Japanese media mentions mercury in dolphin meat
September 4th, 2009 by James
In my previous three posts exploring Japanese media coverage of the ongoing controversy over Taiji’s dolphin hunt, none of the TV news reports mentioned the foreign activists’ claim that dolphin meat contains dangerous levels of mercury. Here is one report from TBS news that does mention the mercury issue (although it does not provide much detailed information):
Like the previous TBS news report, it is sympathetic to Taiji’s point of view. Ric O’Barry and his bus load of journalists is depicted as rude and annoying to locals who don’t want outsiders to mess with their local traditions and livelihood.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
| Related Posts: |
|
Eating whale may add mercury to your hair Taiji supermarket refuses access to Ric O’Barry and Save Japan Dolphins |
Full RSS Feed
Slavery was a traditional livelihood for quite a few people, but we stopped doing that because it wasn’t acceptable. (And before anyone starts nitpicking, I mean in the widespread, publicly accepted form. I know there is still underground slavery).
Rate this comment:
0 
0
FFS.
Hunting dolphins is not comparable to slavery. Nor is it comparable to gassing jews, so don’t play the genocide angle either. And just to head you off further, it’s not comparable to the colonization of the Americas, female circumcision, union-breaking or the opium wars.
Hunting dolphins is comparable to hunting other mammals for food.Because they’re animals. Not people.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Yes, I agree… as long as you leave the puppies alone. Those puppies are so cute, with their moist eyes and everything. Don’t hurt the puppies FFS!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The point about slavery/FGM/etc is NOT, I REPEAT: NOT about animals vs humans. Don’t try and steer readers in the wrong direction.
The entire point is that TRADITIONS AREN’T ALWAYS RIGHT.
They aren’t always ethical, they shouldn’t always be permitted.
The classic examples given are slavery, FGM, drug-use etc. They are traditional and they are also wrong.
It doesn’t matter about whether the traditions were affecting humans or animals, the entire point is that people are saying “but it’s traditional!” in regards to the Taiji hunt as if that’s an excuse.
Calling it a tradition doesn’t mean it should happen. That is all.
Now you can debate about whether you should care about animals. But don’t use “tradition” as a reason to continue the Taiji hunt.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
But then we get into “whose ethics?”
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Tradition of hunting is, I think, in many cases started as a matter of food supply. They emphasize it as a tradition. But it may merely imply that they have long been eating what is available there. It can be rather considered as some sort of environmental adaptation.
There are many conflicts between ethics and tradition/custom in those days, especially in modernized countries, but the answer is always not so simple.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
First they compared it to the Holocaust and now you’re comparing it to slavery. The dolphin hunt conducted by only 26 men in one town is in no way similar to any of the genocides conducted by evil dictators of the past. All you do is insult those who suffered during those times.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I wondered what type of person would compare a dolphin hunt to slavery…
I became enamored with Asian culture and it only increased my desire to get with an Asian girl. Of course, getting an Asian girl in the US would’ve floated my boat, but I was a lucky man. I managed to land and marry an Asian girl in Asia, which means that besides the fact that I have a hot, Asian wife, I now have the opportunity to experience life in Asia first-hand.
…then I found my answer. Well, to be fair, your post is just a statement about slavery and it doesn’t mention the Taiji dolphin hunt at all…so, yes, slavery is no longer acceptable?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I thought you were taking the piss until I found the actual page you quoted.
http://talesovercoffee.blogspot.com/2009/07/why-do-white-guys-like-asian-girls.html
The author appears to be a “half” himself.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Oops! Actually, what I meant isn’t that it’s comparable to slavery. It’s nowhere near on that scale.
All I meant is that just because something is a tradition and a livelihood to some people doesn’t, in and of itself, mean that it shouldn’t be changed.
