WTF is a Sea Kitten?

I'm sure many of you have already heard of this, thanks to the Colbert Report and about a half million other mocking articles on PETA's latest stupidity.

Look, I'm all for everyone getting away from animal based foods, but there are so many other ways to get people to give up fish. If the basic ethical argument ("there's no reason to kill animals in order to eat a healthy diet") doesn't work, they could try any of these:

-Remind them that fish are not inspected on a "carcass by carcass" basis like quadrupeds and poultry. Less than 10% of fresh fish actually gets inspected.

-Remind them about the mercury content in seafood - The FDA's newest guidelines recommend that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children should avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury. Low mercury types of fish and shellfish should be limited to two servings per week. (I don't know about you, but I'd just as soon not eat ANYthing laced with mercury, thanks...)

-Point out that commercial fishing snares many species that aren't eaten. These creatures, known as "by-catch" include dolphins, sea turtles, and hundreds of "non-target" species. Although the by-catch is tossed back in the ocean, many of them are damaged by handling and don't survive. Commercial marine fisheries in the U.S. alone toss away up to 20 billion pounds of by-catch each year--twice the commercial and recreational catch combined.

Instead of all this, PETA - the same folks who years ago threw paint on fur coats, and more recently brought us the Lettuce Ladies and Broccoli Boys - has decided that people would be less likely to eat fish if they were called "sea kittens."

This kind of nonsense is just more proof to the omnivores of the world that vegetarians and vegans are wackos. Thanks PETA - as if being a vegan in Wyoming, isn't hard enough already...

9 comments:

Cerus said...

Linus,
The link for PETAs new debacle is dead, just in case that wasn't intentional.
Cerus

Anonymous said...

I really liked you last couple of posts. I know, I read your blog and I'm commenting, don't die of shock. I couldn't open the first link in this post though and I'm not sure if it is because it is broken or if I was doing something wrong.

Linus said...

Link is fixed - sorry 'bout that.

Dear Anonymous,

Jesus? Is that you?

CorianderDragon said...

I can not tell you the headache this has caused me. SEA KITTENS seriously! What is next Sky Nachos?

Tessa K. said...

so I already had no respect for an organization that treats the animals they are supposed to be for so horrifically - death is rarely a compassionate option, no matter how you spin it - but the level of mockability going on here makes me wonder if they want to be taken seriously... maybe they are actually omnivores in disguise, because I can't think of a more counter-productive way to get your point across...

I say again - People mostly suck...

Mayren said...

wow. ya PETA does seems to portray themselves as less credible with each day that passes.

It's a classic case of how one bad apple can spoil a barrel.

Hopefully there are enough literate people to see that not all
Vegans are PETA per se.

Mandyfish said...

Fun fact about mercury. No one knows how much is dangerous for your body. Studies have only shown that there is a link between deaths/illnesses and ingestion of mercury. There is nothing to measure how much.

What it boils down to is the Powers That Be arbitrarily choose a number and set that as the limit. *shrug* So much for our health codes and standards actually being there to help us.

Linus said...

Mayren,

Thanks for your understanding. Luckily, I live in the liberal Xanadu of Wyoming - it's not too bad until I leave town. I have been driving out to the western end of the state a lot lately... it's very difficult for me to find ANYthing to eat out there. :/

Linus said...

Mandy,

Thanks for the info; I had no idea. I know that mercury is linked to some nasty birth defects and that mercury poisoning is a shitty way to die, but I wasn't aware that the research was so nebulous. Thanks for keeping us informed!

Post a Comment