Posted on 09/04/2010 6:37:58 PM PDT by Ronin
WAKAYAMA (Kyodo) Whale meat has been slowly put back on school lunch menus since around 2005, according to a recent survey released Saturday, as the meat is being made available at low prices in a bid to expand consumption.
Of about 29,600 public elementary and junior high schools nationwide offering lunches for students, 5,355 schools, or 18 percent, responded they had served whale meat in their lunches at least once in fiscal 2009 through March 2010, according to the survey conducted from June to August this year.
The Institute of Cetacean Research, which carries out the government's whaling, provided whale meat to local municipalities for school lunches at one-third of the market price, which was ¥2,060 per kg in 2009.
Japan, which aims to resume commercial whaling, is hoping to increase consumption of whale meat as meat stocks of whales captured by the institute have piled up to around 4,000 tons.
The annual amount of meat supplied domestically peaked at around 220,000 tons in 1962, but plunged sharply to around 1,000 tons in the 1990s after an international moratorium on commercial whaling was introduced in the 1980s.
As a result, whale meat, which often appeared in school lunches in the 1970s, disappeared from menus.
In 2005, Japan increased the whale catch to 1,200 from 750 citing a rise in the populations of the species it hunts, pushing up the supply amount to 5,487 tons in 2006 and driving down the price to half the peak level. However, consumption remained sluggish.
Against this backdrop, the institute and the Fisheries Agency have promoted the sale of whale meat to schools and medical institutions for their lunches at a bargain price.
Japan ceased commercial whaling in 1987, but continues its annual culling of whales under the guise of scientific research. Consequently, the meat is now marketed as a "byproduct" of whaling and the proceeds are used to cover the government's expenses. Taxpayers' money is also spent to cover shortfalls.
But antiwhaling countries and organizations have rapped Japan's hunting of whales for what it claims as research as a disguised form of commercial whaling.
"It is obvious that (Japan) continues whaling despite there being little demand," said Jun Hoshikawa, executive director of Greenpeace Japan, adding that the government is likely targeting schools because the general public is not buying whale meat.
Wakayama and Nagasaki prefectures, known for their whaling tradition, say they serve whale meat at local schools so their children can learn about the traditional food culture.
Forcing this stuff on the kids is really a low blow, but then, school lunches have never been known for their appetizing nature.
Forcing this stuff on the kids is really a low blow, but then, school lunches have never been known for their appetizing nature.
Hmmmm..... So all these years later I finally find out what exactly is “Mystery Meat”......LOL
Personally I don’t like either sides on this. The Japanese piss me off because they are trying to lie to the world they are only killing whales for scientific research, this is bullsh1t. Why are they so special they get to ignore the moratorium? At the same time I dislike the greenpiece idiots. Personally I’d like to stick all the whalers and the greenpiece econuts into thunderdome and when there’s one left, it’s over.
Didn’t you know? The Japanese only do whaling for “scientific purposes”.
What’s more ethical:
Killing 1000 chickens to feed 2000 people
or killing one whale to feed 2000 people?
“Japan’s whaling always causes me mixed emotions. I deplore the Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd tactics, but its obvious that there is really very little market for whale meat and the entire industry is only kept alive by massive government subsidies in various forms.”
That pretty much nails it for me, too. I consider Sea Shepherd in particular to be a bunch of eco-pirates. At the same time, there seems to be little economic reason for the whale meat industry in most markets.
Why don’t they obey the law?
I have to agree with you here. I remember an article about this that was posted to Freep recently. The author was a total greenie-teeny-weeny who couldn’t sound journalistically objective if he tried but the comments for the original article were full of people who either were Japanese or had spent time there and the consensus from those who should know was that almost nobody in Japan nowadays willingly eats the stuff.
THAT is why it shows up in school lunches, hospitals, nut-huts and prisons. The Minke whales that are killed for the aforementioned “research” are not endangered but there is still no actual market for the meat and this is all being kept alive as another of Japan’s many taxpayer-funded makework projects.
Similar things were said in that forum about Iceland and Norway’s programs. Once upon a time, certain seaside-dwelling peoples ate whale meat and convinced themselves it was a delicacy because it was that or nothing. Well, times have changed and so have tastes.
The end.
Because they are a sovereign nation. And they don't have to. And the UN doesn't have any military of it's own. And even if they did, it wouldn't be worth it to force a show down.
Pretty much my stand on stupid laws here in the CONUS. Legitimate and constitutional laws should, of course, be obeyed.
/johnny
What's more, oddly enough, I consider the Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd tactics to be counterproductive in the extreme because if there is one characteristic of the Japanese psyche that is very familiar to Americans in general it is the stubborn contrariness that manifests itself when told by outsiders that they must do something.
Thirty years ago, whaling was already dying out in Japan. Consumption was down because, quite frankly, the stuff tastes bad and nobody will eat it if there is beef, pork or chicken available. It's oily, it's tough, it stinks like bad fish AND it's expensive. If you want a basic idea of what whale meat is like, go out and find the worst cut of beef you can, fry it in cod liver oil and eat it. It may not be exactly the same, but it's close.
But then Greenpeace got started with its antics and then suddenly patriotic Japanese who had never liked the stuff when served it in school and probably had never even seen it in a supermarket suddenly started looking for it. What's more, politicians who wanted a feel good issue to win them inexpensive votes piled on with talk about foreign interference in Japan's domestic affairs and the need to preserve traditional Japanese "food culture".
Which brings us up to now. The Japanese government has poured massive subsidies into the industries, money that has naturally attracted the attention of some very talented people, and an entire new generation of whale consumers is being meticulously groomed.
Had Greenpeace kept silent 30 years ago, it is very likely that the last generation of whalers would have died out quietly and peacefully, and the only remnants of the industry would be found in dusty museums or nostalgic karaoke songs.
How about pitting 1000 chickens against a whale and eating the loser? That way it’s just nature taking it’s course.
The chickens. They are farmed and only exist to be food. They are not a finite resource being depleted.
Because Japan is a sovereign nation that can do what they want while the United Nations is a worthless sham organization.
Eco answer: Kill 1000 people to feed one whale.
BFL
I don´t eat mammals, RESEARCH or otherwise.
I can second that. My bro lives in Japan and laughs at instances where people freak out about ‘whale food’. The demand is miniscule because it sucks. It’s only around because it’s “old school” and it’s what the septugenarians remember.
I prefer a side of mammal w/my veggies.
The chickens. Government subsidies are immoral.
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