Citing Company Values, Red Lobster Dumps Tucker. Fails To Mention Its Past Slave Labor Connection
Earlier this week, seafood giant Red Lobster confirmed it would be abandoning advertising on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Citing its “core values,” the company said in a statement to The Wrap that host Carlson’s dialogue was the reason for the decision.
Red Lobster will be joining Bowflex, Indeed, IHOP and others in a boycott of Carlson’s show.
There’s only one issue with all this moral grandstanding.
Red Lobster once sourced shrimp from an overseas supplier that used brutal slave labor — and three years after an explosive Associated Press report exposed the practice, the company still maintains a close partnership with the former slavemasters.
The enslaved workers weren’t slaves by a technicality, either. The AP investigation revealed the brutal lives of those locked inside filthy shrimp-peeling sheds.
The slaves weren’t even given names, but rather simply referred to by numbers. The threat of violence was ever-present, ensuring the workers would complete their 16-hour shifts with no complaints. Husbands and wives were not allowed to go outside for food together — one would always remain behind as insurance against escape.
Child labor was also common. Some were enslaved so young that they needed to stand on stools to reach their work tables.
An AP video shows some of the conditions under which these slaves were forced to peel shrimp.
After the groundbreaking revelations, suppliers promised to clean up their act.
Nearly a year after the AP report, Red Lobster accepted a $575 million investment from former slaveholding shrimp supplier Thai Union, according to CBS News. Thai Union’s own website confirms the two companies still have an intimate corporate relationship.
Red Lobster appears to have the same amount of backbone as its ill-sourced shrimp. Despite making a big deal about the company’s “values,” an archived version of its website reveals that a month before AP pulled back the curtain, the seafood giant made only a scant mention of its sourcing.
“Further, we partner with both government and independent food safety organizations like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to ensure the safety of the seafood we serve,” the site once read. “We also know where our seafood comes from.”
Red Lobster’s current website is a stark change from the once-tiny blurb, now offering an entire section dedicated to shrimp and how the company responsibly sources it.
Outside of its very fluid “about us” section, the company’s website doesn’t hint or reference any “core values.”
And although the practice of shrimp-peeling slavery is likely over, Red Lobster’s continued relationship with Thai Union hints that the restaurant’s recent boycott of Tucker Carlson may be more of a publicity stunt aimed at shamelessly grabbing a few left-of-center customers.
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