A different kind of look at whaling

Some of you know that whaling is kind of a hot-button issue for me.  Those that don't know that may assume it's because I'm so passionately against it.  The opposite is true. 

As the homeland of my mother, sisters, and more than half of my living relatives, the Faroe Islands have an enormous place in my heart and pride.  One of the things I'm most proud of about the Faroese people is their ability to be, culturally and in many other ways, ultra modern yet practice traditions which are up to a thousand years old or even more.  One of those practices they continue to do is whaling.  Pilot whales, the whales they hunt and kill, are a plentiful, beautiful (and delicious!) species.  I could go into a lengthy point-by-point speech at this point to show you why I believe there is nothing wrong with the process, at least from a meat-eater's perspective, but I'll spare you.  If you want to get into that discussion with me, I welcome it.  Please post in my comments and I'll respond. 

What I wanted to do was post the most recent episode of the Faroe Islands podcast.  This is a podcast by an American who has no ties to the Faroes; he claims no loyalty there, only a more than mild interest in this unusual place.  The most recent episode is his attempt to present the topic of whaling in a totally unbiased, dispassionate way.  It's neither for nor against whaling.  However it has two very, very good interviews that are really worth hearing. 

The first interview is with an American grad student who is in the Faroes studying the practice of whale killing.  He has no emotional leanings either way, so he just talks about the various parts of it that he finds interesting and what drew him to studying it and the Faroes to begin with.  I don't know if it matters, but I feel I should note that he is decidedly against commercial whaling and the killing of endangered whales.  I personally don't see anything wrong with commercial whaling as long as the animal is not endangered, but that's my opinion.

The second interview is with a Faroese doctor who has been doing an epidemiological study in the Faroes for 22 years of the effects of mercury, and other contaminates found in whale meat, on the Faroese people, particularly on babies in utero.  Although it's not discussed in this interview, his findings are used around the world (in the scientific/medical community) in determining safe levels (ha!) of mercury, and understanding its effects.

Anyway, enough set up.  I urge you to listen to this episode.  A lot of good information here, and a lot to think about.  Here is the link to the whaling episode of the Faroe Islands Podcast.