greenpeace over a cartoon. Bumble Bee has even based some of its alleged claims on our statement that the company employs ‘destructive fishing methods.’ So, let me get this straight — are you saying that you’re the kind of company that doesn’t consider killing endangered turtles to be destructive? Because the longline vessels that catch your albacore do exactly that.”
