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Think Twice About Going Out For Sushi

I'm really bummed by this because I'm a huge sushi fan. But the NY Times ran an investigative piece (reg. req'd) on the dangerously high levels of mercury in tuna used in 20 Manhattan sushi bars and restaurants. Just six pieces of this sushi a week would exceed levels set by the EPA:

Sushi from 5 of the 20 places had mercury levels so high that the Food and Drug Administration could take legal action to remove the fish from the market. The sushi was bought by The New York Times in October.

Unfortunately, the NY Times doesn't really go into how that mercury got into the tuna in the first place.

To understand how mercury contaminates fish, consider the mercury cycle. It begins with mercury being emitted to the atmosphere by sources such as coal-burning power plants. The mercury washes out of the air with precipitation and comes down on land and water.

Here's the perfect example of how de-regulation and embracing of conservative free market principles are completely unsustainable: we're now poisoning our food, and ourselves. But don't tell that to Rick Berman, who sent out a press release demanding that the NY Times retract the article.

“Yellow(fin) journalism like this does a great disservice to ordinary consumers,” added Martosko. “Study after study shows that the documented health benefits of eating fish far outweigh any hypothetical risks. I know the Times is losing money and cutting costs, but maybe they shouldn’t have cut back on their scientific research budget.”

Yeah, I'm going to trust a lobbyist funded by Phillip Morris for all my healthful diet choices. Newsweek's Sharon Begley takes apart Berman point by point.

So when the Center for Consumer Freedom sent me (and probably scores of other reporters) a press release slamming yesterday’s New York Times story chronicling the high mercury levels the newspaper found in tuna sushi served in New York City restaurants and sold in upscale stores, I didn’t reflexively think, “oh, this is the group jump-started with a pile of money from a tobacco giant.” I didn’t think, “this is the group whose leader promised said tobacco company, Philip Morris, ‘to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists.’” I didn’t automatically recall the Washington Post editorial citing “documents showing that Coca-Cola, Wendy's, Tyson Foods, Cargill and Outback Steakhouse are among [founder Rick] Berman's largest donors.” I didn’t automatically recall that Berman had, as the Post reported, “accused Mothers Against Drunk Driving a. . . of ‘junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda.’” (I found those references only later.)

She actually gets into the science part to show that once again, free market principles to Berman means that consumers should have the right to allow companies to do their work unfettered by the concern that they may be poisoning the populace.

About Nicole Belle
Nicole Belle's picture
Mom, Wife, Media Critic/Political Analyst, Blogger, Austen Fanatic, Unapologetic Liberal NicoleBelle@crooksandliars.com
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121 Comments
burpster's picture

Frist with a cigarette.

ferrofluid's picture

heavy metals in fish is ancient news, people have known about this problem for decades.
check out your local States DNR booklet on what is the safe level of fresh water fish consumption.

Realitysucks's picture

Hmm, this story smells fishy to me.

Oh yeah, I went there. Why pass up a good joke?

The biggest reason to avoid Sushi is the Reverend Sun Yun Moon has the market cornered. Every time you eat it he makes money.

anney's picture

Why is it just sushi that's toxically mercury-laden? Why not other fish, too? Doesn't all fish come from the same place? I know there are fish farms, yes, but aren't the fish sold as sushi raised on fish farms, too? Or is sushi "wild fish" harvested only from the open ocean?

Maybe it's time to look at ALL the fish we consume, and the hell with the fisheries that supply it if it's poisonous.

VietVet8666's picture

Nicole,

First sushi I had was in San Francisco in a small Japanese restaurant (like, really small) in 1978.

With an instant girlfriend.

This means nothing, except nostalgia.

Required's picture

What kind of "superior species" poisons its air, its water, its food?

The fact that there *IS* an "acceptable" level of poison in our food says enough...

What this planet needs more than anything is a mass extinction of homo sapiens to rid it of its most dangerous parasite.

Sushi and Rev. Moon
How Americans' growing appetite for sushi is helping to support his controversial church
By Monica Eng, Delroy Alexander and David Jackson | Tribune staff reporters
April 11, 2006

Uncle Jack's picture

What's that smell
like fish
Oh, Baby, I
Really want to know....

ferrofluid's picture

Tuna are near the top of the marine food chain, therefore they accumulate all the toxins of everything they eat and everything their prey ate. Think Pyramids.
Its the historical and social reason that humans as a rules do not eat land predators, mainly young fast growing herbivores.

Stellaa's picture

Is that just New York? Sushi the cocaine of food we used to say in the 80's.

j's picture

Seafood is consistently the most polluted of the animal products, and yet people still think it's "health food". No animal product is health food. For you OR the earth. Overfishing, overgrazing, lagoons of pig poop, greenhouse gases, cancer, diabetes, obesity... time to kick the habit.

kscitydude's picture

It is a real problem for people who like fish. I know I use to eat tuna everyday, but quit when the warning came out.

Ask Stephanie Miller about mercury poisoning, her level was about as high as one could have.

Adhering to a plan Moon spelled out more than three decades ago in a series of sermons, members of his movement managed to integrate virtually every facet of the highly competitive seafood industry. The Moon followers' seafood operation is driven by a commercial powerhouse, known as True World Group. It builds fleets of boats, runs dozens of distribution centers and, each day, supplies most of the nation's estimated 9,000 sushi restaurants

Stellaa's picture

Best web site...http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch.asp

John Aravosis' Neighbor Barbara's picture

Those of us who are dedicated listeners to the Stephanie Miller radio show know that she was diagnosed with Mercury Poisoning last month. She ate tuna for lunch every day. I believe she has given that up.

