Good and Bad PR

Paula Deen The Pork Queen

by Matt

Well, now here is a problem that can’t be fixed by adding three sticks of butter.

Paula Deen, the lovable Food Network host with a thick southern drawl and a propensity to drown everything she cooks in lard, is under a whole new type of heat. Deen landed herself amidst controversy after signing an endorsement deal with the hog-producing super giant Smithfield Foods – the same Smithfield Foods that received the third-largest fine ever imposed by the EPA after releasing 4.7 million gallons of hog fecal matter into North Carolina state rivers. Also the same Smithfield Foods that has been facing ongoing disputes with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union over labor rights at the Tar Heel, North Carolina facility.

Protest The Pork

Union members have picked Deen as their primary target, organizing protests around the country as she tours the U.S. to promote her book, and even surrounding her hometown restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. Faced with opposition that the chirpy culinary host rarely encounters, Deen has stood by her partnership with Smithfield and has been quoted supporting the company’s employee-relations.

Unaware Or Just Plain Dumb?

Now, the Southern-cooking star’s alignment with Smithfield hardly seems to be malicious on Deen’s part. In fact, she seems blissfully unaware of the gravity of the Union’s charges against the king of pork. She has been quoted explaining that her decision to partner with Smithfield was based on their shared “family values and traditions.” We’ll just go ahead and assume that Deen was busy deep-frying the entire pantry when news broke of the many allegations of foul-play on Smithfield’s part. No one that cheerful would purposely compare their values and traditions to those of a company accused of racism, coercion, and blatant disrespect for the rivers of North Carolina.

Paula “Land-O-Lakes” Deen

One might think that the recent scandals involving Smithfield would have been a slight deterrent for Deen and her marketing camp. In an era where Rachel Ray and Bobby Flay are household names, showing up in our cracker aisles and penning entrees at the neighborhood restaurant chain, you would think a character like Paula Deen would have a couple more endorsement options to choose from before taking the Smithfield gig. The new face of Land-O-Lakes, perhaps? Deen’s decision to hook up with the notorious pork king despite its shady history suggests such poor decision-making; one has to wonder if all the butter has finally gotten to her head.

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