I like animals. A review of my posts will reveal a certain propensity towards engaging in animal related travel experiences and copious amounts of photos featuring cute wildlife. I try to be careful though when I travel, selecting what I hope and believe to be responsible animal activities that help rather than harm. I’ve learned my lesson in the past when I did not choose wisely and it’s my mission to not only practice sustainable tourism practices but to help other people figure out what is and what is not responsible travel. That’s why I was somewhat flummoxed when I visited Iceland.
Iceland is a popular travel destination for any number of reasons. For Europeans and North Americans it’s very easy to get to and thanks to some great airline promotions, it’s fairly inexpensive to visit. It’s also a beautiful country with improbably dramatic landscapes and terrain that seem to come straight out of a George R. R. Martin novel. It’s also an isolated island, located in the chilly North Atlantic and traditionally ignored by everyone except for some Vikings and opportunistic Danish sailors. This isolation created a unique and undeniably hearty food culture that at times can be at odds with the rest of Western society.
I have no problem accepting that other cultures find certain foods attractive which I may find repugnant. For all I know there’s a group of people out there retching every time I talk about grilled cheese sandwiches. (Although come on, who doesn’t love a good grilled cheese?) That’s fine, I get it. The problem for me is that in Iceland, most of the preparation of ‘exotic’ foods seems to be geared in part if not completely towards the tourist sector.
There are three foods in particular to which I refer: Minke whale, horse and puffin. I mentioned my abhorrence to whale consumption in one of my first posts about Iceland and a number of Icelanders commented saying that it was an important part of their heritage. That’s fine, I get it as I just acknowledged. My problem is the marketing of the whale meat to tourists. Food purveyors in Iceland know that tourists will find whale meat to be exotic and almost impossible to find anywhere else in the world thanks to international bans on the hunting and consumption of whale. Therefore these same proprietors know that they will almost always be able to sell whale meat to curious tourists. Yet, in spite of the global distaste towards consuming whale, tourist restaurants in the middle of downtown Reykjavik feature whale prominently and in several ways on menus.
The presence of this controversial protein in tourist centers seems to fly in the face of people who say that mostly Icelanders consume whale meat as part of a normal diet. While I’m sure that’s true, there is no reason then to try to promote it to non-local diners. The same can be said of puffin and of the incredibly cute Icelandic horse.
Icelandic horses are a unique breed, smaller than most horses, almost pony-like, hearty and long lived, and are an important feature of the Icelandic landscape. Eating horse isn’t endemic to Iceland, it happens around the world, but for many people this is an area of moral ambiguity. I can’t imagine after encountering an Icelandic horse for the first time that you’d then want to consume this cute and cuddly creature, but that’s just me.
Which brings me to the main point (finally!) of this post, the morality of eating in Iceland. From my point of view, the issue of whale consumption is a no brainer. If the Icelandic people want to eat whales, fine, let them. There are only 300,000 people living in Iceland and really, how much could they possibly eat? The problem comes with the tourist trade. If we as tourists want to help protect whale populations, then we must not eat whale in Iceland. It’s as simple as that. As demand decreases so will the hunting until, hopefully, one day it will stop completely. I’m not basing this on any empirical evidence, but my instinct tells me that if every tourist stopped eating whale meat in Iceland, whale hunting would disappear within a few years.
Puffin and horse are more ambiguous areas of digestive etiquette. Although puffins are not an endangered species, their numbers have been steadily declining in recent years both in North America as well as Northern Europe. That’s why I’m a little confused as to why anyone would choose to eat them. This isn’t the 14th century; there are plenty of protein choices out there and if it means helping to preserve a species then I think I’ll opt for the chicken with my next meal. But that’s just me and if someone can make a strong argument in favor of eating puffin, I will listen.
Finally, the poor Icelandic horse. A friend of mine recently returned from Iceland proudly displaying photos of a horse steak he consumed in Reykjavik. I was shocked and a little disgusted. He quickly tried to calm me by saying that some of the horses are specifically bred for food. That didn’t help. I do acknowledge though that this is very much a cultural issue and eating horsemeat is acceptable in many parts of the world. In North America it tends to be considered very taboo, and the very thought disgusts me. I did a little research though and found that a big problem with the former horse butchering industry here in the United States was the preponderance of slaughter-related cruelties that happened during the butchering process. That simply fed into an already well-established taboo and led to the banning of the practice in the U.S. Still, it ruffles my ethical feathers to see anyone eating horse.
And that’s ultimately the issue here, isn’t it? The ethics and morality of eating whale seems to be fairly black and white, but that’s only because most of the world has accepted the fact that we need to preserve all species of whale. When we start talking about puffins and horses though, this coalition begins to fracture along strict cultural lines.
Ultimately, the best that we as tourists can do is to always stay true to our own individual sets of moral and ethical guidelines. If we want to stop whale consumption, then we need to first stop consuming whale. I’m also not saying that I’m a better person because I don’t eat cute diminutive horses, I’m not, I’m just different. But regardless of your cultural taboos, I do think it’s important to think about these things before traveling and to know where your moral center lies well before the waitress first asks if you want whale or horse for dinner.
What do you think? Is this a big deal or am I a little too sensitive today?
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
Matt, thank you for this informative article. I’m preparing for a trip to Iceland in November, and the heads up about exotic foods potentially targeted to tourists is helpful! I don’t know if I could bring myself to eat horse, but it’s not a big deal to other people. The bottom line, as you stated, is that this is a highly individual decision to make.