Please, please, please, stop making excuses. Tuna has been compromised and it is not healthy to eat. It doesn't matter HOW much you pay for it. Tuna has been poisoned by the fact that the oceans are now poisoned. Deal with that.

ferrofluid's picture

Required @ 7:

What kind of "superior species" poisons its air, its water, its food?

The fact that there *IS* an "acceptable" level of poison in our food says enough...

What this planet needs more than anything is a mass extinction of homo sapiens to rid it of its most dangerous parasite.

Enlightened societies dont poison their environment, but its a constant battle between the greedy and the environmentalists.
Many places like Europe and parts of the US have cleaned up their rivers and enforced strict laws to keep them clean, but theirs always people who will bribe politicians to relax the EPA regulations.
Short term verses long, and theres the cost of cleaning up the mistakes and crimes of the past.
The west has a major problem looming in the future with the 100,000s tons of chemical weapons dumped after WW1 and WW2 offshore, in some cases mere miles from the beaches.
This will come back and bite us.

steve davis's picture

I would no more eat raw fish than I would drink urine filtered through a couple pairs of socks. Who on Earth eats raw fish and thinks that's a good idea? Yes, the Japanese. But none of them are taller than 5 foot 5. Shouldn't that tell you people something? If they cooked their fish, they'd probably all hit 6 feet, easily :-)

xoites defends Constitution's picture

Stellaa @ 15:

Best web site...http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch.asp

I agree this is a great source, but best posted like this for ease of use.

ferrofluid's picture

Pickled Herring is rather good :)

TC-14's picture

What mercury problem?

Never fear folks, we've got BushCo in charge. If analysis shows sampling exceeding the FDA limits, no problemo. Just raise the exposure limits! Voila, no more "mercury problem." This ain't rocket science. It's "Bush science."

Ed's picture

In case anyone is really wondering, it's a policy of repubs to talk free market & then let corporations do whatever they want, no matter who gets hurt or what laws are broken. True free market principles are based on laws, and one of the main ones is that you're not allowed to hurt, or poison people.

Productconsumer's picture

What? now I cant even enjoy expensive sushi dinners without worrying about my own death. Thanks corporate polluters!

Billy's picture

John Aravosis' Neighbor Barbara @ 16:

Tuna has been compromised and it is not healthy to eat. It doesn't matter HOW much you pay for it. Tuna has been poisoned by the fact that the oceans are now poisoned. Deal with that.

Back when I lived in Japan, the conventional wisdom the high cost was enough to keep you from poisoning yourself, because no one could afford to eat enough to do that. Looks like those days are long gone (mercury levels must be much higher now). Another problem with tuna is, due to the rise in popularity of sushi, we've damn near eaten them all. And, though they have tried, the Japanese fish farmers can't get the eggs to hatch in captivity. So, even if you get farmed tuna, it nevertheless began its life in our polluted oceans.

I will definitely miss my sashimi lunches...

PassedPawn's picture

Can't eat the fish. Can't eat the cows. Can't eat the pigs. Can't eat the birds.

What's left?

SOYLENT GREEN!

benotafraid's picture

nearly the SAME level of mercury in a flu shot but its apparently somehow safer to inject it rather than eat it.

Why is it that children were getting rates 3-4x higher than this reported elvel for adults in their vaccines and they don't think it was a problem then?

BTW - mercury still exists in many of the shots. It was removed as a perservative from many (but not all) but still is left over from the manufacturing process.

abarts's picture

to me, raw food = parasites.

anon's picture

Where have you been? We knew it was getting bad 40 years ago, identified what needed to be done - and then threw it all in the toilet by electing neo-liberal fascists.

I thought you lived in san fransisco? (sp)

All things are connected - it isnt global climate change - it isnt polution - it isnt species obliteration -

- it is the american way of life - which means 5% of the worlds populaton consuming 25% of the worlds resources, which means 20 % of the planets population can live the american way of life. In case you hadnt noticed - 1/6 th of the population are affluent (almost at that 20 % level) the rest live in poverty.

Its population issues and obscene ways of life in the industrialized countries. All things interelate.

If you live in SF, you should have read this ...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL

... this is just a piece of the way we are destroying our habitat - mercury poisons from power generation to drive the engines that feed the american way of life is another.

Its not mercury - its the american way of life - and sadly, that wont change as long as we are consumption whores.

Drew's picture

[Dangar Wag I mean Drew, there is nothing wrong with the posting. No 9/11 conspiracy theories please-Sitemonitor]

mudshark's picture

I heard it was Blue fin tuna....yeah...I know .that doesn't mean much.what do you expect...when they use the ocean for a garbage dump.......not to mention what comes out of the atmosphere.

Just think of what they dump in the ocean.Everything from plastic...to radioactive materials.I love my sashimi...............obviously I'm gonna cut back on it....but theres nuthin better than some chilled sashimi on a hot day.

smellthecoffee's picture

It is also in our childrens Vaccines and in our Teeth everytime you recieve Amalgams.

TC-14's picture

Hey, I've got the perfect argument for the Bush Administration to rebuke this "mercury issue," one with all the science-free simplemindedness of a word like "Dubya," presented in simple bullet point format that even a Bush supporter can understand...

1. Remind people that fish pee and poo where they live.
2. By definition, their pee/poo "permeates the fish" through simple absorption.
3. So when you eat fish, you're eating fish pee/poo as well.
4. If THAT doesn't bother you, why should you EVER be concerned over wholly insignificant, trace amounts of mercury?
5. What, you're STILL concerned? WHY DON'T YOU SUPPORT THE TROOPS? WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?
6. Mutter something about Al Gore, baby seals and tinfoil hats, then angrily walk away.

Unabogie's picture

http://www.theppk.com/

There's lots to eat without eating meat.

