Japanese Schools Serve Kids Mercury-Filled Whale Meat

It's hard to imagine school lunches worse than the ones American students eat, with dubious entrees like "rib-b-ques" and "bagel dogs" frequently appearing on menus. Japan's schools may give American cafeterias a run for their money.

According to a survey released on Saturday, since 2005, Japan's increasingly put whale meat back on school lunch menus. As the Japan Times reports, 5,355 schools — about 18 percent of public elementary and junior high schools nationwide — said they served whale meat in cafeterias at least once between 2009 and 2010. All that whale meat comes with a pretty deadly marinade — mercury.

Large marine species like whales and dolphins contain astronomical levels of mercury, even more so than big fish like bluefin tuna, which frequently appear on seafood guides' "Avoid" list. Eating mercury is a health concern for everyone, but it's especially problematic for pregnant women and young children. Exposure to the heavy metal can cause numbness, fatigue, brain damage and developmental problems, birth defects, and even death. Kids face enough dangers outside of school — cafeterias that knowingly dish out deadly meals are simply unfathomable.

What's worse is that if any nation should be aware of the dangers of mercury poisoning, it's Japan. Back in the 1950s, a chemical company spewed mercury compounds in the Minamata region of the country. Person after person fell ill, with the sickness eventually earning the name "Minamata disease." Thousands of citizens were killed, sickened, or crippled by exposure to the heavy metal, experiencing spasms, sensory loss, and limb malformations in newborns. Fewer than 60 years later, Japan is quite literally spoon-feeding its kids the same heavy metal that sickened so many.

Up until the 1970s, whale meat was actually a pretty traditional meal in Japanese school cafeterias. But with a ban on commercial whaling instituted in the 1980s, consumption of the meat plummeted. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research continues to hunt whales under the guise of "scientific research," and the Japanese government is pushing for the International Whaling Commission to lift the ban so it can create a market for the meat again.

But despite the government's push to sell more whale meat, evidence shows that the demand is just not there. Even now, the Institute of Cetacean Research sold its whale meat to local municipalities at one-third of the traditional market price. The Institute and Japan's Fisheries Agency continue to hawk their discounted whale meat to schools and medical institutions, a sign that the general public is just not interested in the meat. Knowing just how toxic mercury is, it's easy to understand why demand for whale meat isn't exactly soaring.

Schools should aim to serve kids healthy, sustainable fare — not push toxic meat on them simply because it's cheap to purchase. Sign our petition asking Japan's national Parents and Teachers Association to publicly denounce the practice of serving whale meat in school cafeterias. If parents and teachers start pushing schools to stop serving toxic meat, the Japanese government may finally start listening.

Photo credit: Alicia Nijdam via Flickr