When traveling to faraway lands, an essential thing on everyone’s to-do list is to try the local cuisine. But before we settle into a comfortable booth at a restaurant, it’s important to educate ourselves about the impact of ordering that exotic dish on the menu. In this post, we present 6 signs that can be considered as unique and unusual for visitors, but all of them have an eco-friendly cost like responsible traveler We need to consider before ordering.
Shark fin soup
Where is it served?: many Asian countries, mainly China
what is it: Cartilage in the dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins of many sharks
Problem: About 100 million sharks are caught and dissected each year for shark fin soup, which has raised concerns about the world’s dwindling shark population and debates about how inhumane treatment when catching a shark, removing its fins and releasing it into the ocean where it cannot swim or survive.
turtle eggs
Where is it served?: some parts of Asia and the Caribbean
what is it: Fertilized turtle eggs
Problem: Turtles take many years to reach reproductive age and do not breed every year but instead every few years, making egg-eating a danger to the species (328 turtle species are considered threatened).
seagulls
Where is it served?: Iceland, Faroe Islands
what is it: Puffins are part of the bird genus Fratercula. They resemble penguins in appearance because they are black and white, but they are not related.
Problem: Although the puffer fish is not an endangered species, their numbers have been declining in recent years in both North America as well as Northern Europe due to habitat destruction and the fact that they are hunted. caught for eggs, feathers and meat.
Bird’s nest soup
Where is it served?: Asian countries
what is it: Bird’s nest dissolves in water to form a thick soup. It is one of the most expensive foods in the world.
Problem: Nests are often collected before birds have had a chance to breed causing their populations to plummet.
wild meat
Where is it served?: parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America
what is it: Pasty
Problem: Specifically referred to as Wild game meat crisis. The problem is that meat comes from unsustainable hunting, often of endangered wildlife.
whale meat
Where is it served?: Japan, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Spain’s Basque Country, Canada, Greenland and Korea.
what is it: The most common is mink e whale meat, but endangered species such as baleen whales, humpback whales and fin whales are also hunted.
Problem: The problem includes not only whaling, which is an endangered species, but also the high levels of mercury and other toxins found in the meat.
