intermission - Shark Fin Soup

As someone who has not eaten red or white meat for well over 35 years and has not eaten fish for close to ten - I am always glad when I hear about people deciding not to kill animals for food.

I am just not too sure about the right of Toronto City councilors to make a municipal law banning shark fin soup. Really people - you are OK with people living on the streets in winter or when it is mind numbing hot - facing death by freezing or heat exposure; it is OK when children do not have enough to eat and it appears to be just fine to cut services when people need those supports just to stay alive and perhaps to stay sane, but it is not OK to kill a shark. 

I have to wonder how many of the councilors  who voted for that bill actually have eaten shark fin soup. Are they themselves giving anything up? Or was it just an easy vote that made them look like they cared about the world?  I also wonder how many of those same people have eaten veal, or perhaps beef or chicken or pork from a factory farm? How do they get to decide what is moral behavior or not? The word  “sanctimonious” pops into my mind.

 Perhaps one day someone will ban the eating of all animal matter (including sharks) for the simple reason that there is no "humane" method of killing an animal. But until then, can you please get off your collective high horses and deal with what is happening to people outside your office doors.