And yes, I am a “half”, well, actually a “quarter”, though how you figured that from my blog is a bit odd. Don’t remember mentioning it.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
You mentioned it in the comments section of that post I linked to. I mentioned it here because it takes the edge of what could be seen as a slightly creepy “asiaphilia” comment.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
He’s still 75% white and as far as I know, he praises himself as a white guy. He even came to fame in Singapore by lashing at a local blogger.
http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/2009/07/in-defence-of-bleached-blondes.html
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Okay, that first post of his is very creepy. I can understand someone saying “Hey, I like the way Asian/White/Black/Samoan/Martian chicks look,” but the post referred to here is way beyond that, and purely lookism. If you go out with an Asian who dyes her hair blonde you should go out with a white girl instead? That is over the line.
—-
The rest of the long post is an impressive display of venom, rather vile and petty.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I was going to post something rather conciliatory, because – although within the public domain and linked by you – posting your semi-creepy “I found me an Asian in Asialand!” post in no way addressed your point and was just generally not cool. Then I saw that you were making fun of hot chicks and, well, I’m not a terrorist, so I can never support someone like that.
Back to the actual point…you put forward two very different reasons behind your initial post. The first being slavery and the Taiji dolphin hunt differ due to scale. I have no idea how to respond to that…although the next time you’re back in the States, I’d encourage you to stop the first black person you see and ask their opinion on that assertion.
The second point seems much more reasonable and I would agree fully with it. However, I still fail to see how a limited hunt of a species which is in no present danger (AFAIK) is in any way inappropriate. Personally, I loved Flipper, I love dolphins in general, I personally find the hunt abhorrent and I have no plans to eat a dolphin or to join my local “eat a dolphin” club. However, barring some sort of extenuating circumstance, I have no right to impose that view on others. I’m sure there are a lot of Hindu’s out there that find the fact that people eat beef just as disturbing, but I’ll be damned if I want them protesting outside the local McDonald’s (as if McDonald’s serves beef.)
Rate this comment:
0 
0
If this comment is about slavery in general, this is the wrong article/thread to post.
If this comment is about tying slavery to the Taiji hunts, I think you have just sabotaged your own argument at the first word.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I am fine with hunting as long as the meat is used for food, and the hunt is conducted with sustainability in mind.
I think an excellent parallel to the Japanese dolphin hunt, is the UK Fox hunt.
Both are brutal and archaic… but as far as I can tell, they’ve been going on forever and could continue forever without causing either foxes or dolphins to go extinct.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Actually, the UK fox hunt is not a particularly good parallel because the foxes were not hunted for food.
To be fair though, fox hunting has been banned in the UK since 2004,and there is a lot of concern there about the cruelty of fox hunting, and cruelty to animals in general.
When I googled “history of fox hunting” the first site that came up was this British anti-fox hunting site.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I don’t know much about the UK fox hunt, but if it’s anything like the dolphin cull/hunt 90% of the people with an opinion on it don’t extend their own logic to themselves. If dolphin or fox hunting is bad because it’s cruel/unnecessary/unhealthy, pork and beef are far more deserving of protest.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
FWIW, fox hunting is banned in the UK, although it looks like a lot of people flout the ban.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
As I’ve posted before, a fact apparently widely disregarded because it’s inconvenient for the eco-crusaders like this Rick O’Barry character is that, ingested selenium chemically binds very strongly with mercury to neutralize and nullify the toxic effects of mercury.
The Flip Side of Mercury
http://www.fishscam.com/fFlipside.cfm
Full PDF of summary article above:
http://www.fishscam.com/downloads/060801_flipside.pdf
So flatly put, selenium cancels out mercury at a one-to-one ratio with no apparent adverse effects even at levels that would be dangerous if it were mercury alone.
And there is a lot more selenium in seafood than mercury, making a very nice buffer.
All of these suggest strongly that there are proper and natural mechanisms in the human body for defending against the toxic effects of mercury, especially in a culture that eats a lot of seafood.
Like Japan, for example.
Now if there were just some hard numbers on the selenium levels in dolphins, one could make a fairly airtight case that the “ZOMG POIZuN DOLFINS” tactics used by dolphin conservationalists are just half-truth and misleading scaremongering.
And Japan did suffer the Minamata disease so it’s not like Japan doesn’t know about the dangers of mercury poisoning.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
It looks like the ratio of mercury to selenium varies a lot, tuna/salmon have more selenium, but pilot whales seem to have more mercury…
http://www.mercuryfacts.org/fselenium.cfm
So whale meat is probably only _slightly_ dangerous to pregnant women in large enough quantities. So unless you are pregnant and living in Taiji scarfing down the whale meat steaks every night you are probably safe…
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I was actually just wondering that, whales and dolphins are not fish, they are mammals. The physiological differences would be vast.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I wear my emotion on my dick, too.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
@Mike, that quote is it true? About the Asian wife? It’s a bit offtopic, but guys like him are really a shame for all the white guys who don’t objectify or obsess over Asian women. I have white friends who have Asian wives, but they would never write something so shallow about their spouses. I don’t know, man… it’s a shame. Imagine us Chinese writing something like I have a caucasian wife, I always wanted a caucasian wife, I’ve got lucky, I married a caucasian wife in for example Germany… I mean, so what? Do you see a person or do you see a race? What’s so special about our Asian women to be obsessed about? They’re not pets! Damn.. that pisses me off.
And that slavery remark, too. Man, some people should think before they claim something. I mean, who decides which animal is acceptable to hunt and to eat and which is not? Every culture has its own criteria. Sometimes we go totally overboard with these things… Slavery? Genocide? Are you kidding me??
Rate this comment:
0 
0
So when is Japan gonna deport this stupid gaijin?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Unfortunately in this case, of the numerous reasons Japan has spelled out that it would deport people for, “is an assclown” isn’t included in the list.
Maybe the authorities could stretch the interpretation and get an arrest warrant for obstruction of business, but still, deportation requries a serious charge equaling 1 year or more of jail time for crimes other than relating to drugs or illegal immigration.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
All mammals of all sizes both on land and sea have been and still are hunted on land and sea for sport and for food.
I see no problem with this and obviously those who eat at McDonalds don’t either since they kill cows by the ton every hour to support your habit.
I do have a problem with selling contaminated food to my children and me. I don’t care if its toxic levels of lead or mad cow.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Why is it that dolphin and tuna an accumalate dangerous levels of mercury in their bodies? Is it simply because they live for so long?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I think it’s because they are carnivorous animals that eat other carnivorous animals. The mercury that we spill into the ocean is diluted to undetectable levels, but some of it is absorbed by the plants. Herbivorous animals go on to eat several plants and so the mercury is concentrated a bit more in their bodies. Big fish and dolphins eat fish that already have a bit of mercury in their bodies (from eating the herbivorous animals), so it is concentrated even more.
It might also have to do with their body fat, to which mercury binds. Dolphins and whales have a lot of blubber, so the mercury would be easily collected, maybe more efficiently than in fish. On that note, I wonder how effective this selenium actually is, given that mercury (and selenium) consumed from food are already bound to the tissue or occupied by other molecules, and not in the free form to bind to each other. The production of this Hg-Se complex must take a very long time when administered through the diet, and I don’t think just taking a selenium supplement would cancel out all the mercury. And the argument that “well, dolphins and fish also have selenium in their bodies, so they should be safe” is too simplistic. Heck, WE already have selenium in our bodies. So, what? Does that mean we are already safe, too?
For the moment, I think I’ll favor the argument that such aquatic animals have a higher-than-normal amount of mercury in their bodies, so it’s probably not a good idea to eat them regularly. BTW too much selenium is bad for you as well.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The combination of the film bringing greater attention to the dolphin issue (and by extension the whaling issue), along with the presence of a new governing party in Japan that is not beholden to rural interests will hopefully mean the end of not only the dolphin hunt but the whale hunt as well. These practices are outdated, have no place in a modern society, and cause a great deal of harm to the Japanese brand.
