MERCURY MADNESS

Opinion Page

MERCURY MADNESS
(By Henk Brus, August 19, 2002)

Recently a New Yorker, named Caesar Barber filed a class action lawsuit against four fast-food chains, blaming them for his obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Caesar Barber argues that McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Wendy's failed to give due warning that some of the foods they sell contain high levels of sodium, fat and calories.
Barber, who has had two heart attacks, said he did not realize fried food was bad for him until three years ago and that he had been munching on fast-food for decades because it was convenient.

No this is not a joke, this is the hard reality the American Food Industry is facing today, total madness !

If we must believe some health organizations the cause of Mr. Caesar Barber's outrageous claim, might be tuna. Mercury Madness.
If little Caesar's Mama ate more then 5 cans of light tuna continuously during each week of her pregnancy, it could have effected Caesar mental abilities. According to the U.S national Academy of Sciences prenatal mercury exposure can hurt the unborn child's ability to pay attention, concentrate, talk, run and play.

But if only had Caesar been intelligent enough to eat healthy food during his life , such as tuna, he could have prevented his two heart attacks. It could have helped him think better about changing his diet and to concentrate better on the advice of his doctors to stop eating all this junk food and to eat at least 3 servings a week of omega-3 rich fish.

Over the least 25 years the American Tuna industry has been plagued with claims that mercury in tuna threatens public health. During all these years the USFDA has not given any negative advice on eating tuna. Extensive research on mercury in tuna by the USFDA showed that only 4 percent of the tested tuna reached the 1 PPM " Action Level". In the past tuna companies were sold because their shareholders were fearing massive health claims of tuna consumers.

Now again "Mercury in Tuna" has the attention of the U.S press. In a country where obesity is " Public Enemy Number 1", the "mercury madness" is gaining its momentum. The press is not interested in the health of the average American, they are merely after sensation. Negative publicity on tuna has a depressing effect on tuna consumption, and on people's health. It gives people like Mr. Caesar Barber an excuse of taking the Drive-Thru at McDonalds, instead of making his own healthy tuna sandwich at home. Obviously, Mr. Barber will argue he does not have the mental capabilities to figure that out, due to his mothers tuna addiction, while he was bopping around in the foetus.

With the continuing negative publicity around tuna, it will be only a matter of time when people like Mr. Barber will be filing a lawsuit against the tuna industry. Yearly about 3.7 million babies are born in the USA. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in ten American women of childbearing age is at risk having a baby born, which could suffer from neurological problems caused by mercury exposure. If tuna is to be blamed for all this, then these 370.000 mothers (0.13% of the U.S population) should have consumed during a nine month period a minimum of 5 tuna cans weekly ! That means about 180 cans or 3.75 cartons of 48/6oz of tuna per mother during the entire pregnancy! Which totals in a yearly consumption by pregnant mothers alone of 1.38 million cases, or 2,5% of the total USA consumption of 53.5 million cases. If all these negative stories would be true, this would also mean that over the last 25 years close to 8 million young Americans are now suffering from lesser mental capabilities, because of their mothers exaggerated tuna eating habits.

Being a father of two healthy and intelligent tuna eating kids, I obviously share the concern of any possible harm being done to babies and children, and it should be avoided as much as possible. However the intensity of weekly tuna consumption required to create any long term harm, is just not realistic. Unfortunately the excessive hamburger consumption of Mr. Caesar is. There is nothing wrong about educating pregnant mothers about their diets. It is obvious that, not because of its harm, but due to its popularity, tuna has become the focus of the Mercury movement. If health organizations are really concerned about the well-being of their fellow Americans, a more responsible approach would be appropraite. That means concentrating themselves on the benefits of the 52 million cases of tuna eaten by the other 99% of the population each year. To these people tuna represents an important source of healthy and natural food. As many scientists have proven already, more tuna consumption will not only benefit people's vascular system, but even their mental capability to understand what good food is.

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