Posted on 12/11/2005 5:43:41 AM PST by indcons
Seafood for sale in area stores is tainted by toxic mercury, Tribune testing shows. Government and industry fail to protect consumers, even as Americans buy more fish than ever.
Supermarkets throughout the Chicago area are routinely selling seafood highly contaminated with mercury, a toxic metal that can cause learning disabilities in children and neurological problems in adults, a Tribune investigation has found.
In one of the nation's most comprehensive studies of mercury in commercial fish, testing by the newspaper showed that a variety of popular seafood was so tainted that federal regulators could confiscate the fish for violating food safety rules.
The testing also showed that mercury is even more pervasive in fish than what the government has told the public, making it difficult for consumers to avoid the problem, no matter where they shop.
It is not by happenstance that contaminated fish can be found on shelves and at seafood counters throughout the region, from small neighborhood shops on the South Side to sprawling supermarket chain stores in the northwest suburbs.
The Tribune's investigation reveals a decades-long pattern of the U.S. government knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Aaaah! Panic! We need MORE regulation, BIGGER government, HIGHER taxes to pay for it all! We in the MEDIA are here to protect you people! Aaaaaaaah!!
Have Sam Roe and Michael Hawthorne been eating lead paint chips and mercury laden fish all their lives?
Bush's Fault, no doubt.
This seems pretty easy to check out as either true or false. Are there more cases of mercury caused neurological problems in fish eating adults in the city of Chicago - or anywhere else? If so, then are we talking about a handful of people, or a large scale epidemic?
...a decades-long pattern of the U.S. government knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury.
If this has been going on for "decades" then the evidence should be clear to anyone.
I am naturally suspicious about studies like this.
"Aaaah! Panic! We need MORE regulation, BIGGER government, HIGHER taxes to pay for it all! We in the MEDIA are here to protect you people! Aaaaaaaah!!"
This one doesn't require more regulation. It just requires more intelligence on the part of people so that they will stop eating so much fish.
This has been written about for several years but the weight-loss industry keeps promoting fish as so much healthier than the "evil" red meat that most people haven't heard about it.
A fishy tale in all probability.....
I'm assuming that journalists eat a lot of fish.
We've been hearing about this since the 70's, at least. I wonder how this fits in with the speculation that mercury in vaccines causes autism. It seems to me that the amount you would ingest from contaminated fish would be far greater than that which you would get from a shot. BTW, I'm suspicious of the report, too.
Um, my post was sarcastic.
"Seafood for sale in area stores is tainted by toxic mercury, Tribune testing shows. "
Since when has a newspaper begun its own food testing? Do they have a lab and technicians, too?
"Journalist wanted, must be qualified lab technician and heavy metals expert, apply at Chicagotribune.com".
Actually, I'd say the evidence of mercury caused brain damage is irrefutable. Just look at the consistent and overwhelming number of votes for Democrats in the Windy City.
As the article points out, it's more common with those adding fish for dietary purposes, as well as more wealthy patents who dine out frequently. Also, children who are fed lots of tuna sandwiches.
The effects of mercury poisoning also can be mistaken as Atention-Deficit Disorder. I suspect we have subtle effects of mercury in much of the population. (Especially in cities... ;-)
From the article:
" a federal formula for the acceptable amount of mercury in the bloodstream to a 161-pound woman, the government's estimated average weight of a U.S. female of childbearing age."
"Aaaah! Panic! We need MORE regulation, BIGGER government,"
Panic! Yes! We are getting MOREBIGGER females of childbearing age!!!!!!
161 avg????
-a toxic metal that can cause...neurological problems in adults, a Tribune investigation has found.-
Apparently they tested all their newsroom staff after feeding them nothing but fish for 6 months (at company expense, of course); turns out they couldn't tell the difference between then and now, but it made a good story anyway so they went with it.
The bones can be deadly, too.
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