Food! I’m attracted to them like flies are attracted to shit.

Given that my life has mostly revolved around food since I was a child, and if there’s anything that makes me excited when I go to parties, it would be the prospect of being able to sample the spread of food being served.  I’m really serious when  I say that when it comes to food, I do mean business to keep my tummy happy.

But if there’s one food I will shun away from, it would be Shark Fin Soup – a delicacy in Asia and a prestigious commodity often served to honour special guests and celebrations.  This is no different in Thailand where Shark Fin Soup is often found in menus of restaurants and whenever companies host some sort of celebration in a hotel, rest assured Shark Fin makes it to the course of meal, symbolical of celebration with a status symbol.

And there’s everything wrong about that.

My heart sunk when I saw the waiters serving us Shark Fin Soup. I declined it when it was served to me and as I saw my colleagues around the table digging on it, excited that they are eating Shark Fin, I excused myself to make my way to the bathroom.

Not 10 minutes later, I came back to the table and saw what was left of it:

 

I then lightly chimed with a “Oh my! That was quick!”

All I got were smiles and people telling me how good the soup was in response. Some even suggested that I should give it a try from whatever that was left. Oh the cheek to tell that to an anti-shark fin advocate!

I then pouted in a what “looked like I was joking” and quipped, “You guys know how these sharks get to the table right? It’s quite sad.” I had a wry smile on my face.

Response? Smiles all around, and continued slurping their bowels away. They didn’t seem to mind or cared.

Another battle lost, I thought. Shark fins devoured and all ready to be turned into poop within 12 hours.

It’s really disheartening that the awareness of the slaughter of sharks behind this delicacy is still not catching on in Thailand. It makes it that much harder when restaurants continue to put this dish up in the menus and people equate Shark Fins to a status symbol.

I suppose for most, it is not about doing the right thing for an endangered species, but rather doing what is right within a cultural norm. It’s just not ignorance, but oblivion. Sad.

As I have said it before and I’m saying it again, I hope we can do the right thing  – protect the sharks, stop serving them in restaurants and for crying out loud, stop glorifying  shark fins as status symbol.