Just sayin'.

sharkcellar's picture

steve davis @ 18:

I would no more eat raw fish than I would drink urine filtered through a couple pairs of socks. Who on Earth eats raw fish and thinks that's a good idea? Yes, the Japanese. But none of them are taller than 5 foot 5. Shouldn't that tell you people something? If they cooked their fish, they'd probably all hit 6 feet, easily :-)

Idiot. STFU.

Ruthless People's picture

"Yeah, I’m going to trust a lobbyist funded by Phillip Morris for all my healthful diet choices. Newsweek’s Sharon Begley takes apart Berman point by point."

One only need follow the money strings to Berman's puppet masters to realize the fish stinks from the head.

mudshark's picture

and I suppose growth hormones in beef,chicken and pork...is going to do us all well in the long run.we're fucked...no matter how you look at it.oh...and veggies......it's either with or without bugs or bugshit...

CappuccettoRosso's picture

ferrofluid @ 20:

Pickled Herring is rather good :)

with vodka ..

President PNACcio's picture

Free markets for them, regulated information for you.

MargeAggedon's picture

I wonder what these chumps think they're going to eat when the food and water supplies are poisoned beyond repair?

mudshark's picture

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

Pickled Herring is rather good :)

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Tim in Japan's picture

Nicole,
If you and your family ever get over to Japan and are in the Tokyo/Yokohama area, look me up. I'll take you to some sushi places that will knock your socks off.

Tim

e.'s picture

Never mind what's in the meat.

mudshark's picture

I think the bigger story is that there won't be enough fish left in the near future.With the newer Technologies that find the schools of fish......they don't have the chance to reproduce in significant numbers.......hence..........no fish.

e.'s picture

I always like pickled herring (in any flavor) on rye with a half-boiled runny egg, caviar and lots of onions.

In Scandinavia, that's breakfast for some folks. The caviar in the tube at the petrol station isn't the kind of caviar I started my day out with for six years. But it'll do.

CappuccettoRosso's picture

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

Pickled Herring is rather good :)

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Sounds great as such, but grapefruit doesn't go w/herring. Just top quality plain CRYSTAL CLEAR vodka . Belvedere Vodka is the tops. Never a hangover.

mudshark's picture

CappuccettoRosso @ 45:

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Sounds great as such, but grapefruit doesn't go w/herring. Just top quality plain CRYSTAL CLEAR vodka . Belvedere Vodka is the tops. Never a hangover.

keep the herring

MargeAggedon's picture

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

Pickled Herring is rather good :)

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Can I have one of those?

CappuccettoRosso's picture

CappuccettoRosso @ 45:

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Sounds great as such, but grapefruit doesn't go w/herring. Just top quality plain CRYSTAL CLEAR vodka . Belvedere Vodka is the tops. Never a hangover.

Forgot to say it MUST be very well chilled. One never drinks non-chilled vodka.
80 proof.

Back to sushi ..

Drew's picture

Drew @ 29:

[Dangar Wag I mean Drew, there is nothing wrong with the posting. No 9/11 conspiracy theories please-Sitemonitor]


[Deleted]

I think something is wrong with the posting…

One more time…

“Here’s the perfect example of how de-regulation and embracing of conservative free market principles are completely unsustainable: we’re now poisoning our food, and ourselves.”

That’s false.

Just because the FDA says it’s dangerous, doesn’t mean it is. The FDA after all is not all-seeing and all-powerful. It is a corrupt institution that continuously stifles beneficial drug treatments from abroad because it would place competition on local drug companies, which happen to be some of the most powerful people in the country.

The FDA bans cheap drugs from Canada, who have a good track record for safe drugs, yet the FDA says fuck the patient, what WE say goes. I would be very critical of the FDA right off the bat before I jump to conclusions that the free market fails.

The fre market has not failed.

5 out of 20 restaurants have above “acceptable” levels of mercury. But they never said where the mercury comes from. Right away factories are blamed, but they are not to blame. Mercury cannot become air-borne, it is a metal.

No, the mercury found in fish occurs naturally because of the sea water.

Before these recent Japanese hysterias, there were claims alleging the death of Lake Erie and mercury poisoning in tuna fish. All along, Lake Erie had been very much alive and was even producing near record quantities of fish at the very time the claims of its death were being made. The mercury in the tuna fish was the result of the natural presence of mercury in sea water; and evidence provided by museums showed that similar levels of mercury had been present in tuna fish since prehistoric times.

Mercury and fish are related in natural terms, it’s not because if pollution or anything like that. If it was, then why weren’t all 20 restaurants, and all the sushi restaurants of the country, have similar levels of mercury? If pollution from the air is to blame, then it must affect things a little differently.

The mercury found in fish is NORMAL and NATURAL. Of course once you get to certain levels it gets dangerous, but under normal circumstances it’s safe. Mercury is highly toxic, but in very small doses it’s ok. I have been eating sushi for years, I don’t plan on stopping because of a few cases where the levels are higher than what the FDA says is safe.

If the restaurants have enough mercury to actually HURT people, then the market will deal with it just fine. As long as there is no malicious intent (highly unlikely), there is no reason to think that the market can’t solve things. Remember, if regulation is what you want, then bodies like the FDA is what you get. The FDA is the most evil institution in the country (besides the Fed), because their concern is not the well-being of people (which is what the market focuses on), but rather how to keep special interest groups in power and prestige.

People, continue to eat sushi, I am for certain that this story was released just as an attempt to hurt the Japanese economy for them saying SOMETHING BAD ABOUT BUSH. They have a youtube video of the Japanese parliament in session questioning the truth of what Bush HAS SAID IN THE PAST REGARDING MATTERS OF NATIONAL SECURITY.

This is simply retaliation for it, that’s all. Don’t take the bait like a friggin fish!!!

Don’t be a sheeple everyone, be critical and always question….

lafin gas's picture

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

e.'s picture

Go drink some Gløgg.

