Whale on Menu for Activists?
Posted by jennifer, January 9th, 2012 - under Opinion.
Tags: Whales
THE Australian government is under pressure to secure the release of three Australian activists detained after boarding a Japanese whaling security ship the Shonan Maru No 2. But it is more likely the men will be taken to Japan to face legal action.
Prisoners don’t usually get a lot of choice in what they have for dinner. Minke whale is probably on the menu.
Some people worry about whether a particular food tastes good, others whether it is healthy. Activists are often concerned with the ethics of food production and consumption.
There are two criteria that I consider valid when it comes to ethical food choice: 1. Is the harvest of the animal sustainable, and 2. Is the killing humane.
Whaling by the Japanese is undertaken in accordance with a strict quota system to ensure populations are not depleted and every effort is made to get a quick and painless kill including through the use of a grenade tipped harpoon.
So I had no problems with the ethics of eating free-range, organic whale when I visited Tokyo… and the right cut, properly cooked, tasted like an exceptionally tender eye fillet.
I wonder how whale meat is served to prisoners on the Shonan Maru No. 2?
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Whale on the menu in Tokyo: http://jennifermarohasy.com/2008/09/eating-whale-in-tokyo/
David’s blog: http://david-in-tokyo.blogspot.com/
George,
Just the feeling that maybe the new low frequency or whatever it is SONAR may interfere with the species’ communication ? Be hard to have a love affair if you couldn’t find a lover.
The reports of dolphins in the test zones is they are just plain ill.
An uncle who was a marine engine specialist told me of a new ,( in the 60′s), NZ Stewart Island ferry ,where all the crew claimed to be getting ill. What, at first was put down to some kind of Union mayhem, proved to be a subsonic noise generated by the engines.
Gavin , The Aussie spurwinged plover colonised NZ’s South Island in the 1960′s. When they appeared in estuaries on our farm we didn’t even know what they were. They were aggressive to other waders.
You are encouraged to shoot them there, they even tried to promote them as a game bird, but they aren’t much fun to shoot and apparently not a real delicacy.
I think if they became an example of a fragile species , we’d better list the starlings next.
We do have examples of that sub species stuff here too George.
That is a possibility but there are things to consider. Sonar is ephemeral. Active sonar is rarely used as it gives away the location of the transmitter. Most use passive sonar where natural noises in the ocean are used instead of actively emitting a signal. A submarine emitting active sonar in a battle situation would be committing suicide because it would expose its exact location.
There are lots of natural noises in the ocean to include the songs of whales. It is possible to note how these signals arrive to detect things they might have bounced off of.
But a submarine is moving and the whale is moving. The whale is in proximity with the submarine for only a few minutes. Mating is a life long occupation (or should be!). A few minutes in the proximity of a radar wouldn’t matter unless it somehow made the whale permanently deaf and if depth charges, bombs, artillery, etc. didn’t do that, then I doubt sonar will.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..can’t even get through all this ignorant, subjective, rehashed waffle…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I’m sorry Libby,
Let me help you with your comprehension problem by summarising the main points.
1) Whale populations in general, with the possible exception of the Blue Whale, have recovered remarkably well since the developing western world stopped relying so heavily on whale oil.
2) The endangering of the whale was NOT caused by the Japanese and they are still not endangering whales and neither are the only country who hunt whale.
3) Whether we like it or not, whale is actually part of some culture’s diets. So are dogs and horse and turtle and kangaroo and seal. Do we have some superior right to dictate the diet of other cultures?
5) Some questions about the legality of the protesters’ behaviour and the government’s response.
6) Some related discussion about other species which have been declared as endangered.
Hope that helps
Bless your cotton socks Debbie. I stopped by briefly as I was in need of amusement…and got it. You forgot the bit about whaling being humane, sonar effects, yadda yadda yadda. Yep, I don’t comprehend what is written here and never have:) The same stuff being rehashed. Check the archives. There are some now out of date links and stuff there from both sides. What I do love though is that Jennifer and her fan club dismiss everything Flannery has to say if it doesn’t fit into their grand view of the world, but Flannery mentions cockroches, oops, rabbits of the sea and he instantly has their support. LOL! The hypocrisy on this site is as thick as blubber (bowhead not blue).
Maybe that’s because you’re assuming that people are taking sides behind designated messiahs in an ideological war?
I notice instead that most commentators here are testing what’s said against what is happening in reality.
More about the actual issue rather than the political personalities or the emotional.
I love whales and because of that I would personally prefer that no one touched them. However I know that the prevailing arguments about Japanese whaling are simply emotional and have little basis in reality. I also know that I have no right to dictate to other cultures about their culinary habits. I also know that far too much of this debate is about racism rather than whales. I really don’t care if Tim Flannery agrees or not. However it is amusing that he has made that rabbit comment. I even sometimes agree with what he says. More often I disagree because he is lost in the land of ideological theory that has no solid basis in practical reality.
Debbie, I suggest you do what most other commentators should and actually READ some facts. There are enough journal articles out there that are not emotive and politically-driven to perhaps enlighten you and others.
ROFL,
That would now be you assuming that you are the only well read person visiting this blog?
Face it Libby, above all else we humans are emotional creatures and every single decision we make has to ‘feel right’. We then go ahead and find ‘the facts’ to support our decision.
Some people are gracious enough and wise enough to also accept that over time, our decisions and our beliefs may have suffered from a lack of information or maybe even misinformation.
The Japanese were not responsible for the near extinction of whales and they’re still not.
They are also not the only culture who has whale as part of their diet.
Whether their ‘scientific argument’ is hypocritical is another argument altogether. It looks to me however that the hypocracy stems from them attempting to play a political game. It has nothing to do with the fact that we were at war with them last century or that they use wood chips.
One of very few here concerning this topic. Thanks