Safety and practicalities of eating dolphin meat in Taiji, Japan
At a recent Japan festival, amongst the various tourist brochures I got, one was for Wakayama prefecture, which included a page for Taiji. If I visited there, I'd have to decide whether or not to eat what the town is best known for outside of Japan: dolphin meat.
What health effects, if any, should I be concerned about? Anti dolphin-hunting activists claim that dolphin meat is unsafe because of high levels of mercury, and the Japanese government recommends that children and pregnant women should avoid eating it on a regular basis. Is mercury (or any other toxins) of concern for one-off consumption of dolphin meat, so long as I don't regularly eat food high in mercury?
Is the meat available year round, or only during the hunting season? I am currently anticipating visiting Japan in late May, early June, but Wikipedia states that the hunt occurs from September to April.
Finally, is a foreigner ordering dolphin meat at an izakaya likely to be treated with suspicion of being an anti dolphin-hunting activist?
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What are the dangers of dolphin meat?
Vincent in the Caribbean can legally hunt and eat dolphins. But these culinary traditions have a health downside: The meat and blubber contain high levels of mercury, which can contribute to disorders ranging from memory loss to seizures. Much of the mercury pollution in the ocean comes from gold mining.Is it legal to eat dolphin in Japan?
As for who is eating the stuff, the fisheries department has trouble even giving it away. That's why dolphin meat is often mislabeled and sold as whale meat, even though this is illegal under Japanese food safety law.Is dolphin meat healthy to eat?
Dolphin meat is high in mercury, and may pose a health danger to humans when consumed.What does Japan do with dolphin meat?
There, they are either slaughtered for their meat or selected and sold for large sums to aquariums and marine parks. While dolphin meat for human consumption generates only modest profits, Taiji's fishermen can reportedly sell a live specimen to brokers for about 8,000 US dollars.We Talked to a Whale Meat Restaurant Owner in Japan | ASIAN BOSS
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