Seals

On Canada’s remote and beautiful Magdalen Islands, everyday life is the typical 21st century mash-up of the global and the traditional. Part of the Madelinots tradition is the consumption of seal meat, an action misunderstood and maligned by mainlanders and the rest of the world despite the fact that the grey seals are not endangered, and their wild existence makes them an excellent hormone-free, healthful meat. In many ways, they are the ultimate farm-to-table food. On the eve of the WTO decision on the seal-hunt ban, Star food writer Michele Henry travels to the Magdalens to give us a fascinating, first-hand perspective on a unique Canadian cultural tradition.

Star Dispatches is a weekly series of quality journalism in ebook form from the newsroom of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper.