EPA

Consumers have been hammered over the last few weeks with a slew of common and calculated pieces of misinformation about mercury in seafood. Not as part of a public education campaign gone awry or faulty reporting, but as part of a targeted lobbying campaign that has nothing to do with fish and that you won’t hear hide nor hair of next week. 

Yesterday Dr. Edward Groth III of the Mercury Policy Project announced the launch of a new website designed to provide 'mercury facts' that stand in contrast to ones provided by sites like this.

Reporters mark your calendars. Tomorrow (Tuesday, January 5th) the EPA will release The National Lakes Assessment a report billed as "the first-ever assessment of the condition of the nation's lakes." It is set to report that nearly 60% the nation's lakes "support healthy biological communities." It is not set to report on anything that has to do with commercial seafood.

A couple of hours ago, the Environmental Protection Agency published something called the National Lake Fish Tissue Study, a "national screening-level survey of chemical residues in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs," in the lower 48 states.  Here's how the AP is reporting its findings.

Reports are percolating today about an EPA study that found fish caught near wastewater treatment plants had residues of pharmaceuticals in them, including medicines used to treat high cholesterol, allergies, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder and depression.

Here at NFI, you could forgive us if we get a little wary whenever the New York Times takes up the issue of fish consumption and mercury. As you can see from the NFI on the Record section of our Web site,

The EPA vs. FDA interagency turf battle that has sprung up surrounding the issue of whether the latest independent science should be incorporated into the federal advice on seafood consumption has gotten a bit of coverage lately, including on CNN.

The EPA vs. FDA interagency turf battle that has sprung up surrounding the issue of whether the latest independent science should be incorporated into the federal advice on seafood consumption has gotten a bit of coverage lately, including on CNN.

It's a question perhaps best answered by his bosses, and we're sending them a letter asking just that. We'll let you know what they say. But while they ponder that query let's take a look at his latest Chicago Tribune article titled Mercury-tainted fish on FDA menu. The very first paragraph is quintessential Hawthorne; a mix of distortion, opinion and poor (if not absent) sourcing.

In an irresponsible and unethical attempt to highjack nutrition policy, environmental lobbyists have launched a concerted effort to usurp the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority over food nutrition issues.