You should have tried hákarl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1karl

A horse is a horse of course, but I would not be bragging about eating whale.

Horse meat is not unusual.
I would never knowingly eat whale meat. I can't see it is anything to be proud of, any more than eating dog in Asia, bush meat in Africa or shark fin soup anywhere is.

AlanRow,
I did eat hakaar! I actually went to a farm where they prepare it on a western peninsula in Iceland. Check out this thread for more details.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rotten-shark-in-reykjavik.cfm


Hetismij2,
Is there ANY food to be proud of eating? My whole thing is that (horse/whale) was way out of the norm of (at least MY) daily diet. And maybe horse meat is served on the dinner table in your home, but not where I came from, so again it was good to try something different. Isn’t that the whole point of travel? Who the hell flies 8000 miles to eat at McDonalds?


And why is everyone so against whale? I ate some cod when i was there also.

I am not against whales, I am FOR them. Call me a "species-ist", but I consider some animals too superior to eat, and whales are top of the list. Cod is a fish, but whales are special. When I travel, I partake in the local cuisine, but not if I find it morally repugnant.

Exactly yorkshire.

I have been to Norway, and will be going again at the end of the month but I don't eat whale there either, or seal for that matter.

There are foods you can eat which are local without eating whale.

Most whale species are under threat, not only from whaling, but from other outside forces. These are intelligent mammals who are killed by having a harpoon shot into them which then explodes. Often they are not killed outright, and indeed some are skinned alive. Pregnant cows are killed, nursing mothers are killed, young whales are killed. Not good for the whale population.

Instead of eating them I suggest you go on a whale watching trip - I defy you not to be moved by these magnificent creatures.

Horse meat is served here, though not at my dining table. I am British and don't eat horse.

Most restaurants (and grocery stores/butchers) in France offer horse - it's not at all unusual.

I agree that eating any endangered species (like whale) is bad karma - at best.

yorkshire,
You eat cod but not whale, what a hypocrite. What does a whale offer to this world better than a cod? Neither solves the important social issues. Sure a whale is intelligent. But is that intelligence put to good use? Can a whale find a cure for a disease, bring crime levels down, no I don’t think so. However can whales provide food for starving people around the world, YES. It’s great that you’re almighty enough to judge which living being has a better right to live.

Animals are good for 2 things....EATING and WEARING! Cod, whale, horse, cow, chicken, whatever.

However can whales provide food for starving people around the world, YES.

But it does not. It is regularly consumed only in Norway, Japan and Iceland, and its price is beyond the reach of starving people.

Did you eat any trolls?

If you do not see the difference between a fish and one of the more magnificent animals on earth, then there is little point in discussing the matter further.

agreed.

anyone else have an opinion on this?

anyone?

Well said yorkshire and hetismij2! And travel4425, animals are good for quite a few things other than "eating and wearing", am sure most would agree with me...

Nay to Horse. Although some of the soups is Iceland were a bit dubious soi who knows?

But I did eat whale on a Norway cruise. It was a buffet so what not try it?

I can't see why anyone would choose to eat it, though, given planty of alternatives.

Apparently according there was a whale watcing cruise off Iceland that were most suprised to see the whale shot by a whaler. Not quite what they were expecting from the brochure, I imagine.


Animals are animals, none should have more rights to others about whether they should or shouldn't be eaten. All should be treated respectfully; harevested sustainably; killed ethically and cooked properly.

People often carry on about the cruel ways that whales are killed or cows, but will eat fish. Fish are suffocated to death. If we killed a cow that way all held would break loose.

I wouldnt eat any whale meat out of respect for the creatures. But just from a health standpoint, toothed whales are known to have a huge amount of PCBs and other nasty fat-loving chemicals in their meat. They are, after all, at the top of the food chain...no, wait,... You are now! Look up bioaccumulation on wikipedia.

So since you wont eat "whale" meat out of respect, i assume that same respect is grated to all other living creatures?