Michael's picture

i am a barely pescatarian...i eat fish about 1x a month, almost always sushi. now i am going to cut tuna out all the way. i like eel a lot...is that OK? god i hope so. I don't eat any meat, but i am working on convincing my friends to eat organic meat because I think if meat is going to require LOTS of resources it should cost money. I also think that gas should be $5/gallon so people realize the cost of driving.

anyway, i love sushi. i make it at home twice a year. i love this community.

odanny's picture

"Fresh caught" fish aint all they are cracked up to be anymore. From the sounds of this thread I shouldnt eat tuna anymore, is Charlie the Tuna fallen on hard times? Poor guy, he used to be big a few decades ago, I guess all those years of overfishing have caught up to him. It's too bad.

mudshark's picture

MargeAggedon @ 47:

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37:

ferrofluid @ 20:

with vodka ..

mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Can I have one of those?

it helps to have warn sunny dayz.and i gotta feelin....outside your window.....there ain't no palm trees......may I suggest a B&B with coffee....sweetened just a tad.

Drew's picture

I changed the content of the post...

mudshark's picture

lafin gas @ 50:

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

that was grown here in the Salinas Valley........turns out it was wild pig shit.either that or the field workers weren't washing their hands....or worse.

ConcernedCanuck's picture

Sushi? Who goes boating, sees a fish in the water and starts drooling? Yuck. As bad as raw steak. Blood still dripping. Yuck. Don't want contamination? COOK IT!!!!!!!!

MountainMan23's picture

ferrofluid @ 2:

heavy metals in fish is ancient news, people have known about this problem for decades.
check out your local States DNR booklet on what is the safe level of fresh water fish consumption.

my comment precisely ..

the only "news" here is that this is being reported in a national news source ..

disco inferno's picture

I'll keep eating Sushi till I die.

I've got balls!

Drew's picture

MountainMan23 @ 58:

ferrofluid @ 2:

heavy metals in fish is ancient news, people have known about this problem for decades.
check out your local States DNR booklet on what is the safe level of fresh water fish consumption.

my comment precisely ..

the only "news" here is that this is being reported in a national news source ..

It's old news, but the economic war is new.

Thing Fish's picture

lafin gas @ 50:

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

Wasn't that outbreak blamed on cows or horses?

mudshark's picture

ConcernedCanuck @ 57:

Sushi? Who goes boating, sees a fish in the water and starts drooling? Yuck. As bad as raw steak. Blood still dripping. Yuck. Don't want contamination? COOK IT!!!!!!!!

first off...you bleed the fish so theres no blood left in it...secondly...you quarter the fish(w/no bones or skin)then you whip out the wasabi and ginger with some soy sauce........chase it down with some ice cold beer(preferably Sapporo)....yummm.

e.'s picture

ConcernedCanuck @ 57:

Sushi? Who goes boating, sees a fish in the water and starts drooling? Yuck. As bad as raw steak. Blood still dripping. Yuck. Don't want contamination? COOK IT!!!!!!!!

From my understanding, this sort of warning shouldn't be specific.

What our cows eat, we eat.

What our cows are injected with, we eat.

Mercury in fish; why sure!

But everything else is a crap shoot too.

BUY LOCAL.

DAMMIT.

(as if we all have time to do so and study where our food supply comes from)

I dunno. People can grow their own vegetables and eat those.

disco inferno's picture

Americans are reactive and "they" know YOU can be influenced easily and "they" don't want YOU to be eating "their" fish.

I love Tuna and I'll eat Sushi as often as I can.

CappuccettoRosso's picture

mudshark @ 46:

CappuccettoRosso @ 45:

mudshark @ 40:

CappuccettoRosso @ 37: mmmm.......I like vodka...with ruby red grapefruit juice and lots of ice.(as long as the ice isn't contaminated).

Sounds great as such, but grapefruit doesn't go w/herring. Just top quality plain CRYSTAL CLEAR vodka . Belvedere Vodka is the tops. Never a hangover.

keep the herring

Certainly, on warmer days. It's good protein though, less screwed with mercury than tuna, and good for our brains. Matjes kind is the best. Swedes go ga-ga for it (and Schnapps..) for Midsummer.

Belvedere Vodka: Make It Rain

lafin gas's picture

Thing Fish @ 61:

lafin gas @ 50:

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

Wasn't that outbreak blamed on cows or horses?

My point is there are contaminates of all kinds we must know about and take precaution to avoid or correct and it will take an EPA with honest people to do the job!

mudshark's picture

disco inferno @ 59:

I'll keep eating Sushi till I die.

I've got balls!

do they glow and spin?why am i hearing Gladys Knight and the Pips........leaven on that midnight train to Georgia.....wooo...Hooo

e.'s picture

lafin gas @ 50:

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

Exactly.

How pathetic and sad is that?

Posilac. It puts the puss in your milk.

Just ask Monsanto.

mudshark's picture

CappuccettoRosso @ 65:

mudshark @ 46:

CappuccettoRosso @ 45:

mudshark @ 40:

Sounds great as such, but grapefruit doesn't go w/herring. Just top quality plain CRYSTAL CLEAR vodka . Belvedere Vodka is the tops. Never a hangover.

keep the herring

Certainly, on warmer days. It's good protein though, less screwed with mercury than tuna, and good for our brains. Matjes kind is the best. Swedes go ga-ga for it (and Schnapps..) for Midsummer.

Belvedere Vodka: Make It Rain

I have a lot of friends who are fishermen....they say don't eat the older fish.(they don't)you can't eat the young fish either.......the older the fish...the more the contaminates.

ConcernedCanuck's picture

e. @ 63:

ConcernedCanuck @ 57:

Sushi? Who goes boating, sees a fish in the water and starts drooling? Yuck. As bad as raw steak. Blood still dripping. Yuck. Don't want contamination? COOK IT!!!!!!!!

