Not exactly "Western" Civ, but Native American tribes along the west coast would hunt whales, and the Makah are still allowed to on the grounds that it's a trad

Not exactly "Western" Civ, but Native American tribes along the west coast would hunt whales, and the Makah are still allowed to on the grounds that it's a tradition, though that's obviously limited by necessity due to whale populations (I think the can only take one each year). I think that's a pretty convincing argument that people considered whales to be food for some time.