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> Many of us in the West find hunting wild whales, or dolphins to be repugnant. Meanwhile, we're perfectly happy to eat factory farmed pigs. I would guess that
by kodablah 8y ago
> Many of us in the West find hunting wild whales, or dolphins to be repugnant. Meanwhile, we're perfectly happy to eat factory farmed pigs.
I would guess that the intersection of these two groups is much smaller than it seems. The anti-whaling community and the anti-meat-eating community are often aligned in their beliefs (one is a subset of the other). Otherwise for most I'd guess (hard to know), their only issue with whaling or dolphin hunting would be based on endangerment. I doubt many actual people you talk to on this issue would have inconsistent beliefs from whales to pigs based purely on species or familiarity. If the whale is not endangered, I doubt they would see whaling as any different than pig farming (for whichever side they fall on the issue).
- Scarblac 8y agoI would think the anti-whaling group of people would be much larger, since it's an easier position to take. There are very few people who actually eat or otherwise use whales, the rest can freely disapprove of that without sacrificing anything. Whereas being against eating pigs means a substantial change in diet for many people.
- kodablah 8y ago> There are very few people who actually eat or otherwise use whales, the rest can freely disapprove of that without sacrificing anything. That's what I'm arguing against; the average person is less hypocritical than we label them. Now whether you think their justification in the difference is valid is another point. Most of these groups tend to be squeaky wheels and I would guess (yes, lots of guessing) that the vast majority of people don't have a very strong opinion outside of general species endangerment. Your average meat eater would have no problem with whale handled/consumed in the same way as they do pig. Similarly your average anti-meat eater would have the same problems with whale handling/consumption as they do with pig.
- emodendroket 8y agohttp://luna.pos.to/whale/icr_pub_pall_t1_3.html http://luna.pos.to/whale/icr_pub_pall_t1_3.html According to these figures (apparently originally from Gallup: text here http://luna.pos.to/whale/icr_pub_pall.html http://luna.pos.to/whale/icr_pub_pall.html), only 26.3% of Americans would agree that "non-endangered whales can be killed for human food." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#Unite... According to this page, vegetarianism is at an all-time high in the US at 3.4%. Assuming every single vegetarian takes the anti-whaling stance that still leaves you with the other 73% looking inconsistent.
- kodablah 8y agoI just have a hard time, especially after last election, taking these polls at face value. Not only is 1000 people difficult to base wide sweeping opinion on, I think a lot of people are answering about whether they would be in favor of it for themselves rather than believe it should be outlawed or are actually fervently against it like anti-whaling groups are.
- emodendroket 8y agoThe last election pollsters messed up, but not by a factor of 70%.