I was reading the April 10th edition of The New Yorker this morning (for the cartoons, I'll admit). As I was flipping through the pages searching for the next illustration, I came across this full page ad that featured a message that caught me completely off guard.
The smaller text reads as follows:
Environmental scares about trace amounts of mercury in fish rely on a study of island natives who eat huge amounts of whale meat. However, scientists who study heavy fish-eaters find no health risks from mercury. So unless you're lunching on a Moby Dick sandwich, there's no reason to worry.
Fish is good for you. Baseless anxiety (or whale blubber) isn't.
No health risks from mercury? No reason to worry? Now, I don't eat fish, so I haven't researched this issue myself, but something fishy seems to be going on here.
Head on over to FishScam.com to get the background on this campaign. I'd be interested to read what y'all think of this.
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Comments
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chinkinthelink Posted 5:12 am
08 Apr 2006
FishScam.com is a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit coalition dedicated to promoting personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices."
Center of Consumer Freedom!!! Red Flag. i don't know the specifics but I THINK I remember they have some kind of link to the food industry. So, they don't want to lose money, now do they? So they gotta try and fool the gullible. They got something against PETA too.
mmmm... chestnuts.
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Kif Scheuer Posted 5:22 am
08 Apr 2006
Nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury. For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on the amount of fish and shellfish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
By following these 3 recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.
Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.
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arborlaw Posted 6:54 am
08 Apr 2006
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katesisco Posted 8:13 am
08 Apr 2006
They wouldn't do that if there wasn't concern about mercury.
I would like to take Omega 3 from fish oil but am concerned about mercury so was eating a lot of walnuts that contain lots of Omega 3 even though it is a different source, vegtable. Lo and behold I discovered that the body has preferences and will only use the energy intensive to process vegtable source when you're pregnant!
So, I am once again looking for a safe source of Omega 3 from fish.
I am a northern Wisconsin resident and if you care to examine the DNR website, you will be as astounded as I was at the number of lakes in WI that carry a mercury contamination of do-not-eat-the-fish warning.
This mercury is from our energy plants, which is why the Sierra Club is energetically pursuing a policy of eliminating the mercury from the exhaust smoke stacks. If it wasn't for the bacteria that process the harmless mercury to deadly mercury we might not have to worry but they do and we do.
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amazingdrx Posted 4:16 pm
08 Apr 2006
I have mainly eaten medium sized panfish from the lakes here, they are younger and contain less mercury.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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erick Posted 5:56 am
10 Apr 2006
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caniscandida Posted 8:25 am
10 Apr 2006
(Meaning no disrespect to real barracudas, of course. Though I would not want to meet one.)
How I miss eating tuna! How I miss eating swordfish! But really, those species are in a precarious situation, and it is up to us to refrain, not on account of our health, but on account of their survival.
I, and my husband (I think), and Little White Dog all used to take a fish oil capsule more or less daily. No more, however. We stopped, not out of fear of mercury poisoning (which, I agree, is not a fear that should be put aside), but out of resentment that we cannot find out the source of the fish oil.
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Emily Gertz Posted 10:59 am
10 Apr 2006
Or...get your omega 3 from bacon. Mmmm, bacon.
emily [at] oneatlantic [dot] net
OneAtlantic: Environmental News & Views for the Atlantic Coast
http://www.oneatlantic.net
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