Thanks for posting Dazzler, anything to to highlight mankinds continued abuse of the planet we live on and the other animals we share it with. It baffles me how we can continue to be so arrogant to ride roughshod over everything around us. I've been vegetarian for 15years and would recommend it to anyone. Even if you carnivores can't stand the thought of that then go meat free one day a week, show a bit of compassion.
I'm sorry but I have no problem with eating meat but shark fin soup is just a broth then the shark fin is cooked til it gets a Gelatinous texture, it has no flavour as reported by many food critics. Apparently it'd taste better to tear bread into it. Anyway most meat products are bred and farmed yet in the time of that video 850 sharks have been killed without being replaced. The numbers are damning.
Fell in love with it on an introductory dive in September, when you see how amazing it is underwater in corals etc, the whole world changes. No that's not right, it doesn't change, you just realise there is a whole world people rarely think of to explore!
I'm sorry but I have no problem with eating meat but shark fin soup is just a broth then the shark fin is cooked til it gets a Gelatinous texture, it has no flavour as reported by many food critics. Apparently it'd taste better to tear bread into it. Anyway most meat products are bred and farmed yet in the time of that video 850 sharks have been killed without being replaced. The numbers are damning.
How many tuna were killed in the same time? Or Cod? Or whales?
I get the point you make and am all for it, but you seem to be basing your objection to the fact that shark fin soup doesn't taste very nice.
I wouldn't know because I've never eaten it. But then I've never eaten tuna either. However, I reckon most of us would've had a bit of whale, in one guise or another.
Seen it quite a few times over here, even had it served with some locals I ate with refused to eat it, as did some of the Chinese people, many people here dislike the practice.
What I think worse is the dog meat festival (cancelled this year) held in Jinhua. Here BBQ'in a dog live is somewhat of a speciality.
Here's a link explaining why it has been cancelled.
WARNING: Do NOT open this link if you are a sensitive person and, or, love dogs, there are some VERY disturbing pictures.
Off it my point wasnt about the taste so much, however it was popped in their to add to the point that there really is no reason to kill them!
My main point is to do with the fact a predator is being taken out of the food chain in the millions, there are less sharks out there than people realise, this will have an adverse effect on the whole food chain. It is not good.
Stu that is just plain wrong, poor animals being cooked alive!
It is a morally confusing matter for me, I eat meat but then say it is wrong to eat dog! Is this because I see how beautiful and loyal of a creature they are?
I honestly thought dog meat was now limited to Vietnam and Burma, I'm so disappointed to hear a country I have always respected still eats them!
Shark Fin soups smells vomitous. I never ate it in my time living in HK tho i was offered it many times. No thanks. And one colleague I worked with couldnt see the harm in it... he actually said "what is the problem, they just take the fin off and throw back into the sea".
These videos are important because we don't see what is under the surface and what is being destroyed by many different destructive fishing practices. But there will always be meat eaters and encouraging vegetarianism as a solution is pie in the sky.
Shark finning is a disgrace because of it's effect on shark stocks and the cruelty employed, only political intervention will make a difference unless those eating the product can be targeted and dissuaded.
But it's not cruelty which is the main problem, it's the sheer overfishing and industrial scale of operation with no regard for the destruction to the sea bed and it's natural habitat essential for successful fish breeding.
I avoid tuna, cod and scallops purely because I am concerned about sustainability and the environment. My wife and daughters are vegetarian, only one doesn't eat fish, the other two eat tuna all the time. I am a fisherman and seem to take more of an interest in what is damaging our ocean environment than others in my family who would profess to have compassion for animals but have little connection with nature.
Meat eaters and vegetarians must be on the same side when it comes to protecting our environment and the wildlife it supports. I am sad to say, apart from too few noble exceptions, the enemy is the fishing industry and the selfish greed of the vast majority of commercial fisherman.
On dog meat, having three dogs, my culture prevents me even thinking about it, but philosophically there is no difference between eating dog and pig, if both are treated and are dispatched humanely.
And one colleague I worked with couldnt see the harm in it... he actually said "what is the problem, they just take the fin off and throw back into the sea".
And without the fin, you can't see the buggers coming.................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5HXyOgz2YA
Comments
I've been vegetarian for 15years and would recommend it to anyone. Even if you carnivores can't stand the thought of that then go meat free one day a week, show a bit of compassion.
Anyway most meat products are bred and farmed yet in the time of that video 850 sharks have been killed without being replaced. The numbers are damning.
I can't wait to get my PADI to 30 meters.
I get the point you make and am all for it, but you seem to be basing your objection to the fact that shark fin soup doesn't taste very nice.
I wouldn't know because I've never eaten it. But then I've never eaten tuna either. However, I reckon most of us would've had a bit of whale, in one guise or another.
What I think worse is the dog meat festival (cancelled this year) held in Jinhua. Here BBQ'in a dog live is somewhat of a speciality.
Here's a link explaining why it has been cancelled.
WARNING: Do NOT open this link if you are a sensitive person and, or, love dogs, there are some VERY disturbing pictures.
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/pictures/jinhua-dog-meat-festival-cancelled-after-chinese-public-opposition.html
My main point is to do with the fact a predator is being taken out of the food chain in the millions, there are less sharks out there than people realise, this will have an adverse effect on the whole food chain. It is not good.
It is a morally confusing matter for me, I eat meat but then say it is wrong to eat dog! Is this because I see how beautiful and loyal of a creature they are?
I honestly thought dog meat was now limited to Vietnam and Burma, I'm so disappointed to hear a country I have always respected still eats them!
Maybe the way of the vegetarian is more sensible!
Down in Guandong(sp) they eat far, far worse. Including babies, which is just plain crazy.
I tried some brains the other day, pretty tasty stuff if I'm honest.
Shark finning is a disgrace because of it's effect on shark stocks and the cruelty employed, only political intervention will make a difference unless those eating the product can be targeted and dissuaded.
But it's not cruelty which is the main problem, it's the sheer overfishing and industrial scale of operation with no regard for the destruction to the sea bed and it's natural habitat essential for successful fish breeding.
I avoid tuna, cod and scallops purely because I am concerned about sustainability and the environment. My wife and daughters are vegetarian, only one doesn't eat fish, the other two eat tuna all the time. I am a fisherman and seem to take more of an interest in what is damaging our ocean environment than others in my family who would profess to have compassion for animals but have little connection with nature.
Meat eaters and vegetarians must be on the same side when it comes to protecting our environment and the wildlife it supports. I am sad to say, apart from too few noble exceptions, the enemy is the fishing industry and the selfish greed of the vast majority of commercial fisherman.
On dog meat, having three dogs, my culture prevents me even thinking about it, but philosophically there is no difference between eating dog and pig, if both are treated and are dispatched humanely.