From my understanding, this sort of warning shouldn't be specific.

What our cows eat, we eat.

What our cows are injected with, we eat.

Mercury in fish; why sure!

But everything else is a crap shoot too.

BUY LOCAL.

DAMMIT.

(as if we all have time to do so and study where our food supply comes from)

I dunno. People can grow their own vegetables and eat those.

You do bring up a good point. Who knows exactly what you eat when it isn't purchased from a local grower. Heck, who knows what you are really eating then. There are so damn many additives, both natural and unnatural in all foods now, just what exactly is good for you? And who would ever trust a government agency to tell them what is healthy to eat? I wouldn't. In my country if it says "Canada #1" it's usually followed by a "Product of USA" or "Product of China". If it's packaged in Canada, or partially packaged, they can claim on it that it is Canadian. Hell, I watched a CBC documentary on boxed cereal. What a joke. They pretended to be a concerned distributor and phoned Kelloggs, Quaker, etc, and asked them what exactly was in their cereal. The answers ranged from "we can't divulge that info" to "we really don't know what is in it".....Honestly, some of them DID NOT KNOW. Yet the packaging says they do. LOL!

mudshark's picture

too much shell fish is worse.

Curt Blizzah's picture

The spread looks better than sex!!

Sushi and sashimi are the most addictive foods ever put together.

Andre's picture

As soon as this story broke, there was a piece on it on the local Vancouver BC news, since I imagine Vancouver has more sushi places than anywhere in North America, save San Fran. I love sushi and would be really upset if I couldn't have it on a regular basis. The news (Global) said it doesn't really affect BC sushi places that much...

Peter G's picture

That is a very interesting connection to make between pollution and free market principles. It is too bad that it is completely and utterly wrong. Do I have to point out that pollution is far worse in the economies that do not embrace free market principles. Collective ownership of anything means everyone gets to exploit and no one is responsible for conservation. The real problem was the poor technical choices we made years ago when it was thought that the cure for pollution was dilution. Build taller smokestacks and and dump in larger bodies of water as if the earth was an inexhaustible sink for our waste. Everyone did it and the collective economies of the Soviet Union showed the least regard for their citizens when disposing of these wastes. The same thing is still happening in China today. Trying to blame everything on "free market principles" is a big mistake and won't help to solve the problem. The free market principles will work to solve the problem when the real and sometimes hidden costs are factored into manufacturing and distribution of all goods. Carbon Tax anyone?

CappuccettoRosso's picture

MountainMan23 @ 58:

ferrofluid @ 2:

heavy metals in fish is ancient news, people have known about this problem for decades.
check out your local States DNR booklet on what is the safe level of fresh water fish consumption.

my comment precisely ..

the only "news" here is that this is being reported in a national news source ..

Not quite. The levels are higher than ever. Heavy metals in environment (save for micro natural background levels) are a result of INDUSTRIAL RUNOFF. Very little was done ever to contain the heavy metals. Thresholds were being raised, before booosh. Removal from sewage is quite expensive and requires additional process = money.. So, we dump it back to where it came from:waters. Even the Ban on Ocean Dumping didn't take care of this.

Lead, another heavy metal, is an omnipresent gasoline additive, the worst source of lead in environment (only the additive tetra-ethyl lead can raise the octane to a maximum of 87). Do media touch upon it ? No. They go abt lead in paint - it winds up the "economy". Keeps sheeple busy testing paints while they drive SUVs.

Re: sushi, in Japan and elsewhere: since I had to research Minamata, didn't touch it anymore. By the time problem is obvious, the accumulation is devastating. We are a brainless species, dumb animaux. I need some vodka now - to 'sterilize' myself. This does not change the heavy metals levels. Just the perception.

CappuccettoRosso's picture

mudshark @ 69:

CappuccettoRosso @ 65:

mudshark @ 46:

CappuccettoRosso @ 45: keep the herring

Certainly, on warmer days. It's good protein though, less screwed with mercury than tuna, and good for our brains. Matjes kind is the best. Swedes go ga-ga for it (and Schnapps..) for Midsummer.

Belvedere Vodka: Make It Rain

I have a lot of friends who are fishermen....they say don't eat the older fish.(they don't)you can't eat the young fish either.......the older the fish...the more the contaminates.

yes, but how ? Size not always the indicator, only experienced fishermen/anglers might know.. Kind of too late to ask the fish abt their age once caught ? Maybe should be waterboarded to speak out ?

ski's picture

Due to recent health problems, I've had to give up sushi. However, I'd usually order shrimp tempura rolls, amaebi (sweet shrimp), and/or unagi (river eel, not "a state of total awareness"). I don't care for tuna of any kind, including otoro, chutoro and maguro. I won't even eat Jessica Simpson's favorite "chicken"!

ConcernedCanuck's picture

Peter G @ 74:

That is a very interesting connection to make between pollution and free market principles. It is too bad that it is completely and utterly wrong. Do I have to point out that pollution is far worse in the economies that do not embrace free market principles. Collective ownership of anything means everyone gets to exploit and no one is responsible for conservation. The real problem was the poor technical choices we made years ago when it was thought that the cure for pollution was dilution. Build taller smokestacks and and dump in larger bodies of water as if the earth was an inexhaustible sink for our waste. Everyone did it and the collective economies of the Soviet Union showed the least regard for their citizens when disposing of these wastes. The same thing is still happening in China today. Trying to blame everything on "free market principles" is a big mistake and won't help to solve the problem. The free market principles will work to solve the problem when the real and sometimes hidden costs are factored into manufacturing and distribution of all goods. Carbon Tax anyone?

