Reviving a Taste for Whale

[shockra]

Reviving a Taste for Whale
Japan Introduces Meat to Children as It Fights Moratorium

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, June 19, 2005; Page A19

NATORI, Japan -- An animated group of schoolchildren from this suburban town in northern Japan poured into their gymnasium Thursday afternoon and listened raptly to a whale expert give a talk on the gentle giants of the sea. They passed around whale teeth and were told about the growing abundance of the world's largest mammals before diving into the lecture's main course -- heaping plates of deep-fried whale chunks.

As part of a program by the Japanese government and the fishing industry to rebuild Japan's endangered taste for whale, the students -- some with less enthusiasm than others -- dug into the crispy nuggets dished into little plastic lunchboxes. After the feast, the children headed home with official books on whales that included helpful tips on how to defrost whale meat (over two days), as well as recipes for whale burgers and whale soup.

"I guess I do feel sorry for the whales," said Shun Ishimura, 7, shyly fiddling with his L.A. Dodgers T-shirt. Like many of the children, he was tasting whale flesh for the first time. He said that despite his feelings, he "ate it anyway because it looked so good. And when I ate it, I liked it. Whale is really delicious."

That is music to the ears of whalers and their supporters in Japan, who are fighting a two-front war. Japan is lobbying hard to get a nearly two-decade-old moratorium on commercial whaling overthrown at the 57th International Whaling Commission meeting in South Korea this week. Officials are also locked in a struggle back home to rekindle the nation's ebbing taste for whale.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061800890.html

[mike_c]

1. I'm an utterly unrepentent carnivore...

...but I'd have to be on the verge of starvation to knowingly eat a cetacean.

[Chicago Democrat]

2. They love it... its like a big cow to the Japanese.

I'm sure it is delicious.

[leftchick]

3. WWF... An excellent article about "why" they kill the whales...

http://www.wwf.org.au/News_and_information/News_room/viewnews.php?news_id=214

~snip~

Japan’s science: a whale of a tale - WWF
June 14 2005

Gland, Switzerland – A new WWF report dispels the myth that it is necessary to kill whales in order to study them. Since the moratorium on whaling took effect in 1986, more than 7,000 whales – minke, sperm and Bryde’s whales – have been killed in the name of the science, mainly by the Japanese whaling fleet.

But, the global organisation says that, scientific whaling is nothing more than an instrument of profit and politics to circumvent the moratorium, as modern, non lethal, techniques are more reliable in providing data on whale biology.

“It is extraordinary that Japan, one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, continues to kill an estimated 650 whales a year using 1940s science in the 21st century,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF Global Species Programme. “We believe that current research programmes must be designed with existing and sound new techniques.”

According to the report – Science, profit and politics: Scientific Whaling in the 21st Century – existing non-lethal techniques provide greater sample sizes and more reliable data, and can be repeated over many years – something which is not possible when a whale is killed.

[Javaman]

7. Dat science makes good eatin! oy...

[shockra]

9. Good old tradition.

That's the same excuse they're using for trying to get kids to eat whale meat:

Some opinion polls show that younger generations of Japanese are more interested in conservation than culinary delights. The price for whale meat in Japan has decreased in recent years -- falling to $12 a pound in 2004 compared with $15 a pound in 1999. Demand for whale meat has been anemic. Last year, the industry put 20 percent of its 4,000-ton haul into frozen surplus.

So the government and pro-whaling groups have pumped cash into the promotion of eating whale meat. The government is spending about $5 million a year on such campaigns, while groups of housewives and other organizations are sponsoring whale cooking classes and related seminars to stimulate the market, according to officials and industry sources.

<snip>

"If we don't eat whale meat, it would be damaging to the ecosystem of the ocean," said Masayuki Komatsu, executive director of Japan's Fisheries Research Agency, who noted that his teenage daughter is opposed to commercial whaling. He later added, "The younger generation is always a problem, so education is very important."

At the Taruichi whale restaurant in Tokyo -- where prized whale fin sashimi goes for $5 a slice -- owner Shintaro Sato said the business is still doing well. But he has nevertheless started running promotions to sell more whale meat, offering 20 percent "early bird" discounts from 5 to 7 p.m. as well as a pre-set whale course for $35 a person -- a price at which he says he takes a loss. "But we are not in this business to make a profit," said Sato, who took over the restaurant from his father, a noted pro-whaling activist, after his death two years ago. "Instead, we are here to preserve a valuable part of Japanese tradition."

[peacebuzzard]

4. Today, June 19, 2005 is "No Whaling" global march by Greenpeace.

It is a shameless butchering of complex mammals in their own environment.


<http://whales.greenpeace.org/2137.htm>

[shockra]

5. A Virtual March?

That's cool.

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/koreawhales/

In case you've been living in a cave, the Virtual March is the result of over 51,000 people submitting photographs of themselves (or their dogs, pet fish, small children and stuffed animals) holding anti-whaling messages to the Korean government. I was glad to see that apathetic shoppers and Pizza Hut diners couldn't help but stop and stare at the huge screen featuring projections of thousands of people from around the world holding anti-whaling banners. People even stopped their cars and gaped over their open car doors.

More news from their blog:

June 16, 2005
great news!
Hi All,

Great news from the whale embassy!

After days of hints, today we received a news article written in a national Korean daily, stating that plans to build the whale meat factory had been dropped because of pressure from Greenpeace. The article went on to explain that the reason for this was that building the factory would not be in the ˜national interest" of South Korea, and would label South Korea as a pro-whaling nation. The government will not produce any written documentation proving that the whale meat factory has been abandoned, because it would show a loss of face. The evidence for this piece was written after confidential discussions between the journalist and the Director of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs in Ulsan.

Over 60 days of sleeping in this once hostile, polluted, dusty, grimy place appear to have paid off. We couldn't have hoped for a better result only days before the IWC.

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/koreawhales/

[Name removed]

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[LiberalEsto]

11. Instead of whale -- fat Republicans!

And just think how much good the Japanese would be doing for the ecosystem if they developed a taste for plump American rethugs. Cheney-on-a-Stick! Mmmmm!

:evilgrin: