Charlize, Elle, Sienna, Sting, Woody Join British Food Fight

Stars sign petition to boycott Nobu London unless swanky eatery removes near-extinct bluefin tuna from sushi menu

By Gina Serpe Jun 08, 2009 3:01 PMTags
Elle MacPherson, Charlize Theron, Sienna Miller, SushiDominique Charriau/Getty Images, Jemel Countess/Getty Images, Fotonoticias/Getty Images

There's something fishy going on at one of London's most swanky celeb restaurants: The stars are aligning to boycott until an endangered fish is removed from its sushi menu.

Elle Macpherson, Sienna Miller, Alicia Silverstone, Charlize Theron, Sting and Trudie Styler, Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson and Stephen Fry are among the 31 famous folks who have signed a petition vowing not to patronize Nobu London until it stops serving the near-extinct bluefin tuna.

According to the petition, the stars say they can no longer "dine with a clear conscience" at the establishment.

"As customers and fans of Nobu we strongly feel that bluefin tuna must be completely removed from your menu due to its perilous position as an extremely endangered animal," the statement reads.

"Nobu is a restaurant we all love, a world leader in sushi with a fantastic reputation and enormous influence. If Nobu took a definitive stand on this issue it could make a critical difference."

Last month, the owners of Nobu took a small step toward acquiescing, adding a disclaimer to the bottom of its menu noting that the fish is "environmentally threatened" and advising concerned customers to "please ask your server for an alternative."

"The possibility that the magnificent bluefin tuna, one of the fastest creatures on the planet, could be extinct in as little as four years is a tragedy," the celebs' petition reads. "Continuing to serve bluefin leaves Nobu vulnerable to public criticism and lagging behind Moshi Moshi, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Itsu and numerous others."

A spokesman for the restaurant has since said it takes the issue "very seriously." The stars have demanded a more thorough response from owner and chef Nobu Matsuhisa by the end of today (World Ocean's Day, as it happens).

The petition was released in conjunction with the new documentary End of the Line, which is intended to do for the plight of overfishing the world's waters what An Inconvenient Truth did for global warming.

However, not everyone was so eager to add their names to the petition. One star whose name doesn't appear (other than Jeremy Piven, that is): Robert De Niro, a co-owner in the restaurant.

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