Whale of a time

An odd part of our recent visit by a Norwegian and Japanese was talking about whaling. I’m sure you know that both Norway and Japan are commercially whaling* despite the International Whaling Commission banning it for 40 years.

I’m nor entirely sure how the topic came up, but we frequently tease my sister-in-law (also Japanese) about having tried whale once, so it might have come up in the same sort of manner. I know that the Japanese claim that whale is a traditional food is a crock of s**t – they never had the boats to effectively go deep sea whaling until the 1900’s, and even then, didn’t really resort to it until many people were starving after WW2. Otherwise, some coastal villages used to eat whale from time to time, but only if one washed up on shore.

It is more that some of the baby boomers now in power in Japan sentimentally remember whale saving them from hunger in their childhood, combined with Japan’s lack of land and ability to produce only 55% of the country’s caloric needs, which is driving some of the society to fight for continued commercial whaling. A parallel story is that my Auntie’s husband, who grew up in Germany and migrated soon after the war, won’t eat stuff he was forced to eat during the war (turnips, pumpkins etc) and dismisses it as pig feed. Not endangered animals, I know, but funny that the opposite mindset can exist when it comes to facing things that you were forced to eat things during times of hardship. I don’t understand the history behind Norway utilising whale and eating whale meat, but find it hard to believe it’s that important to their culture.

So here we were in our lounge room with our guests calmly and dispassionately discussing the taste of whale meat as others would carrots or beans. They asked if there was any whaling going on in Australia, and said no, it’s been banned here for several decades due to whales being endangered species.

I know that a lot of people are ignorant about ecological issues – they don’t have to study biological sciences or geography beyond year 10 at school, and never really care enough about species being endangered to look into it. It seems our guests had been sheltered from this issue in their lives in Norway or Japan. This couple who stayed with us are religious – I’m talking being a Lutheran minister religious. The bible doesn’t strictly cover environmentalism, and this is one of the things that I find doesn’t sit well with me and Christianity. Christianity preaches looking out for the common good, treating others as you would yourself etc etc, and in my mind, a large part of looking out for the common good is ensuring there is enough for everyone to live without poverty and preventing greed from taking from those in need INCLUDING future generations. Bizarre in my mind that sustainability and christianity don't very often go hand in hand. But then I don't mix much in religious circles so how would i know?

*or “catching them for scientific research” or whatever they call it