It’s not hard to convince me to have dinner at Great Sage in Clarksville, MD.  It’s one of the few restaurants in our area that’s completely vegan.  So instead of having (at most) one or two choices on the menu per a typical restaurant, I know that I can eat *everything* at Great Sage!  And, as a bonus, it’s all delicious and nutritious.  It’s definitely worth the hour-plus trek from northern Virginia, especially when there is a special menu or a notable speaker.  So I was quick to make a reservation when I discovered that the restaurant was offering a dinner with Captain Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Surprise:  Sea Shepherd Cares About Cows

Sea Shepherd and Captain Watson first entered my radar screen several months ago when I watched the documentary called Cowspiracy.  The tagline for Cowspiracy is “The Film that Environmental Organizations Don’t Want You to See.”  The documentary follows filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today.  No, it’s not transportation; it’s animal agriculture.  As noted on the Cowspiracy website, “Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean ‘dead zones,’ and virtually every other environmental ill.”  Wow.  In the documentary, Anderson approached several leading conservation organizations and was amazed by their intentional refusal to discuss the environmental impacts of animal agriculture.  A notable exception among the conservation organizations that were interviewed in Cowspiracy:  Sea Shepherd!  As I watched the film, I was tremendously impressed that Sea Shepherd is willing to bravely speak out — in Cowspiracy as well as other platforms — about the devastating effects of animal agriculture.  The film left me eager to learn more about this courageous conservation organization.

Dinner with Captain Watson at Great Sage

On the appointed evening, Great Sage provided a welcoming venue for the dinner with Captain Watson. The decor was tasteful and elegant: wooden tabletops with black cloth napkins; 3-blade wooden ceiling fans and simple overhead lighting; and warm, earth-tone walls with mirrors, carved-wood panels, and various depictions of trees.

Every day that Great Sage is open, it proves to eager diners that plant-based cuisine can be interesting and flavorful. As indicated on the restaurant’s website, “Great Sage is anything but common — featuring a bold menu inspired by exotic flavors from around the world, using organic ingredients to nourish the body, and providing a warm, romantic atmosphere perfect for any occasion. Great Sage seeks to provide the highest quality gourmet foods created from only plant-based sources.”

The prix fixe menu for the dinner with Captain Watson included four amazing courses:  1) traditional split pea soup with crispy shallots drizzled in basil-mint ‘cream,’ served with a side salad composed of arugula, torched grape tomatoes & grilled asparagus, shaved ‘parmesan’ & rosemary garlic croutons tossed in lemon-chive vinaigrette; 2) crispy potatoes, broccoli and beer-battered smoked ‘Gouda’ placed on a bed of beer ‘cheddar cheese,’ drizzled with mushroom gravy, topped with shaved scallion & chives; 3) toasted dumpling stuffed with portabello steak, walnuts, onions & cranberries on top of baked beans, beets & sunchokes, with sauteed garlic kale in a whisky ‘cream’ sauce, topped with maple-Sriracha pine nuts & Canadian ‘bacon’ crumbles; and 4) triangles with coconut, hazelnut, & cocoa crust and a cappucino filling and salted white and dark chocolate ganache, placed on top of maple custard, garnished with toffee and a strawberry.  Each course was delicious, and the serving sizes were very generous.

A Colorful Character

Captain Paul Watson looks convincingly like a seafarer.  He’s got a full, white beard and a generous head of wavy, white hair.  He wears black to match the background of Sea Shepherd’s pirate-style logo.  He’s apparently not an official ship captain, although the title clearly fits.  He is unapologetic about Sea Shepherd’s often-confrontational style with whaling vessels and factory fishing ships, because that strategy has been working — and no humans get hurt. 

Captain Watson has spent his whole life saving animals, having started at the age of 11 when the beavers in the local pond were being trapped.  He swam along the lines, freed the beavers, and destroyed the traps.  Scoreboard:  Captain Watson and beavers – 1; beaver trappers – 0!

The Status of the Seas

During the dinner at Great Sage, Captain Watson described Sea Shepherd’s vessels and wide range of activities.  He described Sea Shepherd as “more of a movement than an organization,” and he told us about each of the vessels that comprise what he affectionately called “Neptune’s Navy.”  The five ships are the Farley Mowat, the John Paul DeJoria, the Sharpie, the Martin Sheen and the Brigitte Bardot. 

After describing the ships and their corresponding campaigns, he told us about the status of the seas, and the information he presented was alarming:

• 40% of the fish sold in stores has been illegally caught.
• Scientists estimate that by 2048 there will be no fishing industry, because there will be no fish (due to overfishing, bycatch, dead zones, and other ways that fish are depleted).
• 40% of the fish that is caught is fed to cows and chickens — that’s more fish than the wild albatross eat
• Plastic trash in the oceans has become a big problem, and microplastics can now be found in the flesh of fish.

How to Help

Captain Watson told us that going vegan (which Sea Shepherd did in the year 2000) is one of the best ways to help the seas and the animals that inhabit them (plus land animals and ecosystems, too).  A recent story by CNN (entitled Go Vegan, Save the Planet) stated that “adopting a plant-based diet is … one of the most powerful choices an individual can make in mitigating environmental degradation and depletion of Earth’s natural resources.”  And clearly, as I can attest after eating the meal at Great Sage, a vegan lifestyle does not have to be boring!

Captain Watson also encouraged us to support local, grassroots organizations, because they are often able to make a real difference.  And he said that each of us could make a difference by getting personally involved. 

Here are the four ingredients in his recipe for individual success: skills, ability, imagination, and courage.

And here is the ingredient in his recipe for success of a conservation organization:  “Recruit an army of volunteers; you can’t buy that kind of passion.”

How else can you help?  Donate , shop, and volunteer!

The Bottom Line

Captain Watson reminded us that we are in the midst of the 6th major extinction event on planet Earth.  The planet, as he noted, has always recovered and has flourished after each of the previous events – although it took 18 to 20 million years.  So the earth will go on.  And conservation, therefore, is about saving humanity from humanity.  Well said, Captain Watson.