GrubHub Putting The Kibosh On Shark Fin Menu Items

The next time you have a hankering for shark fin soup, you won’t be able to order it through GrubHub or any of its other mobile food ordering platforms: the company says it won’t allow restaurants to sell shark fin menu items any longer.

GrubHub announced the decision along with advocacy group Oceana in a press release that notes that although the process of shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, fins can still be purchased in many states. The fins often come from unsustainable foreign fisheries in countries that have ineffective shark finning bans, Oceana says, which contributes to the decline of the world’s shark population.

While GrubHub says it works with about 35,000 restaurants in 900 cities, there’s one question we had for the company — how many of those actually sell shark fin products?

“Only a small handful of restaurants were affected by the change, and we’ve already worked with them to remove the menu item from our platforms,” a company spokesperson told Consumerist, noting that restaurants that sell those products can remain on GrubHub’s platforms, just their shark fin dishes have to go.

Ocean applauded the move by GrubHub, urging other businesses involved in shark finning to follow their lead.

“Shark finning is a wasteful and inhumane practice that needs to end, and GrubHub has helped to make that happen with this decision. The bottom line is that sharks are worth infinitely more swimming in our oceans than in a bowl of soup,” said Lora Snyder, Oceana campaign director.

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