the price of whale meat in japan.

[xchrom]

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

this is just a quick primer on whale meat in japan -- and how much the government spends subsidising it.

i am strictly anti-whaling -- and the money that the japanes government spends subsidising it compared to the few people eating it is telling.

[ClintonTyree]

1. Just think of it as Japan's answer to the bush tax cuts for the rich....

the rich Japanese have to have their whale meat, nothing else will do! Koresh forbid they eat Kobe beef or farm raised fish!
The Japanese are killing our oceans and hunting some species to the point of extinction. But they taste so gooooood! :eyes:

[xchrom]

3. worse, they introduce whale meat into school lunch programs

creating a future demand for what is really ultra-exotic.

there is no reason to continue this barbaric industry.

[leftchick]

2. sad

:(

[pnorman]

4. I recall seeing whale meat shops in Japan,

in the post-war decades. They were generally in the less-affluent parts of town (Sasebo). Usually displayed at the front of these tiny shops, was a good sized block of whale meat. It was bright red, with fine marbling. I recall little else, other than there was also something like 'hawg cracklins'. I assume that was whale skin, which was pretty thick. A couple of times (to my wife's amusement) I used whale meat chunks in my favorite beef stew recipe. Not bad, but not all that good. (Help! I'm getting a nostalgic attack!).

My recollection was that it was a budget item, and far from being an upper class delicacy. That people who spent their youth in that period have nostalgic cravings for whale meat, should be no great surprise. But the rest is pure promotional sleaze.

pnorman
On edit: Here's from the last part of that article:
"I think it's okay to have these small events so we can pass down our past whaling tradition to the children, but I am not in favor of restarting commercial whaling," said Tomoko Yanai, 45, who has two children. "The meat is delicious. I used to eat it when I was in school. But whales are precious animals and now I feel they should be protected."

[xchrom]

5. my best to mister yanai -- however -- with the investments the

government is making in this particular industry i don't think they intend for it to remain entirely exotic.

expensive yes -- but all that rare no.

so protections be damned when you're out to accomplish something else entirely.

right now the whale meat is relatively inexpensive because no one is eating it -- you feed it to school children to change exactly that.