extinction soup

7/30/2019 Extinction Soup

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Extinction Soup

Since the creation of shark fin soup, a Chinese delicacy, during the Sung

Dynasty, the soup has symbolized great power and prosperity among Chinese people. At

the time, it was mainly served to the emperor and his guests for special occasions.

Eventually, the soup was popularized in the Ming Dynasty and often appeared on the

menu at formal events. Today, it is common place to find shark fin soup served at a

wedding banquet, a business dinner, or even a family reunion because the Chinese

middle class has become more affluent and wants to show off their wealth. Ancient

culture regards the shark as the king of the sea, and if sharks are consumed, it will

provide health benefits such as immunity to sicknesses, virility, and youth. To the

ancient Chinese, it all sounded great; just by eating sharks you could be strong,

powerful, fertile, and remain youthful. The problem is, only the fins of the shark are

edible, so the rest of the animal goes to waste. Obviously, shark fins dont hold the key

to a universal panacea or the fountain of youth, but strong cultural beliefs tend to

create a mind over matter scenario where the consumers mind is able to

temporarily overpower his bodys ailments. Because of these beliefs, medicinal

supplements were developed to placate those who couldnt afford the expensive soup.

The booming economy of China, the rise of the Chinese middle class, and

the immigration and emigration of many people of Chinese origin into various countries

have led to an influx in the consumption of shark fin soup. As a result, an industry


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founded on the trading of shark fins was born and cultivated mostly around the Chinese

demand of the delicacy. It has created many jobs across the globe, and rakes in profits

with numbers that may rival the oil industry. However, on a practical global scale, the

give and take between sharks and humans for the purposes of making soup is

unsustainable and has begun to cause irreparable damage to the marine ecosystem

worldwide. Which leads to the choice that every person (mostly those of Asian descent)

must make: to drink, or not to drink. Although it may seem that the choice for a single

person to not eat shark fin soup is trivial, the impact of choosing so resonates

throughout the world; it will make it possible to rectify the damage that we have done

to Earths oceans and help us save sharks from extinction.

While taking sharks out of the marine ecosystem is not beneficial to the

environment or ocean life, it is beneficial to the people who make a living off of

catching, trading, or selling shark fins. If trading is banned, the industry that built itself

up around the Chinese delicacy will crumble and many people will lose their jobs only to

be forced to find work somewhere else. The fall of the industry will lead to a black

market even shadier than the one now, and the prices of shark products will skyrocket

past the already expensive norm. Furthermore, Asian cultures will be upset and

offended if a global ban on shark fins is passed. The ban would become a symbol of

racism against Asian cultures (Chinese, in particular), as well as a subject of controversy

for years to come. Most of the current generation of Asians are able to understand why

shark fin soup should not be eaten because of the effects on the environment, but the


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idea of choosing not to drink the delicacy is blasphemy to the elder generation because

its wrong to ignore traditions that have been followed forever. (Schneider) As

another part of tradition, Asians are taught to respect their elders, so the catch 22

between the moral aspect of consuming shark fin soup and obeying their elders will

cause a rift between generations that will only separate families more with a ban on

shark fin production, distribution, and consumption.

Prior to the huge economic boom that China experienced, shark fin soup

was served primarily to the wealthy, and only on special occasions. However, after the

affluent middle class came to power, the consumption of the soup increased as the

middle class makes up most of the economy. The influx in demand led to a greater

amount of sharks being hunted for their fins rather than an increase in price of the

delicacy. This eventually resulted in the over fishing of the shark population through a

process called shark finning. It is an act that involves catching a shark, brutally cutting

off its fins, and then tossing the still-living fish back into the ocean to die. Usually, these

sharks are eaten alive by other marine animals, or they slowly suffocate and drown

because they have no means of moving water past their gills to get the necessary

oxygen they need to survive. Generally, any species of shark is subject to this savage

process and many sharks are on the brink of extinction because of it. Although this

practice has been outlawed by many different nations, the ban on shark finning has not

yet spread across the globe because many people dont understand the magnitude of

the problem that finning poses to the shark population. The number of sharks in our


