Whale Burgers On Sale In Japan

[matcom]

<snip>

TOKYO -- A fast food chain in northern Japan began offering a whale burger on Thursday, even as anti-whaling nations urged Japan to cut back on its catch at an international conference on whaling.

Restaurant chain Lucky Pierrot is serving a deep fried minke whale meat burger with lettuce and mayonnaise for $3.50 at its 10 restaurants in Hakodate on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, once a whaling hub in the nation.

Japan is facing increasing international criticism for its research whaling program in which the whales are killed in order to study them and their meat is then sold. Critics say it is commercial hunting in disguise.

Miku Oh, an official for Lucky Pierrot, said the chain is only utilizing stock meat obtained from the scientific research and that it wants to preserve the culture of eating whale meat.

"People in other countries may think (eating whale) is strange, but it is our culture," she said.

Oh said that the whale for the burger is cooked in such a way that "it tastes like beef and tuna, and since it is deep fried it has no odor."

At an annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, currently being held in Ulsan, South Korea, anti-whaling countries passed a resolution Wednesday urging Japan to drop plans to more than double the number of whales it hunts each year for research.

The commission also has rejected a proposal earlier to end its almost two-decade-old ban on commercial whaling, dealing a blow to Japan and other pro-whaling nations that say stocks of some species have recovered enough to allow limited hunts.

Japan says it must kill whales to properly study them, including their stomach contents to glean details of their diets.

Environmental groups and anti-whaling countries, including the United States and Britain, say Japan's research whaling program is a thinly disguised commercial whaling venture, stressing that meat from the whales is sold to Japanese supermarkets and restaurants to help fund the program.

Annually, Japan kills about 400 minke whales in the Antarctic and another 210 whales -- 100 minke whales, 50 Bryde's whales, 50 sei whales and 10 sperm whales -- in the northwestern Pacific.

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4642990/detail.html

[Richardo]

1. I like 'em with Spotted Owl McNuggets on the side...

:bounce:

[mac56]

7. Would you like some Harp Seal Fries with that?

Or some Cream of Dolphin Soup?

[Richardo]

12. And a white rhino shake!

:9

[MsAnthropy]

2. That's disgusting!

I'm not one to anthropomorphize animals but that's just wrong on so many levels.

[Shell Beau]

3. Some whales are so endangered b/c of this shit.

I wish they would leave the whales alone. :mad: A lot of whales are bordering extinction, and they are worried about a freaking whale burger.

[Beetwasher]

4. Tastes Like Chicken

Countdown to locking of thread...:evilgrin:

[sasquatch]

5. *pills up chair and breaks binoculars and popcorn*

:popcorn:

[Deja Q]

19. Hasn't been locked yet...

Maybe they're too chicken?

:evilgrin:

:hide:

[philosophie_en_rose]

6. How can we live without studying whale digestion?

Think of the medical application! :eyes:

And that research byproduct meat must taste YUM-O.


:sarcasm:

[oneold1-4u]

8. No originality!

People near both ends of the earth have been eating meats from sea mammals for eons. Some of the nutrition is essential since growing vitamin C as fruit and vegetable is difficult!
Sea mammals are today one of the most proliferate sources of food in the world because someone thought they needed protection forever!

[oneold1-4u]

9. There will someday

be more understanding that the oceans and all world surface water will have to be farmed and used to feed the growing human population of the earth!

[philosophie_en_rose]

10. Overpopulation is a concern, but not the point.

The Japanese government is using "medical research" as a means of avoiding international bans on whaling.

[Old_Fart]

11. Assholes

:grr:

[Blue-Jay]

13. Is there ANYTHING they won't eat?

I'd like to sink me a whaler or two. :mad:

[flvegan]

15. Sea Shepherd is always looking for help, I hear.

[Old_Fart]

16. My sentiment's...

If it moves...never mind! :grr:

[Swede]

14. MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm,blubber.

nt

[KamaAina]

17. Dolphins are often killed as bycatch by scientific* whalers

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[KamaAina]

18. Has it never occurred to them to make whale surimi?

You've seen surimi: the frozen "imitation crab flavor" stuff that's actually made from (cheap) fish.

Why, then, don't the Japanese make imitation whale flavor and use it in whale surimi?

Mmmmmmmmmmm... whale-flavored bottom-feeders...

[edbermac]

20. Give me a Quarter-Tonner with cheese...

And no onions...