Shark Fin Soup ... bleh !!

[ScubaSteve]

You are right. I have steered over to the Shark Fin Industry in general and not specific to this post. I will stop consuming space here. Apologies to the OP for sidetracking your thread.

The OP was talking about SD San Diego. Also just because a restaurant has shark fin soup does it mean that the shark's fin was cut and then dumped back in the ocean alive? Are people jumping to conclusions about shark fin soup in California? Or is this the only way that shark fins are obtained in California, by cutting the fin off and throwing the live shark back in the water? Leopard shark is a sportfish in California. How do people eat them? You do not see finned sharks on the beaches of California. You do see shark bit seals and sea lions.

 

[crabby cappy]

Guys really a shark fishermen in the US can only sell the amount of fins for cores. Im sure you dont eat imported shrimp.....

 

[redacted]

amid other atrocities such as chicken feet

What is atrocious about chicken feet?

It has been a while since I had some but I'm pretty sure they killed the chicken before they harvested the feet. Or did you mean to say monkey brains?

 

[MissyP]

What is atrocious about chicken feet?

It has been a while since I had some but I'm pretty sure they killed the chicken before they harvested the feet. Or did you mean to say monkey brains?

um. they're chicken feet. Thats pretty straightforward.
The chicken feet have nothing to do with the soup, except that I find the idea of eating either of them appalling. :thumbs_down:

 

[vladimir]

Have you ever "experienced" the night market in the streets of Taipei? I recall one stall that had an orangutan playing with a turtle next to a "wall" of skinned snakes hanging vertically from a string. Apparently, anything on display was for sale.

My personal favorite is the blood of a live snake drained into a cup and mixed with a little x.o. It's good for "all-around vigor," I'm told, and it tastes nasty, despite the x.o. If you really want to go local, ask for the spleen (that's where I draw the line). I'm pretty sure "all-around vigor" is a euphemism for what Viagra does for westerners.

That's not to say it's right...it's just to make the point that it will take time to change the Chinese attitude toward sharkfin soup.

Yes, I'll bet the sharks are gone before the attitude changes.

A few years ago I had a dive buddy and possible romantic interest

A euphemism for "hot, but still married"?

I have been to Hong Kong and China and was once served Shark Fin soup....and only once. I know that when served it is a very bad business move (yes I was there on business) to refuse so the first time it was served to me, I took a couple of tastes and stopped eating it. We were conversing at the time and I informed the interpereter that I was not feeling well (after the soup), he made an excuse for the host and from that point forward he ensured no more shark fin soup was served.

My policy has been to politely decline shark's fin soup with no explanation. When prodded by hosts, which invariably happens, I politely explain that, "I don't eat shark's fin soup because sharks are endangered." This approach has led to a few constructive conversations on the topic and perhaps a few changed attitudes.

 

[josh]

um. they're chicken feet. Thats pretty straightforward.
The chicken feet have nothing to do with the soup, except that I find the idea of eating either of them appalling. :thumbs_down:

Sorry, but your posts on this thread make you come across as narrow minded and parochial.

China (and much of Asia) has been feeding a large population on a limited food resouce for generations. That means they don't waste food. What can be eaten - is. Chickens feet are a classic example something that westerners would throw away that are made into something that millions of people find delicious.

Chinese pay a much greater attention to the texture of food. Chickens feet are not prized for the sauce (sorry guys) but for the texture of the food - that crunchy cartilidge is what makes it so popular.

Interestingly (ha!) that is also the "thing" behind sharksfin. The texture that has a crunchy "pop" to it. As was kinda noted earlier - sharksfin is tasteless -and hence the reason for the highly flavoured soup that it is cooked in. Texture plus taste is more prized than taste alone.

Now, for the sharksfin debate. There is a great deal of 'cultural imperialism" in this debate. We know better, therefore you asians should not eat it. Or even worse- we say you should not eat it.

Now, I agree with programs to stop sharksfinning - but that MUST be done through education in asia, and not because "we say so", and, despite what was said earlier, many countries in Asia have active programs to stop the consumption of sharksfin by educating people as to the ecological consequences.

It also has to be said that, to some extent, Americans going on about "cruel" practices come across as a wee bit hypocritical when they also have legal bear hunting, moose hunting, and, as I recall hunting of wolves from airplanes and helicopters and the like.

 

[cmburch]

Okay, I almost lost it reading this thread.

It is rude labeling someone when they express their honest opinion.

Good points, but contradictory about eating the whole animal and finning.

Big game hunting and culling is not the same as finning. We do not cut a body part off an animal and toss it away still alive.

 

[White Knight]

It is a big world out there and we don't own the whole damn thing. We Americans do soooooooo much wrong and destroy our planet in sooooooo many ways. As soon as we get it right, then let's go and tell the rest of the world how to live their lives and how to conform their cultures. By the way, we can hold out our fabulous history of preserving our own fish stocks as an example of doing it the right way? How many Tuna are left? How many Halibut are left? How many cow cod are left? How many Ling Cod are left? How many natural salmon and steel head runs are left? How many Sea Run Cut Throat are left? Yeah, we sure are leading by example. If only those Asians would eat the whole shark instead of just the fins …..Do we boycott restaurants when any of these items are sold? Don’t get me wrong, fining sharks is not a good thing, but talk about the pot calling the kettle black!

 

[vladimir]

It also has to be said that, to some extent, Americans going on about "cruel" practices come across as a wee bit hypocritical when they also have legal bear hunting, moose hunting, and, as I recall hunting of wolves from airplanes and helicopters and the like.

We can argue the humanity of hunting in general, but that discussion is, in my opinion, beside the point: that shark-finning is unsustainable and will almost certainly lead to the extinction of several species if left unchecked. In discussing sustainability, however--if we want to be culturally neutral--we can discuss the massive consumption of energy and the massive waste in the United States and the impact that has on ecosystems.

 

[vladimir]

It is a big world out there and we don't own the whole damn thing. We Americans do soooooooo much wrong and destroy our planet in sooooooo many ways. As soon as we get it right, then let's go and tell the rest of the world how to live their lives and how to conform their cultures.

Then it will be too late. The idea that other cultures have to take as long as ours to wake up to the importance of conserving what little remains of the natural world is futile. Why can't we wake up together? I do agree, though, that Americans do not occupy a moral high ground in the discussion.