Japan and China Meat Crusine Poll

[mdjudson]

Do they have farms of these animals? Do they breed them for this specific purpose? If they are catching dolphins out of the ocean...shouldnt we all get a vote on that, cause if they hunt them to extinction wouldnt that affect us all? Yes we eat cows, pigs, Chickens...but we breed them for that purpose...We have a ready supply of these animals for consumption. They regulate human breeding in China...not all that much freedom if you ask me

What about lobster, or Tuna?

[PYMOM]

What about lobster, or Tuna?

thats true..I didnt think about that...and crabs. But on the other hand they are not as cute as dolphins. lol We humans tend to throw a lot of stones and dont care if we live in glass houses.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I've no problem with them eating dogs and cats, but dolphins--well, I think there needs to be a bit more thought, there. For one thing, dolphins are so contaminated with mercury, one bite will make you stupid.
I think if eating an animal is sustainable, then chow down. If it's not, then leave it alone.

[Danounet]

I think its funny how some Americans feel that they are somehow better than people from other countries and should be able to dictate they way that they live / eat.

This is very sad, but very true. This is why some people from other countries really hate Americans.

I mean think about it in this thread for example... Do we eat cats and dogs? No. Do we put down Cats and Dogs down? ALL THE TIME!!! At least those people are doing something with good with that meat. What do we do with them? Burn it or bury it.

Do we think it's gross that they eat cats and dogs? yes. Does that give you the right to tell them what to eat or not. HELL NO!!... Another example... Im not American by birth, I think Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are F'ing DISGUSTING!!! Does that give me right to go around the country telling Americans they cant BPJs? No, Americans would say Im out of my mind...

Also the argument comparing killing of animals for food to toxic waste and nuclear weapons is hilarious. That is like comparing someone poking you with a stick to someone that shot you with a gun. They are not even close...

[mr. s]

Also the argument comparing killing of animals for food to toxic waste and nuclear weapons is hilarious. That is like comparing someone poking you with a stick to someone that shot you with a gun. They are not even close...

I appreciate your comments on imposing culture on others being wrong, as everyone has really agreed upon in this thread.

As far as the comparison with fishing for food vs nuclear destruction, yes that would be a little on the extreme side, I think anyone can see that. On the other hand, the comparison I think that does make sense, is between two things which have the potential to hurt life in general on a global scale. That topic is something that most people would probably stand up for, protecting human life, although the question is then raised, what could cause a threat to life? Well, nukes could do it in a second or two, and other things take more time. I may stand alone on this, but I think that the degradation of nature is not only a terrible shame but will catch up with us when we don't expect it. As I said before, I am really not an environmental activist, but I DO NOT believe that humans are in a little bubble which operates under its own rules. We are part of something larger which could seriously hurt us if we are unaware.

On a separate note, (not directed at you, Danio), I would say that many people are not interested in investing time into researching topics such as these, but they still have steadfast opinions on how things should be addressed. Would anyone agree?

[wolfy-hound]

People should also remember that not all dolphins are endangered either. There's massive populations of several species of dolphin and porpoise. Yes, they are slower to reproduce, but they do reproduce.

Would you be fine for Japan to tell us that we cannot have any hunting of say.. black bear in the United States? They could impose sanctions against us, and have Japanese extremists come over and harrass and attack us, video hunters killing bears and broadcast it worldwide. It's similiar as far as the population growth potential, and the populations. In fact.. there's probably more dolphin than bears overall.

Of course everyone has an opinion on things. Sometimes it's a highly educated opinion.. sometimes not. Sometimes two people who BOTH are highly educated on a certain subject will still have extremely differing opinions. Just because someone doesn't agree, doesn't mean they are wrong.

I do think what the world does affects us. The time when the United States could sit on our collective hands and say we will just ignore the rest of the planet is past. Everything is now connected and interwoven with economics, environmental elements, politics and culture.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I think part of it, too, is that dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror. They are self-aware, they have language, and they're highly intelligent--their level of intelligence is not yet well-understood. I do not think humans should be eating species that may be as bright as we are. That goes for the Great Apes as well. (Their upper threshold of intelligence overlaps our lower threshold of intelligence--normal intelligence, mind you, not developmentally delayed people).

Eating sapient species seems a lot like cannibalism, to me. The last IQ test on dolphins I was able to find scored the dolphin being tested at 89. 80 is the lower human threshold for normal intelligence level. I think our descendents will judge us for how we deal with this issue. It's not an issue that can be readily ignored. A dolphin is not a human--they won't be building space shuttles (or anything else, since they have no hands). The fact that they may be 'someone we can talk to', however...

This line will have to be drawn, and when it is, it will have to be drawn hard. If we were to explore another planet containing life, how would we make a determination of whether or not we had found another species considered sapient, like us? We need to deal with this issue here and now, before we get to that point. (Closer than you think--'super-Earth' worlds have been found already). Other species may not use their intelligence the exact same way we do, but they still have it. I think as our awareness of this fact grows, it might be a good idea to stop EATING creatures that may be 'someone' rather than 'something'. That's something that isn't about culture, unless you think cannibalism should be culturally respected too.

Cats and dogs, cute and furry and loving as they may be, fail the mirror test miserably. They're not self-aware, they're not that smart, and so they're no different from any livestock species, apart from our own cultural differences.

[mainbutter]

No animal should be taken off a menu because of "moral" ideas because some species is more "special" than another. If hunting gorillas and chimps was sustainable, I'd not shake my head at anyone who wanted to eat them.

Heck, I'm not even particularly against cannibalism, if it is done in a way that is respectful of the dead.

If the amount of hunting we do impacts a species' survival, yeah we should stop eating them. There are unfortunately way too many animal species and ecosystems affected in this way, and particularly our oceans.

If an animal's flesh is toxic, people should be smart enough not to eat it, but I'm not going to stop them. Now I'm off to get some McD's fries and a shake.

P.S. I've eaten whale before. It's delicious.

[Seru1]

YOu have? what does it taste like? I have always wanted to try whale >_<

[WingedWolfPsion]

It tastes like mercury. Yum!
http://anglojapanese.com/mercury.html

Of course, this also affects the cetaceans themselves. They were once much smarter than they are now. Mercury does to them exactly the same things it does to us.