[Reply]
Personally eating a whale is like eating a cow is like eating a dog. They are all living beings that can feel pain when being slaughtered…
[Reply]
I couldn’t agree more. I spent a week in Iceland last fall and was disappointed to see whale (and horse) on the menus right downtown. I don’t think exploiting a tradition at the expense of an endangered creature is exotic. With that said, I enjoyed my time in Iceland and recommend it wholeheartedly, but if you’re hell-bent on eating a meaty and traditional meal, try the lamb soup!
[Reply]
We just finished up five days in Iceland this past Monday. Totally agree with Beth regarding the lamb soup. That is of course if you can bring yourself to eat those fuzzy little baby sheep! Yes, we also saw the whale and horse meat on the menus downtown. No, we didn’t eat any.
[Reply]
After living and working in China eating bees, dog’s meat (I didn’t actually know it was dog’s meat), rabbit, bugs, grasshoppers I’m ready for a horse and whale dishes
. I’ve heard Iceland is super expensive when it comes to eating. Is that true?
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
October 13th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
In general Iceland is not necessary expensive to GET to, but it can be pricey once you’re there, yes.
[Reply]
I would never eat horse because I grew up riding, and to me that would be like eating any other household pet, but I don’t know that I find it so much immoral as I do gross. I am definitely with you on whale though – I hope more tourists really consider the impact of their dinner choices beyond “ooh, this will make a good story!”
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
October 17th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Exactly. We have to be more responsible and get past the whole shock and awe aspect of it.
[Reply]
As Andi says above, if you eat one form of meat you can’t then get squeamish about eating another. Either it’s morally acceptable to eat animals or it’s not – drawing a dividing line between the ones you think are cute and the ones that you don’t is hypocritical.
Eating endangered species is a different argument and I disagree with your opinion that it’s fine for the Icelandic people to eat whale, but not for tourists. Again, it’s sending out mixed messages. If whale hunting is to be stopped, then it needs to be stopped everywhere.
[Reply]
I think you need to be more precise in this – the original whale ban was due to the large numbers of all species being caught and eaten. The ban has largely stopped that which is of course a good thing. Yet minke whales are not and have never been threatened [http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2474/0] so why not eat a few of them? If you argue that it will make it easier or more acceptable to catch other whales, I would point to the existing situation where other species are well off limits despite continued capture of minkes, and doubt this will worsen. If you argue that tourists consume far more than Icelanders would (which you deem acceptable) I think we’d need some figures – given the tiny amounts that are on the menus, the ability to freeze the meat and the weight of one whale, I’d suggest that the tourist trade may not have such a great impact compared to Icelanders themselves. Against this you weigh the benefits to the tourist economy of Iceland which is small and remote and has few sources of income: clearly there IS a “reason then to try to promote it to non-local diners.”
All that said, I don’t think the tourist economy of Iceland would collapse without whale meat or puffin and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to try to get it dropped from tourist menus. But I do think we need to be careful about the assumptions we’re making…allowing cultural diversity to other groups despite your own misgivings (e.g. horse) is fine and an important step along the path towards being a responsible tourist, but then take the next step and turn that gaze inwards to work out whether your own prejudices are well-founded or not.
[Reply]
I understand and agree with much of what you’re saying here.
Yes, it’s true that whale is easy to come across and try in Reykjavík. But I wouldn’t say that it’s thrown right in the face of tourists.
I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Iceland over the past 12 years, and what you say about whale appearing on menus all over the center city and at most trendy tourist-friendly restaurants is true.
But I just don’t want anyone to think that the Icelanders exploit it. You certainly do not see it advertised in any prominent way. There are no billboards on the way into the city depicting whale meals, there are no flashing neon signs in front of restaurants saying “Get’cher whale here!!”, and I don’t even think I’ve even seen as much of a sandwich board outside of a restaurant mentioning whale in chalk handwriting.
Nobody will stop you on the street and ask, “Have you had any whale yet??”.
Like your third photo depicts, it’s just subtly there on the menu. So is puffin, so is the rotted shark, and the lamb (there are more sheep on the island than there are people), etc.
It’s certainly available and for centuries was a significant part of their economy. What people make of the fact that it’s still being eaten in 2013 is one matter, I just don’t want anyone who hasn’t been there to get the idea that you’re entering a tourist trap in Reykjavík where they are praying on the curiosities out out-of-towners.
It’s just there on a menu as an indigenous food much like seafood is on the menus of restaurants in the Greek Islands, or fish and chips in an English pub, or falafel in Lebanon.
Nice job on the well-written and thought provoking piece, though, I do want to make that clear!!
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
February 20th, 2013 at 7:50 am
Thanks Tim I appreciate that and I do agree with your points. Maybe I’m just too sensitive to the issue.
[Reply]
An interesting post and I certainly wouldn’t argue that you should have to eat any of these foods, but a couple of points if I may.
Firstly, it is the process of over-hunting and the cruel way in which it is done which makes whaling so abhorrent. I would certainly want to know how the animal was killed and if all parts of it were used rather than large parts being wasted before I ate it. However, if the whale had not been part of a huge cull and was ‘farmed’ responsibly, I would not object to eating it. No different from a cow.
I certainly don’t agree that if tourists stopped eating whale in Iceland, the whole whale hunting industry would disappear (but I can’t point to any evidence on that either).
As for not eating animals because they are ‘too cute’, I can’t really agree. You are either a vegetarian or not. Chickens can be pretty cute (especially chicks), so can sheep (especially lambs), but would that stop you?
Finally, I believe that eating what the locals do is part of the travel experience (i.e… guinea pig (certainly cute!) in Peru).
It’s good to have your ethics though and you should stick by them. Ultimately, as you say, it is a matter for each individual traveller.
Thanks again for the post.
[Reply]