Iowa objects to the use of “the other white meat” when referencing cod.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – To the National Pork Board, there is no other “other white meat.”

The mayor of Gloucester, Mass., a historic fishing port northeast of Boston, found that out the hard way. A local resident suggested the city promote its lifeblood – cod – after the outbreak of the Mad Cow disease.

Mayor John Bell took the bait, posting a picture of the fish and statistics about seafood consumption under the slogan “The Other White Meat” on the city’s Web site.

But the Des Moines-based pork board hogs that trademark, which it uses to promote pork consumption. The board promptly called Gloucester’s lawyer – who once lived in Iowa and was sensitive to the pork industry – to let her know.

Bell took the slogan down, and as word of the flap spread, several hundred e-mails came into the city proposing variations: “the original white meat,” “the better white meat,” “the reel white meat,” “the best white meat,” and “the healthiest white meat.”

The mayor put it to a vote on the city’s Web site. Like the nearby New Hampshire primary, the poll shows a close race with “the reel white meat” slightly ahead.

But Ceci Snyder, a spokeswoman for the pork board, said Thursday that those slogans still sound too fishy. She wants the city to toss those ideas back in the water.

“That’s definitely an infringement,” Snyder said. “We won’t make a big deal out of it, but we probably will show our lawyers.”

Bell, who favors a different slogan – “Food of the finest kind” – said the pork board is overreacting.

“I think the cold weather confines people and they think too much,” Bell said.

But the pork board says it spent $7 million on an ad campaign using the slogan last year, runs a Web site with that name, and has gone after others who have infringed on it.

Mayor Bell is hamming it up while attempting to coddle the pork industry. On Thursday he went to a local Thai restaurant to eat a dish with both cod and pork – pla gian – and planned to post the recipe on the city’s web site.

“The importance of the pork industry and the fish industry cannot be diminished. Both are hardworking individuals who feed not only America, but feed the world,” he said.

Snyder, who oversees 1,300 recipes containing pork (zero calling for cod), said she would “have to call the mayor to work on some joint recipes.”

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On the Net:

City of Gloucester: http://www.ci.gloucester.ma.us/

National Pork Board: www.porkboard.org

AP-ES-01-22-04 1610EST