Store

Grindadráp — Pilot Whale Foodways

Grind

Specialised

The communal drive hunt of long-finned pilot whales, documented since at least the 16th century and regulated in Faroese law, in which the catch is DIVIDED WITHOUT PAYMENT among the participants and the local district — a non-commercial distribution system that is as much the point as the food. The meat is eaten fresh, dried or salted; the blubber, spik, is eaten with it. ⚠ THIS ROW IS NEUTRAL AND ATTRIBUTED. What is documented: the practice, its regulation, its legal status, its food-sharing structure; that pilot whales are not currently assessed as endangered; and that FAROESE HEALTH AUTHORITIES HAVE THEMSELVES RECOMMENDED SINCE 2008 THAT PILOT WHALE MEAT AND BLUBBER NO LONGER BE EATEN, because of mercury and PCB levels found in long-running studies of Faroese cohorts. Also documented: sustained international criticism on animal-welfare grounds, and the Faroese response that it is a regulated non-commercial food tradition. ALL OF THESE ARE RECORDED TOGETHER. This system takes no position and is not an advocacy document in either direction.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

  • Faroese community documented

Languages: Faroese

What is recorded

  • The Faroese pilot whale drive documented and regulated. documented
  • Faroese health authorities recommend that pilot whale meat and blubber no longer be eaten, on account of mercury and PCB levels. documented
  • The Faroese pilot whale drive is documented since at least the 16th century, is regulated in Faroese law, and distributes the catch without payment among participants and the local district. Long-finned pilot whales are not currently assessed as endangered. Faroese health authorities have recommended since 2008 that the meat and blubber no longer be eaten because of mercury and PCB levels. Sustained international criticism on animal-welfare grounds, and the Faroese characterisation of the practice as a regulated non-commercial food tradition, are both recorded. This system presents these together and takes no position. documented

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.