The Japanese have clearly ignored the threat of an alien probe showing up 200 years from now and sucking away the oceans looking for the missing whales.
95% of Japanese rarely or never eat whale.
for good reason; i tried it in japan, its pretty gamey and tough.
Japanese eat between 4000 and 5000 tons annually, only one ounce per person per YEAR on average, and the country throws away 3500 to 4000 tons per year, about 40%.of all harvested whale meat
I remember on QI, Jeremy Clarkson said he ordered whale in a restaurant in Iceland and they asked him if he wanted grated puffin on it.
My japanese partner says most people have tried it once or twice but don’t eat it regularly
I think it was often in school lunches through the early post-war period but was replaced by other things so some boomer era folks are it a lot growing up.
They sell it at my supermarket in northern Japan. I’ve had it at a restaurant I think twice and it was ok; nothing to write home about but I didn’t find it gamey or anything.
Why buy it and directly support such a devastating industry?
First, as I stated in another reply, I’ve never directly/intentionally purchased it. The times I ate it, it was as a part of some set meal that I got. I ate it rather than let it just be thrown away.
Second, as long as they’re not hunting threatened/endangered species, I don’t know that there is an argument to be made by someone who already eats animal products.
“nothing to write home about” is very accurate for how I felt after eating whale meat, too.
It’s so funny to me when people are like ‘oh yeah I participated in and helped fund this disgusting thing, it’s wasn’t that great so I did it again…’
Most people seem to have no personal morality or shame, it’s so weird.
I never specifically ordered whale. In Japan, there are places you go and get whatever set menu is being served that day. I did, it contained whale, and either I ate it or it went in the trash. As such, I ate it.
How about…. No.
Associated Press - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)
Information for Associated Press:
MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: High - Factual Reporting: High - United States of America
Wikipedia about this sourceSearch topics on Ground.News
https://apnews.com/article/japan-commercial-whaling-fin-whale-7d9aba49ed69f241204df8a05f720205
anyone up for some actual high seas piracy?
Sea Shepard time?
What the fuck is up with the Japanese and whaling? Do they eat that much whale meat? Or what?
It’s not the most popular but it is eaten. My local supermarket sells it.
I think that it’s been a thing for a while. Japan’s an island nation, and harvesting sea life has been important. Probably some people who want it just for tradition.
kagis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_whaling
The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki, the oldest Japanese historical book, which was written in the 7th century CE. This book describes whale meat being eaten by Emperor Jimmu. In Man’yōshū, an anthology of poems from the 8th century CE, the word “Whaling” (いさなとり) was frequently used in depicting the ocean or beaches.
One of the first records of whaling using harpoons is from the 1570s at Morosaki, a bay attached to Ise Bay. This method of whaling spread to Kii (before 1606), Shikoku (1624), northern Kyushu (1630s), and Nagato (around 1672).
Kakuemon Wada, later known as Kakuemon Taiji, was said to have invented net whaling sometime between 1675 and 1677. This method soon spread to Shikoku (1681) and northern Kyushu (1684)
Using the techniques developed by Taiji, the Japanese mainly hunted four species of whale: the North Pacific right, the humpback, the fin, and the gray whale. They also caught the occasional blue, sperm, or sei/Bryde’s whale .
In 1853, the US naval officer Matthew Perry forced Japan to open up to foreign trade. One purpose of his mission was to gain access to ports for the American whaling fleet in the north-west Pacific Ocean. Japan’s traditional whaling was eventually replaced in the late 19th century and early 20th century with modern methods.
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/big-fish-history-whaling/
People have been whaling for thousands of years. Norwegians were among the first to hunt whales, as early as 4,000 years ago. The Japanese may have been doing so even earlier.
It’s often (but not always) available at supermarkets, but it’s not commonly eaten. Hopefully the tradition will die off with the older generations.
Isn’t whale really unpopular cheap trash meat in Japan?
They added whale meat to vending machines last year to boost consumption. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/24/asia/japan-whale-meat-vending-machine-intl-hnk/index.html
With some things the Japanese just have the worst fucking ideas. How have they still not understood that overfishing is a problem?
Great idea Japan. Artificially trying to fuel consumption of a product you KNOW is controversial and unpopular instead of just… stopping
The whale in the picture is at the natural history museum in Ueno. It’s a really nice place to visit if you’re ever in Tokyo and you can see taxidermied Hachiko ( ⚈̥̥̥̥̥́⌢⚈̥̥̥̥̥̀)
Those savages
Anyway, who’s up for eating a bucket with the wings of 30 chickens that were killed in the same box they were born in
I’m up for it but only if it’s a threatened species of wild chicken
Ah so it’s not the cruelty that you have a problem with, got it
I don’t eat meat, but I really don’t understand how people like you expect to insult people into not eating meat.
Have you ever been insulted into doing something other people want you to do? I sure haven’t.
You can eat meat, just don’t be a hypocrite about it and pretend you’re better than other people eating meat because your meat lives in pain neck deep in their own shit before you kill it
Sounds like you don’t care about animal cruelty either, in that case. As long as you aren’t participating in it.
Seems to me like trying to convince other people not to do it rather than insulting them might be a better use of your time.
You’re right, it’s my fault people are doing things I have no control over. Since I don’t like your tone, you have convinced me to try some delicious whale meat, that was very unproductive of you.
Plenty of others have put a lot of effort into convincing people to stop eating meat with a decent amount of success. Do you have some sort of condition preventing you from doing the same? I doubt it.
Again, it seems to me like you have no issues with animal cruelty, just hypocrisy.
