SinoEye is a new find, today the author argues that, environmental concerns aside, killing whales or sharks is no worse than killing most of the animals used in Western dishes.:

Killing is an ugly thing. Animals kill and eat each other. Humans unnecessarily kill and eat animals, this happens all over the world. More attention should be paid as to how these foods are processed, and enforcing control to prevent extinction of any species. Chinese and Japanese people have seen the documentaries too - more and more they are becoming aware of the issue. Just like how western people see their McLibel documentaries, some many decide not to eat this stuff anymore, or at least make more informed choices…..
Whaling and shark-finning may be an environmental and animal rights issue, but it should not be used to vilify Asian culture.

I’m a pescetarian (see Dan for the definition of that) so I sympathize with vegetarian arguments. Still, I I have tried weird food in Asia that is non-pescetarian and non-vegetarian simply because I wanted a different experience. Thankfully in Shanghai I can eat really weird stuff without having to touch mammalian meat.:

Tomorrow, for instance we will eat these "vegetarian hedgehog hydnum balls." There’s decent Chinese vegetarian food in Shanghai - which is an improvement over both Singapore and Hong Kong. Plus, where else can you find vegetarian hedgehog hydnum balls? I have never seen real  hedgehog hydnum balls offered at a restaurant. If I did I would likely try them just for the sake of experimentation. But now, I’ll be able to resist that temptation because I’ve had mock hedgehog hydnum balls.

It’s amazing what can be done with soy protein. And it’s healthy wonderful stuff too.

Wait… what’s that Japundit?

A fertility expert in London is claiming that consuming too much soya can interfere with human conception.
Has anyone bothered telling China about this?

Crap! Sorry Lisa, no mock hedgehog balls for you.