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Dwindling Food for Thought
As nations around the world continue to destroy entire species, woe betide the animals that become a delicacy
Fish don't vote. Neither do tigers, polar bears, sharks, elephants or any other endangered animals whose plight was addressed at the UN meeting on endangered species in Doha.
Because wildlife has no political clout, nations around the world continue to destroy entire species until none are left. So much for enlightened humanity at work in the 21st century.
An admirable effort by the United States to protect the gravely overfished Pacific bluefin tuna, the supreme sushi or sashimi delicacy, was voted down by the conferees after intense lobbying from Japan.
Another laudable effort by the United States to protect polar bears by banning their hunting was also defeated -thanks in good part to Canada and Greenland. The U.S. warns that melting sea ice caused by global warming threatens the already endangered bears.
Canadians like to think of themselves as a humane, enlightened nation and good global citizens.
But abroad, Canada is increasingly viewed as a backwards, brutish country because of its stalwart defence of slaughtering baby seals, trapping fur animals, encouraging the hunting of black and grizzly bears, and now blocking a ban on hunting polar bears.
Canadian conservatives share the bizarre notion with their Republican soulmates that massacring helpless, defenceless animals with high-powered weapons is somehow manly and patriotic. It's not. It's cowardly, uncivilized and shameful in our day and age. Trophy hunting and killing bears for body parts for bogus Chinese remedies should be banned.
Most nations abuse animals, but China, which I enormously admire in other ways, unfortunately remains a major malefactor.
Last week came reports that 11 rare Siberian tigers had starved to death in a commercial Chinese zoo. Tiger paws are served at nouveau-riche Chinese banquets. Dog and cat meat is routinely offered in restaurants in China, Korea and Taiwan.
Japan and China have long opposed efforts to end the ivory trade. Their continued covert importing of ivory threatens the already fast-dwindling number of African elephants. The same holds true for Africa's horned rhinos. Both magnificent creatures are being massacred for knickknacks.
China and Japan are fighting efforts to protect the dwindling number of sharks, dolphins and whales. Only one shark species was afforded protection at Doha.
Shark fins make delicious soup and are a staple of Chinese weddings. I love shark's fin soup, but boycott it, as I do fois gras and veal.
Sharks seem doomed, just as the once seemingly limitless North Sea cod, Dover sole and caviar-producing Caspian sturgeon. Woe betide the species that becomes a delicacy, or a supposedly low-calorie meal, like sushi.
Nations with important fishing fleets, like Japan, China, France, Spain, Poland and Russia, strongly oppose protecting maritime species.
Even the European Union, the world's leader in defending animal rights, has failed to curb its rapacious fishermen, who thwart all efforts to lessen their depredations by violent strikes and blockades.
These marauders will continue to fish until no fish are left. Then they will demand government compensation for their stupidity and greed.
Factory fishing ships with advanced electronics once used to hunt submarines are literally hoovering up large tracts of the world's oceans and raping coastlines of unstable or war-torn nations unable to protect their littoral waters.
The last time I went skin-diving in the Mediterranean, I was horrified to see not a single fish over finger size. It was an underwater desert.
Politicians are unlikely to say no to hunters or fishermen in all but a few enlightened countries.
It's up to consumers who care about the planet's living creatures and environment to make their power felt by avoiding products from nations that are notorious abusers of animal and maritime life. The EU has already begun boycotting certain Canadian goods because of its loathsome seal hunt.
It is edifying to see the United States junking the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney medieval delight in slaughtering animals for fun and mowing down entire forests.
At least here, the Obama administration is beginning to make a real difference.
24 Comments so far
Show AllIt's "nice" that the US does not rank at the bottom of the list in so far as protecting endangered species goes, but it is not quite accurate either. First, there is the US Navy regularly blasting sonic waves into the water and disrupting whale hearing and communication. Then there is the US culture of overconsumption, waste, and continued air pollution that is related directly to the destruction of coral reefs and other ocean habitats. And it is true that we decry the destruction of the polar bear, but at the same time we have converted our plains to a vast corn and soybean field, forgetting that it used to be a glorious prairie with millions of bison, antelope, wolves and other predators. Is that why we weep for the Siberian tigers? Because of what we have lost?
"It is edifying to see the United States junking the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney medieval delight in slaughtering animals ..."
Tell that to the "human animals" on the receiving end of all the recently enlightened U.S. beneficence. If only they were all as cute as baby seals. Of course, that's no guanantee either. Some of the human child victims are quite cute -- or were before they got incinerated.
"But abroad, Canada is increasingly viewed as a backwards, brutish country because of its stalwart defence of slaughtering baby seals, trapping fur animals, encouraging the hunting of black and grizzly bears, and now blocking a ban on hunting polar bears."
It is viewed that way because it is.
"Dog and cat meat is routinely offered in restaurants in China, Korea and Taiwan."
Why is dog and cat meat not acceptable, but (industrially farmed) cows, pigs, chickens, etc acceptable?
"Shark fins make delicious soup and are a staple of Chinese weddings"
Unfortunately it is MUCH worse than that. Shark's fin soup is a staple of Chinese banquets, of any posh / formal Chinese dinner, whether to celebrate weddings, birthdays, the Chinese New Year, or whatever. As people of Chinese descent, whether in China or not, have gotten (much) richer, shark's fin soup has become a distressingly common food.
"I love shark's fin soup, but boycott it, as I do fois gras and veal."
Why only boycott shark's fin soup, foie gras, veal? As you point out in your article the problems go far beyond just shark's fin, foie gras, and veal.
"These marauders will continue to fish until no fish are left. Then they will demand government compensation for their stupidity and greed."
