Shark fin soup
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Shark's fin soup is a soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Southeast Asia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other ingredients.<ref name="NYT Bradsher"/> It is commonly served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets, or as a luxury item.<ref name="NYT Bradsher">Keith Bradsher, Disneyland in China Offers a Soup and Lands in a Stew, 17 June 2005 The New York Times</ref>
It has been condemned by the Humane Society International, which states that approximately 72 million sharks are killed each year for their fins.<ref>Shark Finning. Humane Society International.</ref> Currently, international concerns over the sustainability and welfare of sharks have impacted consumption and availability of the soup worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Recently, health concerns about the high concentration of BMAA in shark fins have arisen.
Shark fin soup substitutes have lately appeared on the market which do not require any shark fins,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Alpha Food Lab Faux fin</ref> thus avoiding the environmental damage caused by the shark finning practice.
PreparationEdit
Traditional shark fin soup or stew is made with fins obtained from a variety of shark species. Raw fins are processed by first removing the skin and denticles before trimming them into shapes and bleaching to a more desirable coloration.<ref name="FAO Techpaper">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sharks' fins are sold dried, cooked, wet, and frozen. Ready-to-eat shark fin soup is also readily available in Asian markets.<ref name="FAO Techpaper"/>
Dried fins come in cooked and skinned (shredded) and raw and unskinned (whole), the latter requiring more preparation.<ref name="CF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both need to be softened before they can be used to prepare soup.
TasteEdit
The taste of the soup comes from the broth, as the fins themselves are almost tasteless.<ref name=controversial>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rather than for taste, the fins are used for their "snappy, gelatinous" texture,<ref name=controversial/> which has been described as "chewy, sinewy, stringy".<ref name="NYT Bradsher"/> Krista Mahr of Time called it "somewhere between chewy and crunchy".<ref name=mahr>Template:Cite news</ref>
Health impactEdit
Shark fins are believed in Chinese culture to have properties of boosting sexual potency, enhancing skin quality, increasing qi or energy, preventing heart disease, and lowering cholesterol.<ref name=woo/> In traditional Chinese medicine, shark fins are believed to help in areas of rejuvenation, appetite enhancement, and blood nourishment and to be beneficial to vital energy, kidneys, lungs, bones, and many other parts of the body.<ref name="FAO Techpaper"/>
There are claims that shark fins prevent cancer;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> however, there is no scientific evidence, and one study found shark cartilage generally to be of no value in cancer treatment.<ref>The results of a study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, and led by Dr. Charles Lu of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology on 2 June 2007 in Chicago. Cancer patients treated with extracts from shark cartilage had a shorter median lifespan than patients receiving a placebo. Template:Cite news</ref> Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence that shark fins can be used to treat any medical condition.<ref name="FAO Techpaper"/> Sharks biomagnify toxins, so eating shark meat may raise the risk of dementia and mercury poisoning.<ref name=fda_sharkmeat/><ref name=Chinadaily/><ref name=Mondo&Hammerschlag/><ref name=ScienceDaily/>
WildAid, a wildlife non-governmental organization, warned that eating too much shark fin can cause sterility in men.<ref name=Chinadaily>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is known that larger fish such as shark, tuna, and swordfish contain high levels of mercury and methylmercury salts.<ref name=fda_sharkmeat>Template:Cite news</ref> For nursing mothers, young children, and pregnant women or those who wish to be, the United States Food and Drug Administration has advised avoiding consumption of fish high in mercury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
High concentrations of BMAA are present in shark fins. Because BMAA is a neurotoxin, consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage pills may pose a risk for degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and ALS,<ref name="Mondo&Hammerschlag">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=ScienceDaily>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as Parkinson's disease.<ref name="Mondo&Hammerschlag"/>
Counterfeit shark fins often also contain toxins.<ref name=artificial/>
Market and demandEdit
Early useEdit
Shark fin soup was reported in Ming dynasty writings and by the Qing dynasty was considered a "traditional part of formal banquets"; in Chinese cuisine, it was considered to be one of the eight treasured foods from the sea.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was popular with Chinese emperors because it was rare, and tasty only after a complicated and elaborate preparation.<ref name=barboza>Template:Cite news</ref> By the time of the Qing dynasty, shark fin soup was in high demand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its manual of cuisine, the Suiyuan shidan, indicates that the shark fin was eaten as soup, stew, and even as a stir-fry, but in all cases the fin had to be boiled for two days.<ref name=suiyuan_shidan>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The popularity of shark fin soup rose in the late-18th and early-19th centuries as standards of living began to improve.<ref name="NYT Bradsher"/>