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oceans will continue to decrease, since up to 73 million sharks are killed each year. Over

fishing these animals causes a spike in the mortality rate while the birth rate remains

constant. (Eilperin) Money is so important to these traders that they are willing to kill

innocent baby sharks; Imperial College of London researcher, Shelley C. Clarke says

that in Taiwan she witnessed pregnant hammerhead sharks being cut open and the fins

sliced off the fetuses inside. (Raloff) These organisms follow a specific reproductive

pattern where few young are produced and it takes many years for the offspring to

reach maturity, so if the shark finning industry is allowed to continue fishing sharks out

of the water at their leisure, it is estimated that sharks will become extinct within

approximately ten years. These animals have been around for millions of years, and

humans are decimating the number of sharks in natures oceans within a matter of

years. (Ling)

So, is shark fin soup more important than the future extinction of sharks?

The fins that are so expensive and important to Asian cultures are just cartilage, after

all, and they have no taste. Fins are prepared for the soup by being soaked in chicken or

beef broth to give it flavor. It is then boiled until the cartilage begins to separate into

noodles, and also acts as a thickening agent that gives the soup a higher viscosity.

(Schneider) The thickened soup is then flavored with a myriad of different ingredients

consisting of ginger, pepper, green onions, soy sauce, wine, dried black mushrooms,

Chinese ham, bamboo shoots, and chicken all simmered with the softened fin in a rich

chicken stock. (Fu) A bowl of this delicacy can be costly, since a single pound of fins can


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cost up to $300 and a single recipe can call for 1 pounds or more. Certain species of

shark fins, such as basking sharks, can cost even more per pound. It has been

documented that a single fin from a basking shark sold for $57,000 in Singapore in

2003. (Estabrook) Granted, the basking shark is the second largest fish in the world, but

the 2003 sale of the fin continues to show the rising cost trend of fins. However, we can

prevent the decline of the shark population by using imitation shark fins or vermicelli

noodles in place of the precious fins to make the soup. Some companies have begun

distributing fake shark fins because the prices of the real thing have become too

expensive for them to stay in business. These faux fins are often made out of pork

cartilage or gelatin. (Schneider) By choosing not to consume authentic shark fin soup, it

will lessen the demand on the finning industry, thus, giving sharks a chance to

repopulate the oceans. Furthermore, since imitation fins are made to offset the

expenses of real fins, shark fin soup could be less expensive, making the real thing a

rare find on the table like it was in the Sung Dynasty. Some may argue that making the

delicacy more available will increase the demand for fins and imitation fins, but the soup

is common place at special occasions rather than everyday meals, so it stands to reason

that the increase in demand would be insignificant especially if imitation fins are used to

make it. Nevertheless, humans should not be eating sharks because it has no nutritional

value and research has shown that it may negatively affect their health.

When humans consume animals with high concentrations of chemicals, it

can lead to detrimental health effects. Because sharks are the top predators of their


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domain, they have high levels of mercury and other chemicals in their flesh and

cartilages. These chemicals collect in their bodies with each animal they consume in a

process called bioaccumulation. Each trophic level of the ecosystem tends to absorb

toxins that are found both naturally and artificially in the ecosystem and as the toxins

move up through the trophic system, the organisms at the higher levels of the pyramid

generally have the greatest amount of chemicals in their system. Since humans are

omnivores at the top of the food chain, we ingest all different types of toxins that are

potentially harmful at higher concentrations. By eating shark fin soup, it is possible to

increase the amount of mercury in the human body to dangerous levels?which can lead

to mercury poisoning?that deteriorate the nervous system and other bodily functions

vital to survival. (Schneider) Some researchers have linked the over consumption of

shark fins to degenerative brain disease; for example, high concentrations of chemicals

like -N-methylamino-L-alanine (or BMAA) have been found in fins. From a small fin

sample of seven different species of sharks, BMAA concentrations ranging from 144 to

1838 nanograms per milligram were discovered, which mirrors the levels of the

chemical found in patients suffering from Alzheimers and Lou Gehrigs disease.

