untitled design

Whaling company bets on vending machines to reactivate consumption

A Japanese whaling company in Yokohama on Tuesday unveiled vending machines offering whale sashimi, whale steak and whale bacon, hoping to revive sales of the long-declining food shunned by supermarkets.

Wearing a whale-shaped hat, Kyodo Senpaku president Hideki Tokoro greeted potential customers at the company’s latest ‘unmanned store’ – a trio of vending machines in Motomachi, an upscale shopping district that’s home to boutiques. fashion stores and artisan bakeries.

The company, which recently opened two similar stores in Tokyo, plans to open a fourth in the western city of Osaka next month and expects to grow to another 100 locations over the next five years.

“There are many large supermarkets that are afraid of being harassed by anti-whaling groups so they won’t sell whale meat. However, there are many people who want to eat whale but cannot,” Tokoro told Reuters at the launch of the machines.

“So we are opening stores with the idea that we can provide a place where these people can eat.”

The products on sale mostly contain whales captured in Japan, a company spokesman said, with prices ranging from 1,000 yen ($8) to 3,000 yen ($23).

Although the government claims that eating whale meat is a cherished part of Japan’s culture, consumption, which peaked in the early 1960s, has steadily declined as other sources of protein have become available and affordable.

Japan’s consumption of whale meat totaled just 1,000 tonnes in 2021, compared with 2.6 million tonnes for chicken and 1.27 million tonnes for beef, government data showed.

Reaching a peak in 1962, annual consumption of whale meat was 233,000 tons.

Conservationists say the moves to promote whale meat are desperate attempts to revive interest in a struggling business.

“Most Japanese have never tried it. So how can it be something you call a national culture if nobody is really participating in it?” said Katrin Matthes, head of Japan’s policy for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), a global charity.

The International Whaling Commission, a global body that oversees whale conservation, banned commercial whaling in 1986 after some species came close to extinction.

But Japan continued to hunt whales for what it said were research purposes. The country left the international commission and resumed commercial whaling in 2019.

Some people passing by the store said they would be open to eating whale but would not make any special effort.

“I wouldn’t go out of my way to come (buy her). I usually eat chicken,” said Urara Inamoto, a 28-year-old customer service employee.

Proponents of whale meat point to its high protein content and low carbon footprint compared to other meats.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular