Heavy Metal Fish and the Future of Food

A federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday found the toxic substance in every fish tested at nearly 300 streams across the country, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become.

The study by the U.S. Geological Survey is the most comprehensive look to date at mercury in the nation’s streams. From 1998 to 2005, scientists collected and tested more than a thousand fish from 291 streams nationwide. While all fish had traces of mercury contamination, only about a quarter had levels exceeding what the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe for people eating average amounts of fish.

Via All Fish in U.S. Streams have Mercury in Them

Thank goodness all our fish is farm raised and imported. I don’t want to come off like a ranting tree hugger, but it might be about time we actually started treating this place like we’ll be living in it for a lifetime.

While we are on the subject, I recently watched a documentary called the Future of Food. It is uses some low grade scare tactics to evoke an emotional response in people and is somewhat rambling, but it was interesting for the questions it raised. Its central assertion is that genetically modified foods have not been tested enough for us to know what the impacts of using them will be over the long term. It also talks a bit about how messed up farm subsidies are, a topic near and dear to my heart. Anyone know of any research about genetically modified foods and health?