Dried Shark Fins
Shark fin soup is considered a traditional delicacy among people living in Southeast Asia. However, many Chinese residents are beginning to see the light, and are now turning away from shark fin soup due to it’s main ingredient according to Yahoo! News. As its name would indicate, the soup is centered around shark fins, which are cut off of living sharks. The sharks, no longer being of any value, are then tossed back into the ocean where they die slowly. The fins are mixed with numerous ingredients (typically abalone, mushrooms, scallops, ham, and chicken broth) and brought to a boil. The shark fins apparently don’t have a taste to them, hence all of the ingredients. Instead, the fins add a unique texture which, along with its fabled medical properties, makes the soup a popular dish.
The soup is currently waning in popularity among the younger population of China. In a world full of instant news and technology, young residents have been exposed to videos and images showing the gruesome act of shark finning. They have responded in large numbers by turning their noses up to the soup, favoring other dishes instead. I’m very happy to be reporting this trend, as I (and I’m sure many others) am a staunch opponent to the practice of shark finning.
To read the original story, please visit Hong Kongers wage campaign against shark fin on Yahoo! News.