Maybe some will argue that that one should not interfere with another’s culture, but in today’s society that argument doesn’t hold much water. Besides, sometimes traditions are better left to the dustbin of history rather than be preserved.
The price that we pay for living in today’s modern, interconnected and interdependent world is that the opinion’s and actions of individuals on the other side of the globe will have a direct impact us. And in such a world, the notion of dueling cultural moralities must give way to a universal notion of morality.
The fishermen of Taiji engage in a practice that in its brutality has no place in the modern world. It contributes nothing to Japan economically or nutritionally (why exactly does a well fed population need to be provided with low quality meat that also might be heavily tainted with mercury?). Finally, it does harm to the Japanese brand, which can result in a greater negative economic impact than if the hunts were discontinued and Taiji was left to die.
Beyond the whaling and dolphin issue, to me Taiji itself seems to symbolize the relics in Japan that need to be left behind as Japan looks to reestablish and reorient itself in the global world. That is the price of progress and prosperity.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Don’t count on it. The DPJ’s manifesto contains a passage supporting the continuation of Japanese whaling.
http://david-in-tokyo.blogspot.com/2009/08/democratic-party-of-japans-whaling.html
“The price that we pay for living in today’s modern, interconnected and interdependent world is that the opinion’s and actions of individuals on the other side of the globe will have a direct impact us.”
Really. That would mean Japanese, Icelandic and Norwegian whale hunting has a “direct impact” on you, then? What impact, precisely?
“And in such a world, the notion of dueling cultural moralities must give way to a universal notion of morality.”
Uh-huh. And whose “morality” should be made universal?
“The fishermen of Taiji engage in a practice that in its brutality has no place in the modern world.”
Ever been to a slaughterhouse? A chicken hatchery (where they toss the male chicks live into an industrial meat grinder)? Even gone fishing and yanked a living thing out of the water with a big hook and thrown it in a bucket to slowly suffocate? Ever been in combat? Welcome to the “modern world”.
“Finally, it does harm to the Japanese brand,”
Only if you are a wingnut, and maybe not even then. News flash: the vast majority of people out there don’t care, they just want their Toyota/Sony/Mazda/Panasonic/what-have-you. Even the wingnuts can be incredibly hypocritical – I know of one who hates Japan and the Japanese with a passion, and yet he keeps buying and building plastic model kits made in Japan because they are “the best out there”.
“That is the price of progress and prosperity.”
I guess you missed it, but Japan has been progressing and prospering pretty well without listening to claptrap such as yours. Sure, they’ve had some rough patches recently and in some ways been bypassed by China – why don’t you try telling the Chinese how they need to listen to the “universal morality”. Let us know how that works for you.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
“And whose “morality” should be made universal?”
Those who complain the loudest. Those who don’t really get too upset about XXX will have their views ignored and trampled by the vocal and political minority who manipulate the media (which is very easy to do, since most reporters are lazy bastards who love it when people feed them stories and most editors just want to sell papers with controversy) and who in turn manipulate the politicians who feel that they need to do something – doesn’t matter what, as being seen to do something is all that counts.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
“And whose “morality” should be made universal?”
Those who complain the loudest.
Lovely. Chousen Souren and Mindan will win again.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The idea of Animal right is relatively new.
Maybe it will gain more support from the world but I don’t think killing cows and pigs for food have no place in modern society nor do I think that there is a universal moral agreement that killing cows and pigs for food is morally wrong.
It depends. If the people keep the activism in such a way to —intentionally or not— incite racism, regrettably it might be the case.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Do you think it is possible to protest Japanese actions outside Japan without it having the potential to be seen as racist or likely to incite racism?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
First, regarding the DJP, if it becomes an issue of importance in their international dealings, I’m sure that they would willingly (assuming they make rational rather than nationalistic decisions) bring a halt to commercial whaling activity. From what I can see in their manifesto, the language regarding research whaling is assertive and clear, but the language of the passage on commercial whaling has enough wishy-washy terminology that would allow them to back away from protecting such activities.
