# Iceland Says, "Fuck You" to the Rest of the Planet **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2006, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430 "2006-10-22T08:16:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/21 "2006-10-23T06:25:55Z")
Whale meat tastes disgusting, with the all the delicate flavour and texture of old work boots marinated in cod liver oil: if it was cheap and plentiful, no-one would eat the shit. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/22 "2006-10-23T06:35:20Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] Whale meat tastes disgusting, with the all the delicate flavour and texture of old work boots marinated in cod liver oil: if it was cheap and plentiful, no-one would eat the shit. [/QUOTE] In _Fluke_, Christopher Moore has the main character tell another character that the Japanese government has introduced a program to serve whale meat in the public schools, to give schoolchildren a taste for the meat so they’ll support the whaling industry when they grow up. I don’t know if it’s true, but I assume so because he did say that the whale/whaling facts and figures in the story were true. I always wondered why a program like this would be necessary; if the meat actually tasted good, wouldn’t people be clamoring after it anyway? Without having to get them used to it in elementary school? And frankly, my school lunches weren’t _terrible_, but they weren’t exactly great either. I’d think this program would cause people to associate whale meat with bad memories of low-quality school cafeteria food and cause them to avoid it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/23 "2006-10-23T06:57:01Z")
I can’t find the thread, but there was a Norwegian Doper who admitted to eating whale and liking it. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/24 "2006-10-23T08:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] I’d think this program would cause people to associate whale meat with bad memories of low-quality school cafeteria food and cause them to avoid it. [/QUOTE] Sounds like a UL to me: that stuff’s _expensive_. My wife used to get served whale back in Japanese primary school in the early 70’s, when it was still cheap and plentiful there - cheaper than beef, back then - and yeah, she hates it because of the association with nasty school lunches. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/25 "2006-10-23T09:00:46Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] I can’t find the thread, but there was a Norwegian Doper who admitted to eating whale and liking it. [/QUOTE] [This one?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=376158) I’ll admit to having eaten whale. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/26 "2006-10-23T09:13:20Z")
Nope. IIRC, it was here in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/27 "2006-10-23T12:31:07Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] I can’t find the thread, but there was a Norwegian Doper who admitted to eating whale and liking it. [/QUOTE] I’m an American who ate a whale steak in Norway in the mid-80s, and I don’t remember it being too bad. Better than a lot of what I ate in France, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/28 "2006-10-23T12:33:37Z")
Good for Iceland. It’s about time someone put that uppity planet in its place! Marc ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/29 "2006-10-23T14:54:32Z")
Gah. Try an experiment yourself. Put three coins on your desk, and only three coins. Pick them all up. How may are left on the desk? None. Nada. Zip. All gone. Now envision a planet where everyone who wants a coin is encouraged to remove one from the desk, and although we see them doing so, no one is stopping them. There is not an unlimited supply of coins. We’ve already seen some of the most valuable coins disappear. Poor value coins like pennies remain, but people are grabbing them off your desk like they’re going out of style. PS: An implacable supervillain known as Famine will enter the room and kill you the moment there are no more coins on the desk. Sit on your hands. Whistle. There go more coins. Fewer, always fewer. Wait, wait…wait some more…almost gone… Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/30 "2006-10-23T15:18:48Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan We _don’t_ understand a helluvalot about whales and their reproductive cycles. We’re not really certain why numbers of whales haven’t dramatically increased since whaling was halted, and the fucking Icelanders don’t care, they just want their McBlubber sandwiches. Well, fuck you, fuck you and your rock encrusted, half frozen island. I hope your collective asses choke on a whale bone.[/QUOTE] Hah. We DO understand a fair amount about North Sea cod and their reproductive cycles, and we’re fairly certain why their numbers are continuing to fall. The scientists who are supposed to set government policy on this have advised a total ban on catching it for 2007 and 2008, as they have recommended every year since 2001. Reproductive adult cod stocks are now down to about 31,000 tons. What was the quota set last year? 23,000 tons. The icelanders might be risking the future of the whales, but at least there’s a modicum of uncertainty. North Sea cod is going the way of the dodo, everyone know about it, and no-one seems to give a shit. Ditto for tuna and so on. Whales get a lot of media attention but I think the systematic strip-mining of fish species is a much bigger issue. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/31 "2006-10-23T16:36:22Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] North Sea cod is going the way of the dodo, everyone know about it, and no-one seems to give a shit. [/QUOTE] I didn’t know about it. And I give a shit. That’s depressing. Are you going to tell me next that cracker crumbs and lemons are going extinct? 'Cause life just won’t be worth living then. I agree with the outrage of the OP, but I have one anecdotal observation. I occasionally go on whale watches in the North Atlantic, and by my observation, fin whales outnumber all other whales combined by about 7:1. I don’t have an accurate count, but I’d bet I’ve seen a good 20 fins. One each of humpbacks, rights, and minkes. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/32 "2006-10-23T18:00:23Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] Dolphins live in igloos? :eek: [/QUOTE] Just in case you thought I was serious, that was a quote from _South Park_. It’s the episode titled “Weight Gain 4000”. > [@](#): > > Wendy: My paper was on the suffering of bottle nosed dolphins. > Cartman: There you see, you shouldn’t have written a paper about dolphins. Dolphins are stupid. > Stan: Dude, dolphins are like the second smartest animal on the planet. > Cartman: Buh, hah, right, if they’re so damn smart, how come they get caught in those fishing nets all the time? > > \ > > Cartman: Ehh, stop defending your little girlfriend for writing about some stupid fish. > Stan: Dude, dolphins are intelligent and friendly. > Cartman: Intelligent and friendly on rye bread with some mayonnaise. > Stan: Dolphins are way smarter than you. > Cartman: If they’re so smart, why do they live in igloos? > Stan: Dolphins don’t live in igloos, that’s eskimos. > Cartman: Dolphins, eskimos, who cares? It’s all a bunch of tree hugging hippie crap. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/33 "2006-10-23T18:16:24Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] Sounds like a UL to me: that stuff’s _expensive_. My wife used to get served whale back in Japanese primary school in the early 70’s, when it was still cheap and plentiful there - cheaper than beef, back then - and yeah, she hates it because of the association with nasty school lunches. [/QUOTE] And people still give the Koreans shit for eating dogmeat. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/34 "2006-10-23T18:30:22Z")
I don’t get all the doom and gloom going on in this thread. It’s obvious to me that Iceland is doing the world a favor. By taking out the whales, it counteracts the rising of the ocean levels caused by global warming. Those mega-ton monstrosities displace a lot of water with their weight. If we took out all the whales, the water levels would drop so much that we wouldn’t have to worry about melting glaciers anymore. That’s the goal Iceland is trying to achieve. They just have a hard time articulating it. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/35 "2006-10-23T18:33:03Z")
[QUOTE=cckerberos] [This one?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=376158) I’ll admit to having eaten whale. [/QUOTE] … and? How was it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Roonwit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Roonwit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roonwit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/36 "2006-10-23T19:07:29Z")
[QUOTE=Gukumatz] Not being at all proud of the practice - we tore down the local whaling station in 1932 and now it’s a blot on the common conscience, kinda like Quisling - but I still feel obliged to point out a little bright point on Norway’s record. While our quota runs a bit over a thousand whales, only between 50 and 80% of those are actually taken. For instance, this year’s quota was 1052 animals, but so far they have only taken 527. (Expected to rise, of course) Comparing it to before the law - when we caught 2000 minke whales alone, each year - and, well, it _has_ improved. Sadly not enough. ☹ [/QUOTE] Oh, all right then. I suppose we can downgrade your ‘fuck you’ to a ‘dang you all to heck’. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/37 "2006-10-23T22:51:14Z")
[QUOTE=col\_10022] And people still give the Koreans shit for eating dogmeat. [/QUOTE] And (in the US) we seem to be trying to outlaw the consumption of horsemeat. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/38 "2006-10-24T01:39:14Z")
Whales have a lot of mass, right? It takes one of those exploding harpoons to destroy a whale? _Weapons of mass destruction!!!_ Ooh, George is gonna kick some Icelandic ass! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/39 "2006-10-24T07:04:11Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] I didn’t know about it. And I give a shit. That’s depressing. Are you going to tell me next that cracker crumbs and lemons are going extinct? 'Cause life just won’t be worth living then. I agree with the outrage of the OP, but I have one anecdotal observation. I occasionally go on whale watches in the North Atlantic, and by my observation, fin whales outnumber all other whales combined by about 7:1. I don’t have an accurate count, but I’d bet I’ve seen a good 20 fins. One each of humpbacks, rights, and minkes. [/QUOTE] Have you considered that maybe the fin whales just surface more often? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430/40 "2006-10-24T17:14:13Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] The icelanders might be risking the future of the whales, but at least there’s a modicum of uncertainty. North Sea cod is going the way of the dodo, everyone know about it, and no-one seems to give a shit. Ditto for tuna and so on. Whales get a lot of media attention but I think the systematic strip-mining of fish species is a much bigger issue. [/QUOTE] I think you’re right. I quit buying fish a long time ago, and I keep telling my friends and relatives about it since no one knows, but I’m not sure what else I can do. Any ideas? I will use them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iceland-says-fuck-you-to-the-rest-of-the-planet/377430.md?page=3)