At every Chinese wedding I’d attended, I’ve always had a bowl of shark’s fin soup, or two, if there had been more to go around. It never bothered me. Then again, why should it? It was tradition. There are some dishes that are considered standard fare in a Chinese wedding, and shark’s fin soup is just about as standard as that 3-tiered wedding cake. (If it isn’t on the menu, the wedding couple is likely to be labeled ‘cheapos’, or cheapskates in colloquial terms)
So what sparked Coup for Shark’s Fin Soup?
In January this year, I was invited to a house party by a teammate. Dinner ended with shark’s fin soup. Two teammates who were with me refused their portions and were pretty surprised to see me having mine with sheer nonchalance.
“Joan, you diver right? I thought divers are anti-shark’s fin?”
“Yeah I’m anti-shark’s fin… But I’m also anti-waste-food what! It’s not like I would deliberately order it. It’s already been cooked. I can take a stand for all I want, but this bowl of soup is either gonna be eaten or thrown away!”
Oddly though, their words struck a chord with me.
Two non-divers watching me dig into my bowl of shark’s fin soup. What does it mean to claim that I love diving, hate that corals are dying and grumble that I should have been diving 8 years ago, because then Malaysian waters had whale sharks and now I rarely even see any big fish? I spent that night pondering. What does it take for me to pass on the next bowl of shark’s fin soup?
I reached an epiphany – it wouldn’t be food if it mattered to me.
I sure wouldn’t eat my dog even if she was served on a golden platter.
And thus my journey of shark education began. I started from ground zero – knowing nothing besides the fact that they’re endangered. But I gained a little more knowledge through research and talking to people who know a thing or two about sharks and the fin industry.
May Coup for Shark’s Fin Soup strike that same chord it had with me, with you.
From the girl who wishes to see a whale shark,
Joan
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Jerome Kok, Ong Ruolin, Nicole Chin and Aaron Wong, for their personal stories, the idea sharing and photos.
The writer is currently an undergraduate (Psychology) at Nanyang Technological University. As a national athlete, she is blessed with opportunities to compete abroad and an exposure to life beyond the urban setting. It nurtured her understanding and appreciation for nature. In July 2010, she began scuba diving and has taken a deeper interest in conservation issues since.
