Little to fret over with mercury in Colorado fish
By: By David Martosko
Newspaper: Vaily Daily
Its frustrating, but not too surprising, that so many people are overreacting to trace levels of mercury found in Colorado sport fish. (Mercury in Colorado waters is a mystery, April 6). The Natural Resources Defense Council and other green groups have been sounding the alarm over this non-emergency for years.
By: By David Martosko
Newspaper: Vaily Daily
Its frustrating, but not too surprising, that so many people are overreacting to trace levels of mercury found in Colorado sport fish. (Mercury in Colorado waters is a mystery, April 6). The Natural Resources Defense Council and other green groups have been sounding the alarm over this non-emergency for years.
The recent trend of testing fish for mercury has stopped countless Americans from eating what is essentially a health food. All fish contains tiny parts-per-billion levels of mercury, and it always has.
But mercury-poisoning cases from eating seafood are as rare as Powerball winners. They have all involved fish with mercury levels many, many times higher than anything found in Colorado. And theyve all occurred overseas.
Scientists from Harvard University and the Food & Drug Administration counsel that whats good about fish far outweighs anything that might be bad. And I underline might because mercury-related illnesses from the fish we eat are still entirely hypothetical.
David Martosko
Director of research, Center for Consumer Freedom, Washington, D.C.