Most of the problems ARE caused by the "free market principles" cuz most of these things you talked about, would not be happening if the market in North America and Europe were not demanding it. Sweatshops only exist because those nations only have collective ownership and not free market principles? Hardly.

e.'s picture

Concerned Canuck,

One of my biggest food worries (among so many) happen to involve national restaurant chains like Applebies or Fridays or Bennigans.

Where does their food come from? Um...on trucks to be warmed up.

Frightening when you think about it.

I helped in an undercover video in Wallmart and they sell all of these chain food restaurants in the FROZEN FOOD SECTION.

YIKES.

What do your kids eat?

Biggus Diggus's picture

Blaming Freddie Mercury for poisoning your sushi is really unfair. The man's been dead for almost two decades now.

Biggus Diggus's picture

Andre @ 73:

As soon as this story broke, there was a piece on it on the local Vancouver BC news, since I imagine Vancouver has more sushi places than anywhere in North America, save San Fran. I love sushi and would be really upset if I couldn't have it on a regular basis. The news (Global) said it doesn't really affect BC sushi places that much...

Err, at least you didn't call it Frisco. We hate it when people call it San Fran, but hate it even more when someone calls it Frisco. "Esseff" or "SF" is what most of us are comfortable with.

phantom's picture

No paulbots? Shocking. Where is your deregulation messiah now?

Rasputin's picture

With all of the foods being imported into this country and only having enough FDA inspectors to examine 1% of it, you have to take other protective measures.

Are Heavy Metals Your Bodies Time Bomb?
Newsletter by Cat Lowe on July 30th, 2007

What Are Heavy Metals?

There are 35 metals that can damage the body; 23 of them are called ‘heavy metals’. In order to be classified as a heavy metal the element must have a specific gravity of at least five times greater than that of water. The metals considered to be the most dangerous to the body are mercury, cadmium, lead, arsenic and aluminum. In general, these metals are of no use to the body.

Preventative and
Detoxifying Elements for mercury:

selenium,
chlorella,
vitamin C,
amino acids (L-glutathione, L-methionine, L-cysteine, L-cystine)

http://www.promolifenews.com/?p=34

Having posted this though you have to research these supplements very carefully to look for drug interactions and toxicity levels if any. Don't just start popping these things like crazy out of fear... do your homework www.LEF.org is a good place to start with their searchable database.

Thing Fish's picture

I don't think the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency article (the how "mercury got into the tuna in the first place." link at the top) did a thorough job explaining how mercury gets into fish. While not mentioned, forest fires are shown in the graphic as being equal to coal burning plants. Almost makes the situation sound natural.

Forest fires don't contribute. They are mercury traps just like top level food chain fish. Left out was how mercury got into the trees. For that I'd point to this article which notes:

In a related project, the researchers are trying to identify the sources of the atmospheric mercury that ended up in the forests they studied. Preliminary results suggest that much of it came from mining operations in the western United States.

Without noting this I can see some poo-pooing the problem as being "natural" and no big deal.

CappuccettoRosso's picture

phantom @ 82:

No paulbots? Shocking. Where is your deregulation messiah now?

Shocking it is. Maybe went to have some Freddie Mercury sushi? All you hear is radio GA-GA ..

Bush Bites's picture

Eat Veggie Sushi.

Just as good and no mercury.

ecotopian's picture

I don't care how much mercury is in sushi, I refuse to eat endangered species http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/world/europe/15fish.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq...

I have stopped eating all ocean fish for this reason.

Thing Fish's picture

lafin gas @ 66:

Thing Fish @ 61:

lafin gas @ 50:

Wow, it's getting so you can't eat anything without worrying if it will kill you or not! The meat may be treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, the fish may have high levels of lead and mercury, and don't laugh all you vegans out there Monsanto's have come up with all kinds of bio-manipulated food plants to keep you guessing too. How was that e-col i spinach scare a few months back?

Wasn't that outbreak blamed on cows or horses?

My point is there are contaminates of all kinds we must know about and take precaution to avoid or correct and it will take an EPA with honest people to do the job!

My bad. Misconstrued it as a snark at the herbivores in the audience.

Would only add that given farming is now just another corporate enterprise, that not only is better checking of the final product necessary, but also better oversight of previously unrelated business is necessary.

Paul in LA's picture

The Italian restaurant kickback to NYT 'environment' reporters paid off.

larkztongue's picture

I've been personally boycotting all Kraft Products for years for I consider them murderers! It's a moral issue-I won't support people who kill people.

They continue to sell a product that they know FULL WELL will KILL THEIR CUSTOMERS! They hid the facts for years,they lied about the facts for years, and they manipulate the ingredients to make it more addictive.

And I am smart enough NOT TO TRUST THEM WITH THE FOOD I EAT. Do YOU?
"Hey, Charlie Manson invited us to diner, want to go?- He's cooking up something special but he won't tell me what"

here is a website that has a list of Altria's (Kraft Food) brand labels like Nabisko, General Foods, Miller Beer, Knudson, DiGiornio Pizza, etc.
Enjoy!

larkztongue's picture

larkztongue @ 90:

I've been personally boycotting all Kraft Products for years for I consider them murderers! It's a moral issue-I won't support people who kill people.

They continue to sell a product that they know FULL WELL will KILL THEIR CUSTOMERS! They hid the facts for years,they lied about the facts for years, and they manipulate the ingredients to make it more addictive.

And I am smart enough NOT TO TRUST THEM WITH THE FOOD I EAT. Do YOU?
"Hey, Charlie Manson invited us to diner, want to go?- He's cooking up something special but he won't tell me what"

here is a website that has a list of Altria's (Kraft Food) brand labels like Nabisko, General Foods, Miller Beer, Knudson, DiGiornio Pizza, etc.
Enjoy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraft_Foods#Brands

Paul in LA's picture

It ain't exactly fish, but:

Dear Mr. Chairman:

You recently used the emergency regulatory provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to authorize the United States Navy to proceed with sonar training exercises off the coast of Southern California without understanding or sufficiently mitigating the effects on whales.

