Canned! Food Firms Bale out of Whaling in Face of Global Consumer Protest

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Japan's ruthless push for the return of commercial whaling received a significant setback yesterday when pressure from green campaigners forced five big food companies to pull out of supporting the Japanese whaling industry.

The five firms, led by the Japanese seafood giant Nissui and its wholly-owned US frozen foods subsidiary Gortons, said they would divest their one-third share in Japan's largest operator of whaling ships, Kyodo Sen-paku. The firm runs seven of the eight whaling ships in Japan.

The move follows months of campaigning by environmental cyber- activists, who sent thousands of e-mails to the firms demanding they end their support for the industry. …