Posted by Larry Hoover on December 12, 2003, at 13:13:29
In reply to Re: farmed fish, posted by Ilene on December 12, 2003, at 11:59:16
> I discovered ACSH about 3 years ago. I thought the information it presented *seemed* to be supported by good science, but somehow ACSH's positions always (AFAIK) supported the most conservative, status quo positions. I wondered which entities provided the bulk of its funding.
>
> I just found these pages:
> http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/ACSH-Koop.htm#list
> http://www.prwatch.org/improp/acsh.html
> No surprises here.That's a valid consideration....supporting and funding agencies are likely to be in a conflict of interest position....however, I would have made quite similar arguments myself (referring to the quoted segments)....so, I'm not too concerned where I found the info.
> The problem is that *much* of what ACSH says is true, but not all of it. I would never use at a sole source of information on a controversial topic.In this case, I see no reason to discount the arguments raised....the link was to a discussion, after all, not a policy statement. And, the public perception of the risk from PCBs is astoundingly exaggerated....they really are not the toxins people perceive them to be....they're not benign, but they're not so bad either.
> I wouldn't rely on Marian Burros as a source of scientific information either, as she is a *food* writer, not a science writer.Where did this person come into it? Was she the NYT correspondent?
> I'm even more disturbed by the US govt's recent advisory on tuna. It's a good thing my kids don't like canned fish. "What's a mother to do?"
>
> IleneHere's the draft FDA advisory:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/mehgadvisory1208.htmlWhat's important isn't the total mercury content, but concentration of certain forms of mercury (called species by chemists), and the relative concentration of selenium....it's not clear cut.
I remain convinced that fish is good for you...even though all fish is contaminated by mercury, everywhere in the world. We are such prolific polluters, there is no fish that is free of mercury contamination. That said, there are different species of tuna that are worse than others....bluefin, the kind that goes into sashami and sushi....that's the worst....light tuna, like from yellowfin, is much less of a risk....
I eat canned tuna. I'm not alarmed by these findings of mercury in tuna. I just don't eat five pounds of it a week.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:287116
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031204/msgs/289121.html