Exactly. The fishermen will fish till everything is gone, decimating species after species, and then when there is nothing left, they will whine and moan about how unfair society is to them, and how society needs to bail them out. You only have to look at what happened when they basically wiped out cod populations.
Go vegan! not only will you NOT support the destruction of entire species of animals but you'll also contribute to the fight against global warming.....
the 2 top things you can personally do to fight global warming is
1.GO VEGAN!
2. don't have any children!
>>Exactly. The fishermen will fish till everything is gone, decimating species after species, and then when there is nothing left, they will whine and moan about how unfair society is to them, and how society needs to bail them out. You only have to look at what happened when they basically wiped out cod populations
It was actually the onset of Corporate fishing that led to the decline of the Cod. Had traditional practices been followed, there would be no problem. By traditional I mean small boats with nets as was done in the 20's and 30's.
I would point out that the Natives here on Canadas West Coast fished for thousands of thousands of years with no appreciable impact on fish stocks.
Once those huge trawlers with massive bottom dragging nets, and sonar to find the fish shoals and the like came on board, it was game over for the cod.
To the Seal Hunt. Yes it brutal and should end but I think we have to look at other ways of ending it. The number that praticipate in such is small and their incomes are quite low. They see the seal Hunt as a way to supplement incomes.
Now the VALUE of the seal hunt in total dollars is not a heck of a lot in the greater scheme of things. Indeed Paul Macartney (opposed to the hunt) could easily pay DOUBLE this amount out of pocket each and every year to the sealers and not even break a sweat.
The Total value of the hunt is some 16 million a year.
Why not pay them not to hunt?
Plenty of endangered species that we need to protect are not cute or warm or fuzzy. They are the plants of our forests and all the organisms that live in our forest soils.
Building policy in the US disregards non-human life in that resources such as our forests are regarded as dispensable. Native plants and soils are among our most threatened resources.
Communities have to get hard to work in protecting them.
Canadian conservatives along with their southern soulmates, the Neo-con Americans, not only "share the bizarre notion that massacring helpless, defenseless animals with high powered weapons is somehow manly and patriotic", but these psychotic humans also believe the same thing about murdering innocent women and children in the so called 'war on terror'!!
I expect that within a generations time there will be little Hunters left outside the Aboriginals and a small handul of others. The Number of people who go "Hunting" in Canada is somewhat less then 10 percent and dropping.
Indeed Fish and wildlife services across the country try and encourage more young people to hunt. The Bulk of hunters came from Rural populations.
Which is sort of ironic as it the Cities that demand the resources from the Country over that destroys habitat THE single largest cause of population decline in wildlife.
I think we ought to worry more about habitat destruction then the handful of hunters that are left when it comes to our wildlife.
Exactly Gw.
let's remember that the Obama admin is right now debating internally whether or not to continue the commercial whaling ban that has been in place for many many years.....
Why the debate?
can't we simply - for once - just do the right thing?
I know stupid question!
and when these fishing stocks completely disappear we'll really see starvation on an even more massive level worldwide.....
but hey - then monsanto will come to the rescue!
"It is edifying to see the United States junking the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney medieval delight... mowing down entire forests."
Entire mountaintops...that's another story.
God help us! Someone said something nice about America and pointed out flaws in another country. Stone the sucker!!
How dare he depart from the mantra that all evil flows from America, that if she does one bad thing, its more reprehensible than another country that does three bad things.
What a mindset.
True enough. The ill will is widespread and pervasive and not always entirely fair. But who's the most blameworthy for that?
It's probably just as well that he didn't say anything good about Israel.
What? I'm mistaken about the mountaintops?
Look at it this way. If a crime syndicate came into your town and took over all the public functions, extorted money from the public, used the laws or ignored them for its own benefit, devastated your community and environment, sold guns to gangs all over the world, bought and sold your legal representatives...would you have nothing to say when an article mentioned how good they were to their dogs or how they let the public have picnics on the lawns of their estates?
What you term a mindset is a relentless effort to bring justice into the discussions. A mindset...probably, but a mindset with a purpose.
Sorry things are so bad...yes, really sorry.
Fish don't vote. Neither do tigers, polar bears, sharks, elephants or any other endangered animals
If they could, they'd get rid of us quickly, lickety split.
Tilikum voted!
lol !!
The oceans really are in a mess (for a detailed and professional update check out Brave New Ocean at youtube).
Maybe consider going local in your community, getting together with others and seeing about local food sufficiency. It's happening all over. You can help create the good news as well as be a consumer of the bad.
RadicalRelocalization.com
One other thing that I forgot to say.
Shark's fin soup might be delicious, but the deliciousness of it doesn't come from the shark's fin. Shark's fin is tasteless. The deliciousness comes from the other elements of the soup. That is the freaking tragedy about the consumption of shark's fin soup in Chinese culinary culture. Entire species of sharks are being wiped out simply for the sake of tradition and vanity.
"Entire species of sharks are being wiped out simply for the sake of tradition and vanity."
There are many foods that people do and don't like solely because of the texture. Perhaps sharks fin is a texture thing for it does change the texture of the soup and the texture enhances the flavors. For many years, I haven't bought or ordered sharks fin soup, and I have urged others not to as well, but I do like it. I gave this topic as a class assignment once along with another despicable act that really doesn't have any valid reason to be allowed, that of wearing fur. I like to think that my students learned enough that they themselves will never order sharks fin or wear fur or at least not without feeling guilty about it.
Coral Reef Extinction Could Cripple Nations' Economies
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/26/coral-reef-extinction-cou_n_514742.html
I am sure some or many might disagree, but I believe that our starting point must be that EVERYTHING is sacred, and only then will we begin to understand our place in the universe.
Time to eat 'Soylent Green' while watching 'Rollerball', waiting for the celebration of Carousel.