Whale Burger !

Whale Taggers Flash Cartoon. http://www.hikikomori.tv/Flash/Episodes/ www.hikikomori.tv_Episode01_W... ggers.html
www.hikikomori.tv Bad Feng Shui Very Bad!

Also in Norway whale beef is common food: http://home.online.no/~sulvund/Voss_Now/foto25410.htm

Lex T

Look for the meat in the middle, 'HVAL'

Lex T

Actually Norwegian whaling is dependenet on government subsidies, since young people dont like whalemeat and many older people have traumatic memories of whalemeat dinners in their youth

But I remember it from the menu-cards on the Lofoten-Ferry, and this market. So some people do eat it. And why is ity subsidized?

Lex T

Some people like it of course, but most people eat it ( or at elast want it on the menu) for political reasons. Whaling is seen by many as an affirmation ofNorwegian culture and independence.

So even if it makes no economic sense the government has to support it.

It is not dependent on government subsidies. I know there were som subsidies for whale blubber storage in the past, but I am unsure as to whether this is still in effect or not. In any case, your claim that the whaling is dependent upon subsidies is void, it is fully self-sustainable. Also, about this claim (by the previous poster): 'Also in Norway whale beef is common food:' I can tell you that whale meat is *not* a common food in Norway. Let me put it this way... We are one of only a few countries in Europe where whale meat is eaten at all, so in comparison to the world, it is common in Norway. Put in a perspective of meals per person however, not at all.

True. And that is an interesting point. So many could do without it, but still want it on the menu as some sort of political statement. In my opinion, that can be traced directly back to the way certain organizations and individuals campaigned against whaling in the last few dacades. Lies, emotions and whatnot else they could get their hands on were thrown at us, in what many pro-whalers consider the biggest fundraising campaign these organizations ever embarked upon. Yes, that again. I get tired of repeating it, but it was really all about money, and nothing was to stand in the way of the 'green movement' as they collected their cash.

These days, most of the organizations have cooled down. Some have even aknowledged the fact that they went a little overboard with their arguments before. But even now that the whaling issue looks more like a conflict of interests, rather than outright war, most people over here still want whaling to continue. And I guess that is simply to prove a point. The point that it can be done sustainably, and that all the gruesome prophecies set forth by certain elements will not deliver. And of course, the most important one: We will not be pushed around by the ignorant world opinion.

Well, that was a bit long, and a bit beside the post I was replying to as well. But I felt that it was at least a little relevant...

That *has* to be true, given the population of Norway and the small number of (small) Minke whales harvested.

On the other hand... There are about 3500 Inupiat people living here in Barrow. They are allocated 22 Bowhead whales per year. They like to catch young whales about 40-45 feet in length, which is about 80,000 pounds per whale.

If that is only 50% food (I don't know what the actual percentage is, and am trying to be conservative), that would be 40,000 pounds of food per whale.

40,000 * 22 / 3500 is about 250 pounds per year per Eskimo!

That would be something like 2/3rds of a pound per day average for every Eskimo in town.

Now, it is safe to say that whale meat is commonly eaten in Barrow, eh?

Actally your argument is deeply flawed. Your statement about the motivation of the antiwhaling campaigners are way of the mark, and prove that emotionalism certainly is not confined to one side in this conflict.

As for commercial motivation,remember that some of the largest industrial corporations in Norway (chemical factories and shipping corporations especially) were founded on the hunt for blue whales, of which there at one time, largely because og norwegian industroial whaling, were only a few hundred individuals left.

As for the minke, the present population may be able to withstand a limited hunt, but actually I dont see the point in doing it, except a childish wish to raise a finger at the international community. Not all traditions are worth keeping up.

I think 50% meat content is overstating it. Most of the carcass is blubber. Industrial whaling was done more for the fat content than for the meat. Here in Norway large chemical factories, produced paint, margarine, lamp oil and other stuff based on whale fat. Large commercial fortunes were amassed this way.