Demand peaks, c. 2000Edit
In the late-20th century, shark fin soup was a popular delicacy in China, and was eaten in Chinese restaurants around the world.<ref name="abc">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The increasing wealth of the middle class raised demand.<ref name="Yaoming"/> The shark fin trade more than doubled between 1985 and 2001.<ref name=TIME/>
Based on information gathered from the Hong Kong trade in fins, the market was estimated in 2004 to be growing by five percent each year.<ref name="flmnh">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Consumption of shark fin soup had risen dramatically with the affluence of the middle class, as Chinese communities around the world enjoyed increasing income levels.<ref name="NYT Bradsher" /><ref name="TIME">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The high price of the soup meant it was often used as a way to impress guests, or for celebrations<ref name="TT" /> such as weddings, banquets, and important business deals.<ref name=barboza/><ref name=fleshler>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=viegas>Template:Cite news</ref> It was used to communicate wealth, power, and prestige,<ref name=fleshler/><ref name=viegas/> as it was believed to show respect, honor, and appreciation to guests as well as to intimidate them as the serving of such a dish often implies that the host is willing to use cruelty and brutality to achieve their goals,<ref name=barboza/><ref name=woo>Template:Cite news</ref> with 58% of those questioned in the WWF survey indicating they ate the soup at a celebration or gathering.<ref name="WWFsurvey" />
In Hong Kong restaurants, where the market had been strong, demand from Hong Kong natives had reportedly dropped in 2006. This was more than balanced by an increase in demand from the Chinese mainland,<ref name="TT">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> where economic growth put the expensive delicacy within the reach of an expanding middle class.<ref name="Yaoming">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A survey carried out in China in 2006 by WildAid and the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association found that 35% of participants said they had consumed shark fin soup in the last year,<ref name="abc" /> while 83% of participants in an online survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature said that they had consumed shark fin soup at some time.<ref name="WWFsurvey">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Changes in demand, 2005–presentEdit
The movement against shark fin soup began in 2006, when WildAid enlisted Chinese basketball star Yao Ming as spokesperson for a public relations campaign against the dish. The campaign was taken up by a coalition of Chinese businessmen, celebrities, and students. Businessman-turned-environmentalist Jim Zhang helped to raise concern within China's government, which pledged in 2012 to ban shark fin soup from official banquets within three years.<ref name="Denyer">Template:Cite news</ref>
In January 2013, China Daily reported that officials in Zhejiang province found that many shark fin soup restaurants were selling artificial shark fins, and that one-third of the samples that the officials had obtained contained dangerous amounts of cadmium and methylmercury.<ref name="artificial">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Unreliable source? Within two months of the China Daily report, China ordered officials throughout the country to stop serving dishes made from protected wildlife at official banquets, and the Hong Kong government issued a similar order in September.<ref name="Denyer" />
Consumption of shark fin soup in China has decreased. China's Ministry of Commerce indicated that consumption of shark fin soup during the 2013 spring break holiday had decreased by 50–70% from 2012, and Hong Kong industry groups reported that shark fin imports were down by 20–30% from 2012.<ref name="Denyer" /> Also, anecdotal evidence points to a worldwide drop in shark fin prices and a move away from shark fishing in parts of Africa.<ref name="Denyer" /> Shark fin soup has often been replaced by dishes featuring sea cucumbers.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
In Hong Kong, a 2016 poll from the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Shark Foundation had 75% of local respondents saying they were "neutral" towards the soup at banquets,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while 90% of respondents said they would eat the dish if served to them, with the most popular justifications being to "avoid food waste" or to "show respect for their host".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
A 2018 WildAid report mentioned Thailand as an emerging market for shark fin soup, citing a 2017 survey where 57% of urban Thai respondents consumed the dish, most commonly at weddings, restaurants, and business meetings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ethical and environmental concernsEdit
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Shark fins used in the soup are the cartilaginous dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins. These are regularly harvested by a process known as shark finning, which takes only the fins and discards the carcass, alive or dead. Overfishing poses a major threat to the world's shark populations.<ref name="Buckley">Template:Cite book</ref>
