Just saw this article on CNN about shark fin soup and how the thriving Chinese middle class is forcing sharks into extinction. For those amateur marine biologists out there, you all know that the shark is one of the oldest species in the world. These animals have been around for 400 million years; they came before the dinosaurs. They are animals of lore, beautiful, sleek animals which inspire the imagination, despite their reputation as killers. Because they are among the top predators in the sea, they are also vitally important to ecosystem. Now they are quickly becoming an endangered species.
My brother-in-law is an expert in natural history, and he’s been telling me to avoid shark fin soup for a long time. He’s Chinese, like me, and he knows that it’s been part of our culture for a long time. But he’s against the killing of sharks for soup, and I think it’s time that we all start listening to him. Yes, it tastes good, but we need to stop. We need to protect our planet and its inhabitants.
Edit 3:45 pm PT: My brother-in-law recommended this link to learn what is good and bad to eat in the seafood world:
http://research.calacademy.org/research/aquatic/seafood_guide/
No related posts.
But here is an...
I agree with everything you said. About #1…I think...
I love sharkfin soup. But the protection of our planet is by far more important than momentary satiation.
My little brother who is around 11 can sometimes be way smarter than me. We were watching discovery channel a while back and there was a special on tiger sharks and them attacking surfers. I said why do you think we don’t kill the sharks who are eating surfers? He told me “because if you kill sharks, no one eats the seals, and the seals eat all the fish” what he was trying to say was that the seals eat all the fish in the sea, so who’s going to eat the massive amount of seals? (Ocean evolution) Genuis, really. Never thought about it that way. Oh the minds of kids can be brilliant!
What utter ignorance and stupidity these Asian cultures exhibit. Of course, all cultures have had their moments of selfish greed and rapacious consumption. It is just that now , at this point in human history, that humans must prevent the further destruction of the natural world. Probably the best thing for all other species would be for an effective pandemic to finally and irreversibly eradicate us humans . A terrible thing to say, but stories like this make me very angry.If we do destroy ourselves, I hope it is with a whimper and not a bang; no need to take other life forms down with our own stupidity.
Stop killing our ecosystem!!! Our animals are being killed at an alarming rate!!!! For what?? A stiffy???? How insane is that??? The asian community needs to stop killing every animal just to feel viral!!!! Take a pill!!!!!
John and American, thank you for your comments…I think…
I wasn’t trying to turn this into an Asian vs. non-Asian thing, or to say that some cultures are stupid and some are not. The idea of species going extinct is relatively new, both for the East and for the West. My point was that we need to start making changes to the way we think. We can all do this together. We can begin with education rather than judgment.
I think people and animals can coexist. But that’s just my opinion.
Don’t blame Asians only. We have our problems too. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/weekly/20080616_GreenSpace__Hard_for_beef_lover_to_swallow.html
Phil,
Have you seen this article?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/science/earth/04meat.html
Everyone,
I just updated the original post with a link from my brother-in-law. It’s a handy guide if you question the environmental impact of your seafood consumption:
http://research.calacademy.org/research/aquatic/seafood_guide/
Watch the documentary “SharkWater” it discusses the same problem as the article above. It is not just a poaching or illegal fishing problem but rather more of a consumer problem. If these wack jobs stopped demanding shark fin soup and other related medicinal products, then we would not be having this problem. It is a lack of education with respect to medicine and science in Asia that has driven down the population of many endangered plants and animals. I personally, do not believe that tiger penis or bear paw will cure me of any ailment that I possess. I would rather die in a North American back alley than receive medical treatment in Asia!
i think jaehwan is right on point about beginning with education rather than judgment, we don’t need comments like “What utter ignorance and stupidity these Asian cultures exhibit.” and “It is a lack of education with respect to medicine and science in Asia that has driven down the population of many endangered plants and animals.”
dismissing and disrespecting ones culture does not help solve the issue, that to me, is ignorance.
who turned this into a racial issue? it’s an environmental issue, it just happens to be one aspect of it. human beings as a whole are taking advantage of the ecosystem. i think that was the point. i really enjoyed watching “an inconvenient truth” – it’s pretty eye opening as far as certain aspects of environment change.
“What utter ignorance and stupidity these Asian cultures exhibit. Of course, all cultures have had their moments of selfish greed and rapacious consumption. It is just that now , at this point in human history, that humans must prevent the further destruction of the natural world. Probably the best thing for all other species would be for an effective pandemic to finally and irreversibly eradicate us humans . A terrible thing to say, but stories like this make me very angry.If we do destroy ourselves, I hope it is with a whimper and not a bang; no need to take other life forms down with our own stupidity.”
What chilling and genocidal sentiments these Western (and especially American) cultures exhibit. You claim that the “best thing for all other species would be for an effective pandemic to finally and irreversibly eradicate us humans”!?
I suppose you are a fan of Malthusianism and global depopulation as well. It’s interesting that the (White) people who make statements like Gorman’s never volunteer themselves to be “sacrificed” … even though it would be for the good of the planet, by their logic.
The comments by Gorman, “an American,” and Jibb just show that not a few faux environmentalists in the USA and West in general will attempt to hijack environmental concerns to assert their own privileged and smug sense of superiority.
BTW, if you three are sincerely concerned about the ‘killing of our ecosystem,’ you should take a hard look at the American and Western war machines, which have radioactively poisoned entire nations from Iraq to Serbia to Afghanistan with Depleted Uranium.
But then again, issues like DU radiation poisoning strike a little bit too close to home, don’t they? It’s more comfortable to focus on safe topics like saving the sharks.
and my comment above was not meant to say i am pro-killing sharks at all. i wanted to see what kids think about environmental issues and if they are teaching it at schools. it’s one fundamental level of awareness.
Cheers, Larry, W, and Whois!
In case I didn’t mention it before, I come from an Asian culture. I believe my culture has knowledge that the West doesn’t have, and the same is true in the other direction. People do things that are destructive when they haven’t thought through the consequences, and as I mentioned, saving the environment and the ecosystem is a relatively new study. If we’re going to solve our world’s problems, we need to come together to educate each other, not condemn other cultures through prejudice.
lol. Am I the only one who found the progress of commentary funny?
Entry: Didja know … is hurting our environment? Yes, well, now that you do, let’s help save the environment.
Comment 1: ASIAN PEOPLE ARE SO STUPID!
Comment 2: ASIAN PEOPLE ARE MURDERERS!
Author Again: Thank you all for your comments … I think.
If these people hold such antipathy for Asian Americans, then why are they here? I don’t go out on the web searching for KKK interest sites just so I can leave inane comments on KKK blogs. “Colored people are taking over your world. Muahaha.” You just don’t see folks like us doing that, so I don’t get why/how the reverse happens.
Dear Larry,
If you do not like the Western World then you do not have to live here. I suggest maybe moving to Iraq. I am not a smug person that blogs to make myself more superior, but rather one who looks at both sides of the story and things called facts. North America is not perfect, we poach just as much as the next nation (i.e. Bears, Bald Eagles, etc.) but this story concentrated on the slaughter of sharks, which relates to the Asian cuisine and medicine. I suggest that you focus on the suggested topic, Shark Fin Soup. If you want to talk about the slaughter of terrorists…I mean innocent people, then find a different topic.
Jibb:
We’re Americans and proud to be American. Like most Americans, we live at an intersection of cultural heritages and speak from a point of view that best balances our heritages. As Americans, we enjoy exercising our right to freedom of political speech, which often involves protest, criticism, and peaceable assembly.
Most of us in this community happen to be individuals who are doing quite a bit, actively, to make our country, the United States of America, a better place.
“If you do not like the Western World then you do not have to live here. I suggest maybe moving to Iraq. I am not a smug person[.]”
Those are some rather smug comments you made there, Jibb. I won’t even bother quoting the other stuff, which is nothing short of ethnocentric.
Akrypti:
Jibb:
You originally wrote:
“It is a lack of education with respect to medicine and science in Asia that has driven down the population of many endangered plants and animals. I personally, do not believe that tiger penis or bear paw will cure me of any ailment that I possess. I would rather die in a North American back alley than receive medical treatment in Asia!”
Do you see the racial smugness and arrogance that Larry and Akrypti are describing? We’re talking about killing sharks, and you’re criticizing the efficacy of traditional Asian medicine. The two have nothing to do with one another! I don’t think there is any argument that Asian medicine doesn’t work–acupuncturists work in every major American city, and many among the wealthy, American elite seek treatment from alternative medical sources. I’ve even heard of “Western” doctors referring their clients to practitioners of alternative medicine. People, including white people, believe it or not, use it because it works.
Then you write:
“If you do not like the Western World then you do not have to live here.”
Is this a “Go back to where you came from” argument? If it is, non-white people in America hear this all the time. It’s lost its power because its been overused for so long.
Since this is an activist blog, let me ask you: what do you think needs to be done to eliminate the killing of sharks. If the answer is education, how will you educate people? What are you doing right now to prepare or act?
Y’all might find this interesting:
The encouraging news is that when people in China know what’s going on, they do care. Our initial research revealed that 75 percent of Chinese didn’t even know “fish wing” soup, as it is called there, was derived from sharks. They didn’t know that sharks mature late and reproduce slowly and that nearly one third of shark species are considered endangered or vulnerable.
So we embarked on one of the largest conservation awareness initiatives, reaching hundreds of millions of Chinese.
China’s most popular star, Yao Ming, championed the program pledging to never again eat shark fin soup, generating 300 news stories. We covered Beijing with his image, appealing for the sharks, and a host of Chinese and international Olympians recorded messages that Chinese state television and video billboards broadcast widely.
Jaehwan:
In defense of Jibb (oh…lordy, do I really want to do this?), we should never rebut somebody’s critical comment with “Yeah, well what have *you* done for the world lately?”
I admit I may have opened that can of worms with my initial comment earlier, about most of the people lurking/visiting bigwowo are activists of some sort or another, but that’s me volunteering the information rather than interrogating somebody else and demanding that they disclose such info. The worst possible scenario would be for everyone to comment in regurgitating from their CVs and resumes. That’s why I’m generally against the question “What have you done lately for the greater good?”
Haha…I see your point (and I also understand the hesitation in defending Jibb
),
I think my philosophy on this is different from most people. In internet communication, as Larry points out with the article here, our identities disappear because the web somehow has an equalizing effect. A 50 year old CEO becomes equal to a 19 year old college student because the whole person is not visible in web communication.
The end result, I’ve found, is that oftentimes you get people on the web who have no idea what they’re talking about. They build houses on theory, when just a tiny bit of practical experience would set them straight. I’m not saying this is the case with Jibb, but I think it’s a fair question to ask somewhat what he does or would do (which is why I said “prepare or act”) about a situation. It brings a reality check to the situation.
I saw this comment about the 44s:
And the fighting 44s are all just full of talking debaters who dont actually do anything except talk hot air about how life is unfair-if you visit their website, youll know what i mean . Yes theres racism, yes theres racial sexism and outmarriage of asian women, but what will it accomplish by sitting around and talking on the internet?-anything?
While I disagree with his assessment of the 44s in many cases–obviously we have some internet warriors), I think it’s a fair question to raise. One doesn’t have to become Yuri, but one should question where one stands when it comes to making things better. We’ve got way too many armchair generals with no experience in the field. Jibb obviously cares about the sharks, so I asked him what he does or would do to protect them. I wasn’t necessarily calling him out, just trying to figure out what he does or would do. He doesn’t have to reveal his identity, nor would I condemn him for not knowing. In any case, hearing where he is coming from would help me to better understand his “wack jobs” comment.
What do you think? Agree or disagree? I realize that I’m in the minority when it comes to thinking as I do.
“If you do not like the Western World then you do not have to live here. I suggest maybe moving to Iraq. I am not a smug person that blogs to make myself more superior, but rather one who looks at both sides of the story and things called facts. North America is not perfect, we poach just as much as the next nation (i.e. Bears, Bald Eagles, etc.) but this story concentrated on the slaughter of sharks, which relates to the Asian cuisine and medicine. I suggest that you focus on the suggested topic, Shark Fin Soup. If you want to talk about the slaughter of terrorists…I mean innocent people, then find a different topic.”
Jibb, is that the best you argument that you have? Love it or Leave it? It is hella funny in an ironic way though. If anything, it’s Euro-Americans that should be told to go back to where they came from. Remember, the USA and Canada are nothing more than European colonizer states based upon the theft of First Nations, Mexican, and Hawaiian lands to this very day.
I think it’s pretty transparent that the environmentalist “concerns” of Jibb and his/her friends are not in good faith. As seen from their comments above, this issue was primarily just an excuse for them to launch into thinly disguised racist or xenophobic rants about Asian culture in general.
This is not that surprising. There is an undercurrent of (White) nativism in the North American environmental movement. For example, nativists have increasingly tried to get anti-immigration members elected to the Sierra Club board. And animal rights “activists” like Paul Watson and Ben Zuckerman have made opportunistic alliances with nativist political tendencies in the USA.
These supposed advocates for the environment deny or minimize one of the great ecological crimes in the world: the USA/Western military poisoning of entire countries through the use of Depleted Uranium weapons.
But, hey, they will launch into an indignant spittle-flecked rages over … shark fin soup!
Jibb, sorry to tell you this, but your environmentalist pretensions seem to have as much credibility as Anglo-American lies about “Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq” or the fraudulent War on Terrorism.
Jae:
It’s not difficult to pick out the bored armchair theorists from the thoughtful activists based on the quality of commentary left behind. And when it IS difficult to tell the difference, the difference no longer matters.
If a 17-year-old with no life experience whatsoever has something provocative to add to the discussion, then I don’t care that the commenter is a 17-year-old with no life experience whatsoever.
If Jibb has won a Nobel Peace Prize before and still expresses the opinions he has expressed to this entry, then his narrow-mindedness and ethnocentric viewpoints speak more of his character than the Prizes he’s won. With that said, someone with such narrow-mindedness and ethnocentric viewpoints would hardly be a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. So it all works out by itself in the end.
P.S. *Love* love today’s recaptcha words generated: “race compelled”
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