If you’re a fan of sushi, it may come as a bit of a surprise to know that your eating habits may directly be propping up the Washington Times and the rest of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s quirky religious empire. A reader recently tipped us off to an article in the Chicago Tribune outlining how Moon — a self-proclaimed messiah and leader of the Unification Church — has all but cornered the sushi market, using a company run by his adherents to fund his many other interests, religious or otherwise. Reads the article:

Adhering to a plan Moon spelled out more than three decades ago in a series of sermons, members of his movement managed to integrate virtually every facet of the highly competitive seafood industry. The Moon followers’ seafood operation is driven by a commercial powerhouse, known as True World Group. It builds fleets of boats, runs dozens of distribution centers and, each day, supplies most of the nation’s estimated 9,000 sushi restaurants.

Although few seafood lovers may consider they’re indirectly supporting Moon’s religious movement, they do just that when they eat a buttery slice of tuna or munch on a morsel of eel in many restaurants. True World is so ubiquitous that 14 of 17 prominent Chicago sushi restaurants surveyed by the Tribune said they were supplied by the company.

While Moon can’t seem to run a profitable newspaper to save his life — the Washington Times annually bleeds money and talent — his sushi empire has fast become one of his most profitable ventures. In 1974, he predicted that his sushi operations would “lay a foundation for the future economy of the Unification Church,” part of an “oceanic providence” to spread his odd gospel. And it seems to have worked — True World Foods boasts of $250 million in annual revenue, and its 230 refrigerated trucks delivers raw fish to 7,000 restaurants across the country.

Of course, it’s easy not to read the Washington Times, both because the newspaper leaves something (well, everything) to be desired and because few us want our hard-earned dollars to help keep Moon’s excuse for journalism alive. But sushi? Can we give up sushi? Much like dolphin-free tuna, we’re guessing there might soon be a rush on Moon-free sushi.