Purveyors of whale meat in Japan have an image problem. Though they promote the whale as a hallmark of Japanese culture and cuisine, the public has turned away from eating the meat, thanks to effective conservationist campaigns depicting the whale industry as cruel. Japan’s major supermarkets refuse to stock whale. Now, a prominent whaling company is unveiling vending machines offering whale sashimi and whale bacon. The company says the machines will bypass supermarkets that have cowed to foreign pressure. The World’s Patrick Winn reports.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.