I am delighted with Misao Nakayama's question of why we must treat whales as special creatures in his Dec. 27 letter, "Human existence demands sacrifice," although I disagree with the editor's choice of a headline.
There is no such "sacrifice" on this animal planet. Humans as well as other living creatures are in the same process of eating other creatures and being eaten by them. This process provides God's creatures with a sustainable source of food and energy that no man-made warehouse, freezer or refrigerator could provide.
Even we highly evolved humans can be eaten raw by crocodiles, lions, sharks or other wild animals if we venture into their zones. But more often we are enjoyed every moment of our lives by creatures that are much smaller: the parasites, viruses and bacteria in and on our living bodies.
Another purpose for this eating activity is to clear the environment of corpses. Some creatures, like humans, eat fresh meat only, but others, like hyenas, vultures and worms, eat rotting corpses. Imagine a planet in which corpses were not consumed. Thus eating is a room-making, environment-clearing process. Being chased, hunted, captured and eaten is terrible, but also thrilling.
And when one is not being hunted and eaten, one can enjoy the pleasure of hunting and eating. This is fair.
So we should stop bashing each other for eating dogs, whales, dolphins or whatever else. If we really respect each others' eating culture, we should not scoff at what other people eat. The only requirement is that we know when to refrain from eating a species into extinction.
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