(Pappas) However, the effect on human health is trivial when compared to the big

picture; the desire for shark fins has caused environmental damage that may prove to

be irreversible and create an even bigger problem than brain disease.

Sharks are the all important regulators of oceanic life, so if they were to

suddenly disappear from the oceans, it would have a crippling effect on the ecosystem.


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These animals are more vital to life than humans give them credit for; they keep their

prey in check so that the population doesnt overwhelm the workings of the

environment. Shark finning throws off the cycle of nature by prematurely killing off

millions of sharks which, in turn, allows communities of their prey to flourish. The

dwindling amount of sharks present in the sea have let populations of skates, rays, and

small sharks wreak havoc on oceanic shellfish. Shellfish have already been subject to

overexploitation, disease, habitat destruction, and pollution, which already have

depressed these species, so the further decimation of these filter feeders will

accelerate the destruction of the ecosystem because it will cause the water quality to

suffer to the point where it may eventually kill off other ocean life. Also, the decline of

sharks has been cascading through the marine ecosystem and creating collateral

problems for bivalve fisheries at a rate so slow, humans havent noticed it until recently.

(University of Miami) The effect that the dropping number of shellfish have on the

fishing economy as well as the environment are direct causes of the shark finning

industry and the high demand for shark fin soup. Finning has become such a huge

problem that various nations have tried to counteract it by instituting laws that

discourage this convention.

Obviously, this problem cannot be solved overnight, but if this abominable

practice isnt stopped, its negative impact on the environment may become irreparable.

In attempt to conserve the planets sharks, some nations have adopted shark fin bans.

Even China has decided to ban the serving of shark fin soup at official banquets, but


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its consumption is not cut down, sharks will go from endangered to extinct and oceanic

life will inevitably come to an end. A single choice can reverberate through the years to

come; by choosing not to drink shark fin soup, it is possible to right the wrongs that

mankind has made. If people stand together and choose to boycott the delicacy, we can

lessen the demand placed on the soup. We can prevent sharks from being hunted for

their fins. We can save them from extinction. We can stop the death of Earths oceans.

Sometimes extinction is unavoidable, but if sharks become extinct the blame will be put

on our generation because we could have saved them by making the choice to not

consume their fins. Besides, dont you want your children and grandchildren to know

what a shark is?

Bibliography


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1. Estabrook, Barry. Sharks, Soup, and the Domino Effect Destroying Our Oceans. The

Atlantic. The Atlantic, 17 June 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2012

2. University of Miami. Overfishing Large Sharks Impacts Entire Marine Ecosystems,

Shrinks Shellfish Supply. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 Mar. 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

3. Fu, Pei-Mei. Pei-Meis Chinese Cookbook Volume 1. Taipei: T&S Industrial, 1969. Print.

4. Eilperin, Juliet, and Benjamin Gottlieb. China to Ban Shark Fin Soup from Official

Functions. Washington Post. The Washington Post, 03 July 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

5. Raloff, Janet. New Estimates of the Shark-Fin Trade. New Estimates of the Shark-Fin

Trade| Environment| Science News. Science News, 1 Nov. 2006. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

6. Wassener, Bettina. China to Ban Shark Fin Soup At State Events. The New York

Times. The New York Times, 04 July 2012. Web. 10 Dec. 2012

7. Schneider, Andrew. Shark Fin Soup: War of Culture, Politics, Business. Food Safety

News. Food Safety News, 13 June 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

8. Pappas, Stephanie. Shark Fin Soup Health Risk Claims Include Degenerative Brain

Diseases. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Dec.

2012.

9. Ling, Lisa. Shark Fin Soup Alters an Ecosystem. CNN. CNN World, 10 Dec. 2008.

Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

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