Whale Meat is Not Popular

Most people in North America find it offensive to think that someone would hunt whales. That was the inspiration behind the entire Save the Whales movement in the 1970s. Traditional whale hunting was place in nations including Russia, Norway, and Japan, and efforts were made to put an end to the practice and stop any further whale fatalities.

Whaling is still being done in Japan today despite the protests of the population. Ironically, part of the blame for commercial whale hunting lies with the US. As Japan rebuilt after World War II, American officials urged the nation to kill whales, which made up half of all the protein consumed there. That was, however, in the 1940s and 1950s.

The typical Japanese person today consumes 40 grams of whale meat annually. That's a little less beef than there is in a Big Mac. Although the whaling industry does exist, it does not fulfill the public's needs in terms of food. In actuality, it appears to exist primarily out of spite. Japanese people continue to hunt whales because the practice has historically been associated with their culture and because they dislike attempts by outside forces to impose restrictions on it.