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The situation doesn't look good for the prospects of eating fish:
http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/081909.html
Tex
We Seem To Have Quite A Problem With Mercury In Fish
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
We Seem To Have Quite A Problem With Mercury In Fish
Hi All,
The situation doesn't look good for the prospects of eating fish:
http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/081909.html
Tex
The situation doesn't look good for the prospects of eating fish:
http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/081909.html
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Tex, my brother-in-law has worked as a marine biologist for the Fish and Game Commission for many years, but is now retired. His area of research and passion has been mercury contamination of fish, and he has warned all his family and friends about the high and widspread mercury contamination of fish that wasn't being reported. I don't eat much fish as a result.
On a related note, I am somewhat familiar with some aspects of fish farming, and will never eat farm-raised fish. It's pretty disgusting to learn about how tilapia are raised. Do you know that they are commonly fed manure and ofal? I supose that this is just good recycling of nutrients, but I still have a problem with the "yuck" factor. To be fair, the few days before harvest the manure, etc is flushed out, but still........ And the overuse of antibiotics to prevent disease in the crowded conditions is widespread. Lots of diseased fish and shrimp end up being harvested before they die and end up being sold.
And Tex, with your farm background I'll bet you could tell some unappetizing stories about how hogs, beef and chicken are fattened...... Sometimes I wish I had less information, as choosing what to eat would be less of a worry.
Rosie
On a related note, I am somewhat familiar with some aspects of fish farming, and will never eat farm-raised fish. It's pretty disgusting to learn about how tilapia are raised. Do you know that they are commonly fed manure and ofal? I supose that this is just good recycling of nutrients, but I still have a problem with the "yuck" factor. To be fair, the few days before harvest the manure, etc is flushed out, but still........ And the overuse of antibiotics to prevent disease in the crowded conditions is widespread. Lots of diseased fish and shrimp end up being harvested before they die and end up being sold.
And Tex, with your farm background I'll bet you could tell some unappetizing stories about how hogs, beef and chicken are fattened...... Sometimes I wish I had less information, as choosing what to eat would be less of a worry.
Rosie
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
Gloria, According to the EPA, here's a chart showing how much tuna you can safely eat, according to your weight. If it's that critical, it doesn't seem very safe, does it. It's definitely not a good choice for kids.
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp
You'll probably find this recent article to be of interest, also:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 195628.htm
Tex
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp
You'll probably find this recent article to be of interest, also:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 195628.htm
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Rosie,
In this country, the bigger livestock feeding operations often use "processed, recycled material" as part of the ration, (FDA and USDA approved, of course). I don't believe that's very common with smaller producers, though - except for free-range chickens, of course. Anyone who grew up on a farm, knows that cow and pig manure doesn't last very long if there are any chickens around.
Integrated feeding operations are widespread in many parts of the word, (especially in many parts of Asia), where poultry may be raised over pigs, which are in turn raised over fish, (similar to what you mentioned). In fact, this sort of setup is encouraged, because of it's production efficiency, and it's automatic resolution of the manure disposal problem, (except for the polluted water that goes downstream, of course). This arrangement is the reason why the deadly influenza viruses always originate in that part of the world. The ability of birds and pigs to readily exchange new virus strains, guarantees an optimum environment for any virus mutations to propagate rapidly. Here's a discussion on how well that works:
http://birdflubook.com/a.php?id=57
Tex
In this country, the bigger livestock feeding operations often use "processed, recycled material" as part of the ration, (FDA and USDA approved, of course). I don't believe that's very common with smaller producers, though - except for free-range chickens, of course. Anyone who grew up on a farm, knows that cow and pig manure doesn't last very long if there are any chickens around.
Integrated feeding operations are widespread in many parts of the word, (especially in many parts of Asia), where poultry may be raised over pigs, which are in turn raised over fish, (similar to what you mentioned). In fact, this sort of setup is encouraged, because of it's production efficiency, and it's automatic resolution of the manure disposal problem, (except for the polluted water that goes downstream, of course). This arrangement is the reason why the deadly influenza viruses always originate in that part of the world. The ability of birds and pigs to readily exchange new virus strains, guarantees an optimum environment for any virus mutations to propagate rapidly. Here's a discussion on how well that works:
http://birdflubook.com/a.php?id=57
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I also have a friend who is a marine bioligist and she won't eat seafood. She thinks ciguatera is a big problem. She also has many concerns about fishing practices that affect coral reefs and shrimping practices that destroy the sea floor.
I never liked seafood but used to try to eat it for health benefits, but I have given up on that after my recent sulfite reaction to salmon.
I am starting to wonder what IS safe to eat??????
Mary Beth
I never liked seafood but used to try to eat it for health benefits, but I have given up on that after my recent sulfite reaction to salmon.
I am starting to wonder what IS safe to eat??????
Mary Beth
Tex, that link was pretty interesting. I really wasn't aware of how the whole fish farming/chicken/pigs system works in Asia. It sure does sound like the best way that could ever be devised from the standpoint of viruses, bacteria and parasites! 
