Anti-whaling activists
from Sea Shepherd confront a Japanese whaling
ship: The group, with the help
of the Australian government, may have
once and for all scotched Japan's program of 'research' whaling.
'Research' Whaling: It's Time for Us Japanese to Move On (Blogos, Japan)
"No matter how you look at it, this whaling was for
commercial and gastronomic purposes, with 'research' nothing more than an
inventive interpretation of the facts. ... The reason the whale population has been
so diminished is because of indiscriminate whaling by the United States and
other countries simply for the extraction of oil, so it isn't that I'm not
annoyed when these same people vilify Japan for having a whale-consuming
culture. Yet, whale meat is not so important to Japanese food tradition that it
must be consumed. It really makes no difference whether or not we eat whale."
Slaughtered Mink whales lie on the deck of the Japanese whaling vessel Nisshin Maru, in the Southern Ocean earlier this year. The biggest threat to Japan's whaling program may not be organizations like Sea Shepard, but consumers. The amount of whale meat stockpiled for lack of buyers has nearly doubled over the past 10 years.
It
seems that Japan will accept the decision, which is reasonable. No matter how
you look at it, this whaling was for commercial and gastronomic purposes, with "research"
nothing more than an inventive interpretation of the facts.
When
I hark back to my primary school days, I recall fondly when whale meat appeared
on our school meals. The memory is hazy but I do recall the dry texture. It was
hard to tell what the meat actually tasted like, because it tasted mainly of
seasoning, but I have to say it wasn't particularly tasty.
Food
culture varies from country to country, and other countries shouldn't interfere
with and decide what animals to we eat. That said, marine resources don't
belong solely to Japan, but are treasures shared by all of humanity.
The
reason the whale population has been so diminished is because of indiscriminate
whaling by the United States and other countries simply for the extraction of
oil, so it isn't that I'm not annoyed when these same people vilify Japan for
having a whale-consuming culture. Yet, whale meat is not so important to Japanese
food tradition that it must be consumed. It really makes no difference whether or
not we eat whale. In that sense, whale is no longer really central to Japanese
food culture.
Posted
By Worldmeets.US
Since
times have changed, it cannot be helped that we will no longer be able to eat
whale meat.
Some
ryotei
(high-end Japanese restaurants) serve whale cuisine, but they are rarely more
than peculiar delicacies - not an integral part of our food culture.
While
we called it "scientific whaling," Japan
was actually consuming whale meat under the pretext of research, so it is only
right that it halt the slaughter of hundreds of whales.
Speaking
of signs of the times, the younger generation in particular is eating less
rice. Rice has been held up as the embodiment of Japanese food culture, but
food culture changes fluidly as time passes. There may come a time when rice,
too, is no longer a part of our food culture, and if that is the case, there is
no point in trying to argue against it.
Yet
we still need to protect rice cultivation. From the perspective of food safety
and self-sufficiency, there is no way to replace it, as our climate is well
suited to rice cultivation. This is a completely different situation from
whaling.
When
we consider solutions to the global food shortage brought on by rapid
population growth, whale meat may come to be considered just another
ingredient. Even so, that is a separate issue from whether it is part of food
culture.