This action appears to be inconsistent with the intent and historical use of those provisions.

Since the emergency regulations were promulgated in 1978, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has exercised authority under these provisions in just 41 cases. For your convenience, I have attached a list of these actions which was prepared by CEQ. This list demonstrates that CEQ has used this authority only rarely over years.

A review of the precedents shows that CEQ has invoked its emergency authority in moments of true urgency. CEQ has used its authorities:

· To stop an outbreak of encephalitis in Arizona.
· To prevent the collapse of a historic building and remove hazardous asbestos.
· To stop the spread of an incurable disease among steelhead trout in a California fishery.
· To remove unexploded ordnance exposed by natural wave process in a beach community.
· To prevent the collapse of Wolf Creek Dam and the consequent flooding of the Cumberland River Valley.
· To prevent the imminent extinction of the California condor.
· To rebuild the levees damaged by Hurricane Katrina for 100-year flood protection.
· To accept delivery of spent nuclear fuel rods which, if sent elsewhere, could be used to make nuclear weapons.
· To allow for troops and military supplies to be transported into combat operations during Operation Desert Shield.

As these examples show, CEQ has traditionally used its emergency powers sparingly, in times of genuine urgency, with conditions that apply NEPA’s spirit of public input and environmental protection to the fullest extent possible.

There is no similar emergency in the case of the Navy training exercises.

Moreover, CEQ never used its authority to effectively override a court order as has been done in this case.

The emergency arrangements regulations under NEPA were designed to streamline the NEPA process in true emergencies. The regulations were not designed to undermine environmental protections or reverse court decisions the Administration disagrees with.

I urge you to reverse your decision in this matter.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman
Chairman

larkztongue's picture

Thing Fish @ 88:

lafin gas @ 66:

Thing Fish @ 61:

lafin gas @ 50:

Wasn't that outbreak blamed on cows or horses?

My point is there are contaminates of all kinds we must know about and take precaution to avoid or correct and it will take an EPA with honest people to do the job!

My bad. Misconstrued it as a snark at the herbivores in the audience.

Would only add that given farming is now just another corporate enterprise, that not only is better checking of the final product necessary, but also better oversight of previously unrelated business is necessary.

E-Coli may be from the combination of monsanto's GE grain feed the cows and pigs eat. The use bacteria as the deliver system to introduce the new genetic code to the host plant (or animal). Cows have mostly been grass feeders so with grain introduced to the diet, the grains natural and GE bacteria are now introduced into the Cow-wasnt there before when cows ate grass.
Something else you may not know- Human Genes have now been spliced into Cows and Pigs! Are we not men? We are Cannibals!

Richard Ray Harris's picture

VietVet8666 @ 6:

Nicole,

First sushi I had was in San Francisco in a small Japanese restaurant (like, really small) in 1978.

With an instant girlfriend.

This means nothing, except nostalgia.

Was that on Van Ness St? I used to haunt a big family restaurant there..Think it was Nikko, could that wrong..

Anyway, I'd like to know more about what company imports much of the fish that becomes sushi..I've heard tell there is Moonie involvement almost entirely for US sushi restaurants.

Gregg's picture

As I understand it, heavy metal toxicity is sometimes dose-related, but always cumulative depending on detoxification rates (which is usually poor for heavy metals), such that any amount of heavy metals absorbed beyond a healthy threshold (if there is one for mercury?) is a potential health problem, so that taking fractions of a microgram on a weekly basis, is still building on previous levels likely undiminished. It would seem that the less you have absorbed in the past, the more freedom you have to eat sushi.

As our world becomes more toxic, the need to monitor intake of metals and detoxify-eliminate existing ones will be important.

An interesting bit of soft research came out recently suggests that cell phones and other EMF pollution inhibit detoxification rates in autistic children.

Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and
Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations
and Mechanisms
J. Aust. Coll. Nutr. & Env. Med. Vol. 26 No.2 (August 2007) pages 3-7
Tamara J Mariea1 and George L Carlo2

1. Tamara J Mariea, Internal
Balance Inc, Nashville TN and Safe
Wireless Initiative, Washington, DC
2. George L Carlo, Science and
Public Policy Institute, Safe Wireless
Initiative and The George Washington
University School of Medicine and
Health Sciences, Washington, DC

References supplied on request and
available on

Jon Blaque's picture

ConcernedCanuck @ 57:

Sushi? Who goes boating, sees a fish in the water and starts drooling? Yuck. As bad as raw steak. Blood still dripping. Yuck. Don't want contamination? COOK IT!!!!!!!!

Cooking fish does absolutely nothing to eliminate mercury or other heavy metal content. Like it or not, we are very successfully poisoning our seafood stocks (and, in turn, ourselves) to death.

Gregg's picture

Oops!
Wireless Radiation in the Etiology and
Treatment of Autism: Clinical Observations
and Mechanisms
J. Aust. Coll. Nutr. & Env. Med. Vol. 26 No.2 (August 2007) pages 3-7
Tamara J Mariea1 and George L Carlo2
References supplied on request and
available on www.acnem.org

ferrofluid's picture

mudshark @ 71:

too much shell fish is worse.

Old English proverb, dont eat shellfish with an R in the month.
(when its harvested, with pickling and freezing situation changes)

turk96's picture

Eh, fuck sushi. Just because fish aren't cute doesn't mean we should eat them. There's absolutely no reason something should have to die for your diet. Go veg.

shelley's picture

I want to say this story is fishy, but NY's sushi is just too good for that
Shelley from SuTree

boudreaux's picture

BAIT???? Who eat's that junk????

chlorocardium's picture

I never got into this fad. Yeah, eating your fish like a coastal Elaine Morgan hominid is probably quite healthy. But eating raw commercially caught, shipped from who knows where, fish nowadays? No thanks. I'll take the vegetarian California roll.

