(Devils advocate here disclaimer) but imagine you're an isolated island with no large mammal population and pick a date long ago. Food is scarce and the ocean is large and these huge things are ripe but difficult for the taking. One is enough to feed a village for the better part of year... And when you eat it, it tastes like steak! A food you've never even contemplated existing! Add to that a rich cultural tradition that resists change and encourages strong dogmatic adherence that persists through the ages and is only bolstered through geographic isolation... And yeah I can see the Japanese's strong dedication to whale meat. Doesn't mean I like whaleing in the least or even agree with it but I can understand to some degree the difficulty of change and it must change. I also don't agree with these attempts at whale farming in Oklahoma. Whales are intelligent empathetic creatures who can most definitely feel pain and a whole host of other complex emotions. Only the most dense of us humans could advocate for their continued use as a food source.