Greenland: Tasilaq – Seal Meat Shop

We wandered into a traditional food shop where fresh seals were prepared. Seal are the most important part of life in Tasilaq and remote East Greenland – seal hunting and meat consumption are integral to daily life, diet, and identity. Seals – mostly ringed and bearded seals – provide essential nutrition in the harsh Arctic environment. Seal hunting has sustained Inuit communities here for over 4,000 years, supplying nearly everything needed: meat for food, blubber for fuel and cooking, skins for clothing, and bones for tools. Seal in consumed in a variety of forms – raw (like sashimi, dipped in blubber for flavor and eyeballs are traditionally given to children for their perceived nutritional boost), boiled as soup (this is Greenland’s national dish, made with seal meat, onions, potatoes, rice, and barley), air dried, or grilled as steaks (modern twist).