The Japanese government has wasted a lot of taxpayer money trying to bride member nations in the IWC to facilitate the return of commercial whaling. Millions has been spent propping up an industry that provides little economic benefit to the country outside of the small towns in question, and does great harm to its image and political capital abroad. Government support for commercial whaling in Japan is equivalent to the building of mega highways in the middle of nowhere, and other wasteful attempts to delay the inevitable regarding contracting rural communities.
The direct impact I was referring to is that citizens outside Japan can take actions based on the information they receive that will ultimately harm Japanese economic and political interests.
There is always an economic repercussion at some level when engaging in certain activities that are unpopular abroad. Even greater, to my mind, is the political repercussions. Japan should be spending its political capital abroad to build stronger trade and security ties in this region. Issues like the whale hunt and Yasukuni undermine such efforts. Potentially important regional security partners in NZ and Oz have so far had a fairly antagonistic relationship with Japan due to the hunt. And if Japan ever one day wants to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, its going to have to clean up its image and create a squeaky clean PR campaign rather than try to outspend the Chinese lobbying against them.
As for what sort of universal morality is emerging, well, that is a process that is still taking place. The globalization of information is still in it’s early stages. It does seem that relatively recent ideas like animal rights, environmentalism, racial equality and human rights are spreading rapidly and changing the normative ways of thinking among widely disparate cultures.
I should point out here that the voices calling for and end to both the dolphin hunt and whale hunt are not just coming from abroad. There are a number of domestic players in Japan trying to bring both to an end, and I think if the filmmaker did make an attempt to sell this movie to the Japanese public, the exposure of the issue would result in a majority here being in favour of a stop to the hunt.
Although it is easy to present this as an issue of Japanese culture versus outsiders, this issue in fact is more representative of the growing divide between urban and rural viewpoints. I think you would find that most Tokyoites would have similar opinions to those in New York, while those in Mobile, Alabama might be more sympathetic to the Taiji viewpoint.
Regarding the attempt to muddle the issue by introducing the topic of how widely different sources of meat are killed, I am aware how other animals are killed for food. I do not object to the eating of animals for food, but do believe that methods for killing animals should be as humane as is possible. I also believe that animals that are killed for food should have nutritional value.
So far as I know, dolphin meat doesn’t taste good, doesn’t provide much in the way of nutrients, and the Japanese already have a wide assortment of marine life that does a better job of providing taste and nutrients. This also applies to whale meat. Also, even taking into account slaughterhouses and whatnot, the method for hunting dolphins is particularly brutal and inhumane. Compared to what the dolphins go through in the hunt, the cows and others get off easy. And the dolphins go through this torture merely to provide us with crappy meat that might be tainted with heavy amounts of mercury.
Japan’s progress and prosperity have been stuck in neutral for the past two decades, and some hard decisions will have to be made if Japan wishes to be a strong and important nation in the future. I see this issue in the larger context of Japan a) needing to sacrifice its wasteful spending on rural areas in order to focus on areas of greater importance, and b) improving its image abroad as part of a greater effort to build alliances and increase trade.
Finally, I am genuinely curious as to the positives of both the dolphin hunt and the whale hunt. What benefits do they produce? I hear a lot about how “this is our traditional culture and we have always done this”, but that is a defensive statement devoid of a reason to engage in the hunt. The only benefit I can come up with in my mind is that the hunt provides employment to the fishermen of Taiji. And as already stated, I consider such employment to be no different to that of road workers building useless roads here (or the ever present pointless flag wavers on all road crews here). Are there any other benefits to this hunt?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
tl;dr
Rate this comment:
0 
0
http://www.saleairmax.com Air Max
Rate this comment:
0 
0