Towards a new generation of whale eaters

This is part of the reason why the Japanese position on whaling is utter crap (see also this earlier post on strategy). Few people eat whalemeat in Japan any more. Most Japanese will tell you they've never eaten whalemeat.

Japan's position has been to harvest whales for "scientific research," which is the easiest way through the International Whaling Commission ban on whaling. It has systematically consolidated allies in the IWC in order to bring back commercial whaling. Now it finds that the market doesn't exist, so they're going with the traditionalist argument in order to create a market.

Sometimes traditions are not worth maintaining. The arguments for this one are entirely specious.

A pro-whaling body affiliated to the Japanese government has set up a company that aims to sell 1,000 tonnes of whale meat, most for school meals, over the next year, local media reported yesterday.

The meat will be sold cheaply to makers of school lunches, and there are also plans to boost sales to "family friendly" restaurants and hospitals.

Although the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, Japan continues to kill whales for what it describes as scientific research. Environmental groups and other IWC members, including Britain, have condemned the hunts as commercial whaling in disguise...

The company, set up by the pro-whaling Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, forms part of a countrywide campaign to re-establish whale meat in the traditional Japanese diet.