vegansaurus!

» "Dolphin-safe" tuna is just as bad! IF NOT WORSE!

In a move of epically awesome parenting on the part of my father, I was allowed to watch Jaws with him when I was four. I sat next to him wearing my Wonder Woman Halloween costume. As a result (of watching Jaws, not of wearing the Wonder Woman costume), I have a hard time doing things like going into the ocean past my cankles, closing my eyes in swimming pools, being in swimming pools, and taking showers.

But also, I’ve had a lifelong fascination with one of our planet’s oldest forms of life: magnificent, wonderful, infinitely unknown sharks. In this interesting article by whysharksmatter in Southern Fried Science on the underreported side effects of “dolphin-safe” tuna, we learn that one of the probably side effects of this kind of fishing is a nearly 75 percent reduction in world shark populations.

I think that attempts at “ethical fishing” are admirable in theory, but this article suggests that in practice, they aren’t possible. In fact, if the author is correct, tuna fishing in particular is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t endeavor. While for whatever reason, many people who don’t eat meat do eat fish, it may actually be more unethical, in terms of sustainability, to do so. I recommend to those interested in this topic to read Richard Ellis’ wonderful book The Empty Ocean, which talks about the cataclysmic misfortune a fish species can suffer for having the misfortune to be made almost entirely of sushi. This is a conversation that should be taken up by everyone, not just vegans and vegetarians; it has little to do with the death of a single fish, and everything to do with our relationship with the planet we share with the amazing but largely endangered life of our oceans.

This amazing post come from our friend Annapurna, who would like to remind that the ocean is for sharks. Stick to the sand, slut. You know you’re just there to show off your wares in hopes of finding a husband. WORK IT, GIRL.