An Oscar Worthy Topic

The other night the short film,The Cove won an Oscar. The film makers showed the world the graphic killing of dolphins every year. Now they have another equally important campaign. - to stop the world from eating whale meat. Sadly enough the brave, gentle creatures are winding up on sushi plates in the US, specifically in California. Luckily the film maker was in on a recent sting to stop this.
Eating whale meat is nothing new. It’s big in Japan where seafood is accorded the same kind of respect we have for chicken and beef. The Cove showed how the dolphins are slaughtered and their meat resold. Even though the meat is high in mercury it; still being sold and sometimes as “clean whale meat”. Whale meat is hitting the sushi bars here, mostly in California. It’s a high ticket item , usually going for $60 bucks a plate. Despite the glam aura attached to it, it’s still wrong.
Despite all the laws that protect sea mammals, there are still countries who go after them , such as Norway and Iceland. Whale blubber is still eaten by the indigenous Canadian and Alaskan tribes. It’s hard to break culinary traditions however: it would be like telling the Germans that they can’t eat pork or the English not to eat their beloved beef. Yet unlike pigs and cattle, whales are not bred for food. Killing and eating them ranks up there with the Chinese killing tigers and turning the big cats into yummy meals.
I don’t; know what to advocate here. I’m a meat eater but also an animal rights activist. One part of me says that this is wrong. Yet I think nothing of eating anything with everyday meats. However, maybe if we can stop the slaughter of dolphins and whales we can turn to saving other animals as well. Maybe it’s time to rethink what we all eat.