Will the Japanese lifting the whaling ban affect the environment?
Not so much an environmental effect, but a western moral idealism about killing whales in general. Our history during the 1900’s is filled with American and European whalers, but that didn’t bother us then. As Japan increased whaling, there were concerns about the whale population and a need to protect them from a conservation point of view, but as seen below, they are not the culprits, the West is.If you look at the graphs above, Japan is being singled out, but other countries like Russia, Norway, Iceland, Canada, and Brazil are actively involved, but not at the rates during the 1900’s
What is the strangest food you've ever seen at a Canadian Potluck?
Scorpion Pizzaat The Calgary Stampede…Calgary Stampede’s most popular food: scorpion pizza
What animals are eaten in other countries that you would never find in a grocery store in the U.S.A.?
Horse meat is eaten in many countries, particularly in Europe, South America and Asia. The top eight countries consume about 4.7 million horses a year. Canada slaughters a lot of horses, particularly in Alberta. It is widely available in the supermarkets in Quebec, and is sent to Europe and Japan. Raw horse sashimi is a delicacy in Japan. The US banned slaughtering horses in 2007. See: Horse meat - WikipediaRaw, sliced horse meat in Japan.Dog meat is consumed in some regions of China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Nigeria. South Korea is now the only country in Asia where dogs are routinely and intensively farmed for human consumption. It is legal to eat dog meat in 43 US states. It is, however, illegal in all states for slaughterhouses to handle dogs, and for stores to sell the meat. See: Dog meat - WikipediaVarious cuts of dog meat:Whale meat is commonly consumed by Inuit in Northern Canada. It is a staple of Inuit diet, and a large whale can feed an entire community for a year. See: Muktuk - Wikipedia While it is considered a delicacy in Japan and some other countries, whale meat cannot be sold legally in the United States.Inuit Muktuk or whale meat.Inuit also eat polar bears, which are protected in the United States. Canada has most of the world’s polar bears, and the Inuit claim their numbers are increasing and that they have never seen so many polar bears, despite what American environmentalist experts say.Cooking with polar bear meat and caribou head:See also: Last caribou in lower 48 US states all but extinct: 'The herd is functionally lost'Yeah, that’s just in the United States, some of these American endangered animals are wandering around everywhere in Canada.However, you can still get bear meat in the US, just not at your local store. You have to order it on-line. However, shipping bear meat (even farm-raised) to CA, NH, GA, or PA is Prohibited. See: The Net's Best Prices for Bear Meat at ElkUSA.comThe old saying is that sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you. So far, it’s been me eating the bear. See: Dining on Black BearGrizzly bear eating a black bear, not too far from my house. I’ve got both in my neighborhood, sometimes in my back yard.
What does whale meat taste like?
I've had it a few times in Norway. I've always cooked it with people and never had it at a restaurant. My Norwegian friends would pick it up from the grocery store, telling me stories about how it reminded them of being young back when it was inexpensive meat. It's a very lean and red meat with fine marbling, slightly deeper in hue than other red meats.It usually comes in a sizable cube -- the last one was 3 inches by 3 inches by 5 inches (about 3–4 pounds). There is no bone or anything else to cut around indicating that it is from a huge animal -- much larger than a cow.This cube of meat was cut into steaks and then seared rare, let to set and served with chanterelle cream sauce. These steaks were tender compared with other wild game (which are often more tough than a filet mignon). It was juicy and delicate. It is incredibly lean, which is why rare is better. There was never any hint of fishiness. It looked a bit like buffalo steaks. There was a light hint of muskiness, but less powerful than other wild game. I don't know what other people were eating or how they prepared it. I can speculate that, as The Cove pointed out, a lot of the meat labeled in Japan were actually dolphin (not that I know how it tastes like). Maybe it wasn't stored very well, say, next to fish...