For a lot of people who don't understand it, shark fin soup seems completely unnecessarily, as well as environmentally damaging. The dish, which is considered a delicacy in China, is made from the fins of sharks (duh), and often means that the remainder of the dead shark is completely discarded. Environmentalists claim that the soup is single-handedly endangering many types of sharks as well as turning the ocean eco-system on its head.
Many who enjoy the soup, however, see no problem with ordering the expensive meal as a testament to their wealth and status.
An interesting article over at MNN.com takes an in depth look at the politics of shark fin soup, what it means to eat it, and how the younger generation in China may be changing things up.
According to the article, many Chinese still order the soup to amp up their status, and even claim of remarkable health benefits. When asked whether they thought it was hurting the shark population and therefore the sea itself, many of the diners interviewed said that since they only ate it once in a while, it really wasn't a big deal.
One shark fin seller even went as far as to say that the soup is actually helping out the human population: "We human beings have to control the number of sharks as they are dangerous...Westerners object to the consumption of shark fins only because it is inhumane. But sharks are inhumane too when they bite."
Right, well, his argument sucks, and it seems like a lot of Chinese young adults agree; the delicacy isn't being served at as many weddings as in the past, which possibly points to a shifting perspective.
While I don't think I'll be convinced any time soon that shark fin soup is okay – there is an interesting dynamic here between tradition and green living. What do you think? Should this old tradition die off to protect our oceans and the big fish living in it? Would that even be possible?
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