Who says sharks are not endangered?
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Feb 8, 2011 - ST Forum
MR KIRK Leech responded to British chef Gordon Ramsay's comment that shark's fin soup 'tastes of nothing', with the statement: 'Food is a matter of personal taste, and Ramsay can have his opinion.' ('One man's delicacy, another's poison pill'; last Thursday).
Very true, except that it is used in the wrong context when we refer to a delicacy that is actually tasteless.
A friend of mine secretly served mock fins at her wedding last year, but no one tasted any difference, till she informed the guests. This is enough to prove that no one actually knows how shark's fin tastes, and it is essentially the flavours of all the other ingredients that make the soup.
It is also misleading to generalise that sharks are not endangered just because few are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (Cites).
Species protection proposals are presented at biennial Cites meetings, and Cites members, made up of related government agencies, would vote in agreement or disagreement to trade restrictions. Considerations such as how the decision will affect the country are often in place before votes are cast.
While Cites is the determining body of whether species are to be protected from trade, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the oldest and only organisation that provides classification of risk statuses of plants and animals. Not Cites.
According to a 2010 IUCN study, 17 per cent of the world's 1,044 shark species are threatened with extinction, and 47 per cent of shark species are data deficient. Assuming half of these 47 per cent are threatened, this would mean that more than one-third are threatened.
The existence of unethical farming approaches (such as foie gras) does not justify our unsustainable hunt for sharks. We cannot say that it is okay to pick pockets because shoplifting is worse, can we? Let's not forget that both shark's fin and foie gras are non-staples in our diet.
It would be respectable to look at food from a view further than the dining table.
The importance of cultural practices should not supersede the importance of maintaining sustainability. Because Singapore is among the top trading nations for shark's fins, Singaporeans have great potential in making a positive difference.
Jennifer Lee (Ms)
Founder,
Project: FIN -
I hate it when people have an agenda, but they write loooong wall of text to say it...
Just say "Pls stop eating sharks" nor...
And apparently this Ms Jennifer wrote to wrong place la... why write to singapore when the whole worlds know the biggest consumer of sharks is china???
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dolphins are not endangered.. let's eat them
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Originally posted by ^Acid^ aka s|aO^eH~:
I hate it when people have an agenda, but they write loooong wall of text to say it...
Just say "Pls stop eating sharks" nor...
And apparently this Ms Jennifer wrote to wrong place la... why write to singapore when the whole worlds know the biggest consumer of sharks is china???
i dun think its china, the biggest consumer is hong kong i tink... followed by taiwan and singapore. LOL...
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Originally posted by Junyang700:
i dun think its china, the biggest consumer is hong kong i tink... followed by taiwan and singapore. LOL...
anything that Chinese eat is endangered.
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是�对错 �能定夺？
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
anything that Chinese eat is endangered.
that's why...................eat less meat will accumulate less bad karma...............
lucky India got 1/3 of population are vegans................otherwise more animals become endangered...............
Chinese should eat more roti pratas....................roti pratas not endangered mah..............
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$inkaporeans are also endangered............. going to extinct liao.............
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Originally posted by Asromanista2001:
that's why...................eat less meat will accumulate less bad karma...............
lucky India got 1/3 of population are vegans................otherwise more animals become endangered...............
Chinese should eat more roti pratas....................roti pratas not endangered mah..............
dun eat beta.
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Originally posted by Ä«Õß:¸ïÀë:
$inkaporeans are also endangered............. going to extinct liao.............
Say NO to eating sinkies.
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the only way to save the sharks is to have China MASS produce FAKE shark's fin lor.........
then next time can have shark's fin instant noodle even...........
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melamine fins.
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There is one population of sharks tats growing bigger...
Loansharks.. -
Originally posted by Junyang700:
There is one population of sharks tats growing bigger...
Loansharks..loansharks no fins.
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everytime i read about animal right activists ranting about sharks being an endangered species and what should be done to protect sharks, I think to myself, why not throw all these activists into shark-infested waters, and then find out if they still think sharks are worth protecting. :D
at scientifically, we don't have any need for sharks anymore. they are supposedly at the top of the marine food chain, where they eat all kinds of marine creatures.
but nowadays, human beings have replaced sharks at the top predator, eating everything that moves. :)
so why bother to keep the sharks?
I rather have a couple more bowls of shark fin soup.
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Originally posted by deathmaster:
everytime i read about animal right activists ranting about sharks being an endangered species and what should be done to protect sharks, I think to myself, why not throw all these activists into shark-infested waters, and then find out if they still think sharks are worth protecting. :D
at scientifically, we don't have any need for sharks anymore. they are supposedly at the top of the marine food chain, where they eat all kinds of marine creatures.
but nowadays, human beings have replaced sharks at the top predator, eating everything that moves. :)
so why bother to keep the sharks?
I rather have a couple more bowls of shark fin soup.
LOL.... Nice one!