Rosie
Rosie
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
Rosie,
In this country at least, when manure, or litter, or whatever, is recycled for animal feed, at the minimum, it goes through either a mulching process, or a kiln, so as to get the temperature high enough to kill the microbes that are present by the billions. Obviously, in the "direct" setup used in many Asian countries, those microbes remain viable, between stages.
I grew up on a farm, and I still live on one, but those "vertically integrated" livestock operations give me the creeps.
Tex
In this country at least, when manure, or litter, or whatever, is recycled for animal feed, at the minimum, it goes through either a mulching process, or a kiln, so as to get the temperature high enough to kill the microbes that are present by the billions. Obviously, in the "direct" setup used in many Asian countries, those microbes remain viable, between stages.
I grew up on a farm, and I still live on one, but those "vertically integrated" livestock operations give me the creeps.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi All,
LOL! I watched a segment that ran on a video clip from a news program on the computer yesterday --- regarding the Fish/Mercury issue.
A very “knowledgeable” woman who was being interview on this topic spoke in very important terms about analysis of fish from “streams” which contain high levels of Mercury. And she emphasized again these fish being analyzed “were only from ‘streams’ – i.e.: not commercially grown fish.” Then she went on to name the worst offender which was swordfish. I can’t recall all the fish that she named but she included Mackerel, and Tuna. No mention of trout, or bass, or even pike mind you. All she talked about were types of fish that live in the seas and oceans.
Now … I do not qualify as a real fisher person.
But I grew up on the largest lake on the Mississippi River and am pretty sure no one has ever caught a Swordfish or a Mackerel or a Tuna in that lake, much less the streams that feed such rivers and lakes!!
While it is probably quite true that many of the ocean fish today contain quantities of Mercury (+ what else we have to wonder), when you hear someone talking such absolute nonsense, with such authority, it has to make one wonder.
Possibly she was mis-speaking the term ‘streams’ when she meant ‘seas’?, but if so, the interviewer (another woman) never caught it.
Gloria,
For what it’s worth ,,, According to this person being interviewed (can we believe her?) Tuna tends to contain lesser amounts of Mercury than other fish she was mentioning, but also, according to her, Albacore (white meat tuna) contains more Mercury then dark meat Tuna – which I assumed to be all tuna other than Albacore?
Best,
Gayle
LOL! I watched a segment that ran on a video clip from a news program on the computer yesterday --- regarding the Fish/Mercury issue.
A very “knowledgeable” woman who was being interview on this topic spoke in very important terms about analysis of fish from “streams” which contain high levels of Mercury. And she emphasized again these fish being analyzed “were only from ‘streams’ – i.e.: not commercially grown fish.” Then she went on to name the worst offender which was swordfish. I can’t recall all the fish that she named but she included Mackerel, and Tuna. No mention of trout, or bass, or even pike mind you. All she talked about were types of fish that live in the seas and oceans.
Now … I do not qualify as a real fisher person.
But I grew up on the largest lake on the Mississippi River and am pretty sure no one has ever caught a Swordfish or a Mackerel or a Tuna in that lake, much less the streams that feed such rivers and lakes!!While it is probably quite true that many of the ocean fish today contain quantities of Mercury (+ what else we have to wonder), when you hear someone talking such absolute nonsense, with such authority, it has to make one wonder.
Possibly she was mis-speaking the term ‘streams’ when she meant ‘seas’?, but if so, the interviewer (another woman) never caught it.
Gloria,
For what it’s worth ,,, According to this person being interviewed (can we believe her?) Tuna tends to contain lesser amounts of Mercury than other fish she was mentioning, but also, according to her, Albacore (white meat tuna) contains more Mercury then dark meat Tuna – which I assumed to be all tuna other than Albacore?
Best,
Gayle
Gayle,
Probably, she just had her own agenda, and she simply took advantage of the release of the recent report on freshwater stream contamination, to fabricate an opportunity to promote her own favorite cause. So many of the interviews seem to go that way these days, (especially when politicians are involved), with the intervuees, (is that a word?), rambling on and on about what a great job they're doing in some irrelevant area, (or how bad things are in some other irrelevant area), while totally ignoring the questions being asked. The ridiculous part, though, is that the interviewers usually let them get away with such asinine behavior. Why would an interviewer worth her or his salt, allow something like that to be aired, unless they supported the BS being spouted?
Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mine, too.
Tex
Probably, she just had her own agenda, and she simply took advantage of the release of the recent report on freshwater stream contamination, to fabricate an opportunity to promote her own favorite cause. So many of the interviews seem to go that way these days, (especially when politicians are involved), with the intervuees, (is that a word?), rambling on and on about what a great job they're doing in some irrelevant area, (or how bad things are in some other irrelevant area), while totally ignoring the questions being asked. The ridiculous part, though, is that the interviewers usually let them get away with such asinine behavior. Why would an interviewer worth her or his salt, allow something like that to be aired, unless they supported the BS being spouted?
Sorry, that's a pet peeve of mine, too.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.