Survival of the fittest
What is the point of not letting the Japanese hunt whales? Japan is the world's largest consumer of whale meat (Shimbuu 1). As you might already be able to tell, I am not a big whale activist. If these whales were an endangered species, I would feel they had a right to be protected. These whales which are being hunted are not endangered, though, and I feel they are fair game. This paper will cover many topics that support Japanese whaling, such as their economy, culture, and history as well as the health issue of whaling. Also, it will touch upon the International Whaling Commission and the struggle between the United States and Japan. A goal of this paper is to open your mind to the Japanese stance on the issue of whaling and gain a better understanding of how this moratorium is affecting them. In 1982, the International Whaling Commission adopted the whaling moratorium, which ended all commercial whaling (Abe 1). The Japanese persisted to hunt whales until about 1988. That is when they started hunting whales for "research" purposes due to a loophole in the I.W.C. document that allowed limited whaling of this type (Elder 52). The research programs were funded in a process where they would catch
Whales have been a big part of the Japanese culture for a long time. Whale meat was recorded on menus from 1000 years ago (Abe 1). Whaling first began in Japan in the 2nd century BC, and has remained a huge industry for them until this moratorium took effect (Abe 1). While other countries began whaling but since have ceased the practice, the Japanese whaling industry held strong throughout this entire period of time. An example of this is the U.S., who stopped whaling in the 1940s and soon after became an activist against the practice (Abe 1). the whales, conduct research on them, then sell the whale meat throughout the country. The I.W.C. document said that there would be a revision of the moratorium no later than 1990. This never occurred. Finally, within the past five years some things began to change. Whales not previously impacted by harvesting can be hunted and the initial annual catch rate would be set at about 0.5% of the estimated current numbers in the wild (Misaki 2). Some activists of this clause state that if they allow whaling, the Japanese will be able to lie about the numbers of whales they caught by not reporting all of the catches. The I.W.C. would enforce the limit by placing inspectors on board the few factory vessels, which will operate (Misaki 2). Then in 1994, the I.W.C. adopted the southern ocean whale sanctuary that included most of the region below the 40-degree South parallel (Abe 2). This calmed the activists because most of the whaling occurs in this area. "A Taste of Japan" is an article written by Donald Richie that compares and contrasts the attitudes towards food held by the Japanese and the rest of the world. In his article, he talks about the difference in the types of utensils they use depending on the season they are in. He also talks a lot about how they value the texture of the food just as much or more then the taste of the food. Putting all of this together helped him to come up with the conclusion that Japanese cuisine is unique in its attitude toward food (Richie 68). If you have ever eaten at a Japanese restaurant, as I have, this is greatly illustrated. Japanese food is not the greatest tasting food in the world but in an economy dominated by fast-food restaurants and Americanized food, the J
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1534
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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