Paula Deen, the TV chef best known for her fondness for no-artery-is-safe concotions like hot dogs wrapped in bacon and smothered with lard (yum!) is bringing her road show to Washington, DC tomorrow night, signing books at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
Why should you care? Because Paula has a lucrative endorsement contract with Smithfield Foods -- and Smithfield's workers in Tar Heel, North Carolina, have been treated brutally by the company for their attempts to join together in a union. Paula Deen's image as a friendly grandma cookin' up buttery goodies doesn't really fit comfortably next to Smithfield's image as a company ready to deploy intimidation, coercion and even violence to get their way.
The Justice at Smithfield campaign, which is fighting to support those workers, is going to be at Paula's book signing to bring this to her attention, and you can join them.
The buzz about the face-off has already started: the Express (the Washington Post's free newspaper-lite) wonders "Can Paula Deen Butter Up Her Critics?" And blogger Brunch Bird is looking forward to being there:
I like Paula Deen. I respect any cook who refers to a recipe in which she rolls bananas in melted butter as "a healthy snack." And after years in the South, her show provides a nice trip down memory lane whenever she says something like "swait puhtatuh." But Deen should know that she's shilling for a company that treats its workers in such a shabby fashion.
