It's finally here.
The movie that changed the way people think about what’s on their dinner plate is hitting a small screen near you. The End of the Line will be screened at 10pm on More4 tomorrow night, Tuesday 20th October.
Let’s just stop to think what the film's achieved over the past nine months:
- Wall-to-wall news coverage shaming Nobu, and a celebrity backlash against the restaurant for continuing to sell endangered bluefin tuna.
- Itsu and Pret a Manger taking unsustainable fish off their menus, and supermarkets keen to explain what they are doing to clean up their fish counters.
- A special screening for the EU Fisheries Commissioner, and only the second film to be screened at No. 10 Downing Street.
- Celebrity backing from the great and the good, with Steven Fry and Sarah Brown twittering in support.
- Sell-out screenings across the country on World Oceans’ Day, and a four week run in London's West End.
This film has raised awareness of destructive fishing issues in places other documentaries have not even dreamed about. Not only has the UK’s government department responsible for fisheries taken note – they have been screening it to all of their staff, and using it as a platform to talk about much-needed fisheries reform.
And at last – for all the right reasons – bluefin tuna is on the tip of everyone’s tongues, and it’s an issue that keeps getting coverage … from special programmes on Al Jazeera, and announcements by President Sarkozy, to the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square.
And now it’s on TV tomorrow night at 10pm on More4. You should watch it. If you don’t have More4, then find a friend who does. If you do have More4 – invite friends who don’t, round! We want everyone to see the film, understand the issues and take action.
So please, update your diary, and set your video, and tell all your friends to watch The End of the Line.
And if you can’t catch it on More4, look out for news on the DVD release coming soon.
But End of the Line author Charles Clover doesn't just want to get into your living rooms to talk about fish – he’s also keen to get a handle on what's on the end of your fork. A new restaurant-rating website has just been launched by Charles and his team - called www.fish2fork.com – which gives you information about the sustainability of the seafood served up in eateries up and down the UK. Charles explains about it in this article from yesterday's Sunday Times.
It's a great new venture, capitalising on the awareness already raised by the film and other campaigns like 'Seafood See Life'. More importantly it gives us all, as diners, the opportunity to rate and review them – so please, check it out and let us all know how well the restaurants and chefs are facing up to the challenge of sourcing seafood sustainably.