Some groups, such as Fins Attached, Shark Savers, IUCN, Shark Angels, Shark Whisperer and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, discourage consumption of the soup due to concerns with the world's shark population and how sharks are inhumanely finned alive and returned to the ocean, unable to swim, hunt or survive. The prevalence of shark finning and the sustainability of shark species are both debated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2011, major hotel operators such as Marriott International, The Peninsula Hotels and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts stopped serving shark fin soup in favor of offering sustainable seafood.<ref name="Penisula">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Shangrila">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The largest supermarket chains in SingaporeTemplate:SndCold Storage and NTUC FairPriceTemplate:Sndhave stopped selling shark fins, citing sustainability concerns.<ref name="3 supermkt">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hong Kong Disneyland dropped the soup from its menu after it could not find a sustainable source.<ref name="disney">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Malaysia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry banned shark fin soup from official functions in a commitment to the Malaysian Nature Society to conserve the shark species.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the United States, Hawaii,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Washington,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Oregon,<ref>Oregon House of Representatives bills of 2011 Template:Webarchive Oregon's shark fin bill was HB 2838 by Representative Brad Witt. Passed Senate unanimously, passed House 58 to 1. Signed into law by Governor John Kitzhaber on 16 June 2011.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> California,<ref name=harmon>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Guam,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have banned the sale and possession of shark fins, effectively eliminating the availability of the soup.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Illinois, which had been a large importer of shark fins, was the fifth U.S. state, and the first non-Pacific state, to implement a ban on shark fin trade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act, closing loopholes used to obtain shark fins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In October 2011, California governor Jerry Brown, citing the cruelty of finning and potential threats to the environment and commercial fishing, signed Assembly Bill 376, banning the possession and sale of detached shark fins.<ref name=harmon/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two Chinese American groups challenged the law in federal court, arguing among other things that it was discriminatory against the Chinese-American community. The federal courts rejected these claims.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In Canada, the Vancouver city council decided to work towards creating a ban to preserve shark species.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Toronto joined other regional municipalities in adopting a shark fin ban on 13 October 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Ontario Superior Court of Justice overturned the Toronto bylaw, as it was outside the powers of the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Calgary banned shark fin soup on 16 July 2012,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but in May 2013 shelved the bylaw indefinitely.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 2 July 2012, the State Council of the People's Republic of China declared that shark fin soup can no longer be served at official banquets. This ban may take up to three years to take effect because of the social significance of the dish in Chinese culture.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The marine conservation organization Bite-Back has campaigned against the sale of shark fin soup in Britain. On the back of its campaigning, the London-based Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant Hakkasan agreed to stop selling the soup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> High-profile names such as Gordon Ramsay, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Charles Clover, author of The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat, have lent their support to the charity's 'Hacked Off' campaign.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, environmental NGO WildAid partnered with Plan B Media on a public awareness campaign to discourage sharkfin soup consumption in Taiwan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Imitation shark fin soupEdit
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Imitation shark fin soup is a noodle soup often sold in small bowls by street vendors in Hong Kong, where it is a common street snack. It is a more ethical and affordable substitute for shark fin soup.<ref name=":0" />
A popular, low-cost imitation shark fin soup (碗仔翅) made using vermicelli is widely available in Asia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Fodors">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They can also be made from cellophane noodles.<ref name="Imitation Shark Fin Soup">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=controversial/> Seafood companies in Asia later developed edible gelatinous products to imitate shark fins' qualities, commonly referred as "imitation shark fins".
Imitation shark finsEdit
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Substitutes for shark include imitation shark fin, konjac gel, various forms of noodles, and others. "Mock shark's fin" soup appeared in Hong Kong during the 1970s. From the 1990s onward, it became popular in restaurants throughout China. The shark fin is replaced with an imitation and edible mushrooms, kelps, seaweeds, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and beaten eggs are added, as in the traditional soup.