By the way, a good bit of that mercury is "natural" in deep sea carnivores. It seeps out in some places down there and stays near the bottom. But the coal burning sure adds to it.

Mr.Mom's picture

How about you dont eat sushi because Blue andYellow Fin Tuna and going extinct because of terrible overfishing. just so we can stuff our fat mouths with trendy food.
Please for the state of our oceans stop supporting sushi.

donviti's picture

going for sushi today...

I'll just eat less. The government said that's all I need to do. I believe them

Tom's picture

The belief that rain "washes" the air, cleansing it of mercury and other contaminants is a load of hogwash. This story was flawed from the start.

TomK's picture

Well he is right about MADD. But wrong about everything else.

Rusty Shackleford's picture

Three words for y'all who want to keep eating fish: farm-raised catfish. Better than it sounds. They grow a lot of it here in Mississippi. As agriculture (broadly speaking) goes, it's reasonably clean and sustainable.

rmjbrown's picture

Keep eating raw fish. Leave more room for the rest of us.

Mark's picture

Google "sushi" and "unification church" to get to, I think, a Chicago Tribune story about how Rev.Moon owns something like 80% of the market.

teknikAL's picture

In my neck of the woods in NY we forgo the food chain in the sea and directly apply it to our crop land.
"Chemically treated human and municipal waste from the Syracuse metro area containing unregulated heavy metals and PCBs is being spread on fields in Schuyler County by Bergen Farms in a cost-saving move that has local residents alarmed and looking for information.

But the product — sold under the name Earth Blends or N-Viro Soil and manufactured by Waste Stream Environmental, Inc., in Syracuse — may be as much of a mystery to the Bergens as it was to the crowd of concerned citizens who packed the Mecklenburg Fire House on Wednesday night for an informational meeting that the Community Dispute Resolution Center facilitated. [...]
McBride (Murray McBride, director of Cornell's Waste Management Institute), explained there are no EPA regulations regarding the use of these industrial and chemical pollutants in land application. The EPA did, however, make a statement in a 2000 report from its inspector general's office stating it “Cannot assure the public that current land application processes of sewage sludge are protective of human health and the environment.”" ~ Ithaca Journal

Fil's picture

I hate Sushi. I wish it was never introduced to the west.

Every time I start seeing a new girl....... she like freakin' Sushi.

Sushi is ruining my life, making it harder for me finding a girl who doesn't eat that crap.

Lord Balto's picture

"What? now I cant even enjoy expensive sushi dinners without worrying about my own death. Thanks corporate polluters!"

Actually, the mercury in the sea comes from the burning of coal. So, again, the energy companies are killing you.

Gene Bruce's picture

The difference between sushi and sashimi should be made clear. Sashimi is thinly sliced, raw seafood. Many different kinds of fish (and other types of seafood) are served raw in the Japanese cuisine. Sashimi can be eaten just as sashimi or as nigiri zushi, in which case the sashimi piece is put on top of a small ball of sushi rice.
Sushi can be made from many other foods, e.g., vegetables, shrimp, and need not have raw seafood of any kind on/in it.

MN USA's picture

Fish is supposed to be so healthy for you, but with all the contaminants they contain, I rarely eat fish. Minnesota has a web site telling fishermen how many fish can be safely eaten depending on the lake they come from. When they don't advise pregnant women to eat fish from the lakes, I don't have much desire to do so either. We need to clean up our earth.

The Dude Abides's picture

I can't believe the amount of hysteria on this thread, especially among sushi eaters. It's common knowledge that apex predators such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks have large amounts of mercury in them. The mercury levels of each step in the ocean food pyramid are cumulative, and thus build up through to the top of the food chain. I eat sushi once or twice per week, and never eat tuna. The only sushi that I double up on at a particular sitting is salmon, which is has both the highest omega-3 levels and the lowest mercury levels of the major sushi dishes. It's simple--DON'T EAT THE TUNA! When you go to a typical seafood restaurant, DON'T EAT THRESHER SHARK, and DON'T EAT BARRACUDA or SWORDFISH!

DaMan's picture

I didn’t automatically recall that Berman had, as the Post reported, “accused Mothers Against Drunk Driving a. . . of ‘junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda.’”

Umm, while your points before were accurate Sharon, you are obviously a stooge if you think MADD is in any way a legit organization. So that brings your previous points into question as well. Fact is MADD is in violation of there tax exempt status because they actively influence political campaigns. They also use junk science when they claim 40000 people a year die from drunk driving. fact is less than 3000 people a year die from drunk driving. which is hardly a reason for the Supreme court to suspend the 4th amendment and allow dui check points. Which justice Renquist conceded was a violation of the constitution "but considering the large loss of life (40000/year) we must allow check points."
If you want real facts on MADD visit http://www.duigulag.com/

Old Billy's picture

Oh, mercy, mercy me...

mudshark's picture

mmmmmmmmmmm........yellow fin sashimi...........yummmm.you can keep the sake.

Andrew K's picture

This is definitely old news. Still, tuna has high levels of mercury. You can certainly, as an adult, exceed the FDA standards by quite a lot and it's unlikely you'll damage your health.

There's no way I'm cutting out tuna from my diet completely. But once every couple of weeks is the max I'll do...just in case.

For a great understanding of various food fish species, their mercury levels, and whether they are generally fished or farmed sustainably, check out George Mateljan's "The World's Healthiest Foods".

upset's picture

Why is it that the libertarians never show up for stories such as this one?

Jimmy Carl Black's picture

I also worry about jerking off .. you'll go blind you know !!!!! JCB

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