Imitation shark fin (素翅), typically from Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, is known as sùchì in Chinese Mandarin and sou ci in Chinese Cantonese, literally means "vegetarian fin". A Taiwanese manufacturer's recipe for it contains water, gelatin, alginic acid, sugar, casein, and triolein to reproduce the chewy, gelatinous texture of shark fins. However, some of these imitations absorb the broth more quickly than the real shark fin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Konjac gel (known as moyu tofu in Chinese Mandarin, mo wu dau fu in Chinese Cantonese, and konnyaku in Japanese) can also be used as a substitute for shark fin once it is julienned into thin strands using a chef's knife, produce slicer, or food processor.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While cellophane noodles are also often used as an alternative to shark fins,<ref name="Imitation Shark Fin Soup"/> some cooks find them too soft and unable to withstand simmering long enough for flavors to be absorbed, consequently the imitation shark fin or julienned konjac gel are more desirable. Other substitutes include Cucurbita ficifolia (shark fin melon, shark fin soup squash), chicken breast, jinhua ham, vermicelli, soy, sea cucumber, bird's nest, pig's skin and gelatin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2015, a seafood company from San Francisco was working on a variation of imitation shark fin using algae-derived ingredients and recombinant proteins.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Alternatives to shark fin are inexpensive and easier to prepare. Imitation shark fin, konjac gel, and other alternatives can be purchased in preserved form from Asian supermarkets and convenience stores.
HistoryEdit
Imitation shark fin soup originated from Temple Street in Hong Kong during the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name=":0">Better than the real thing: Hong Kong's imitation shark fin 27 May 2011. CNNGo.</ref> Few people at that time could afford genuine shark fin soup, but street vendors collected the broken parts of shark fins discarded by Chinese restaurants and cooked them with mushrooms, egg, and pork, as well as soy sauce and other ingredients.Template:Cn The mixture, which was cooked into a soup, was served in a small bowl. Although this soup was inexpensive and lacked the authentic flavor, since it was cheap, tasty and contained many ingredients, it was popular among the poor and became one of the famous street snacks of Hong Kong.Template:Cn
Apart from the street vendor version, imitation shark fin soup may also be found in fast-food stores and expensive Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, and also on mainland China. Since April 2016, Cup Noodles released various instant imitation shark fin ramen soups.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ControversyEdit
False descriptions of goods and services are prohibited by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance in Hong Kong.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Thus, imitation shark fin soup may have to change its Cantonese name since "wun tsai chi" (碗仔翅, Template:Lit) may mislead customers into thinking there is real shark fin in it.Template:Cn However, manyTemplate:Who? argue against this new policy;Template:Cn someTemplate:Who? claim that the name is tied to the Hong Kong people's collective memories and culture, representing the history of old Hong Kong.Template:Cn It would also be inconvenient for tourists seeking the dish.Template:Cn Opponents of the name change suggest the government should consider whether customers are misled before carrying out the policy.Template:Cn
See alsoEdit
- Bird's nest soup
- Hákarl
- Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a soup containing shark fin
- Endangered sharks; many sharks are endangered as a consequence of the market for shark fins
- List of Chinese soups
- Sharkfin and prawn dumpling in superior soup
- Shark meat
- Sharkwater, 2006 documentary film
- United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins, a 2008 court decision
- Three grand soups
- Shark finning
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Baum J.K., Myers R.A., Kehler D.G., Worm B., Harley S.J., Doherty P.A. (2003) "Collapse and conservation of shark populations in the Northwest Atlantic". Science, 299 (5605): 389–392. {{#invoke:doi|main}}
External linksEdit
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- Decimating Shark Population for Some Soup – ABC News, 30 October 2006
- Fisherman holds shark fin – by The Smithsonian Institution: Ocean Portal
- How Sharks Have Paid the Price for Demand for Shark Fin Soup – at the Voice of America's Special English Branch
- Shark Truth Template:Webarchive – a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to promoting awareness, education, and action about shark fin soup in the Chinese community
- 'Fin – help end the horror' – anti-shark-finning advert produced by Ogilvy & Mather for Bite-Back