The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is alerting reporters and editors nationwide to treat actor Jeremy Piven's claims of mercury poisoning from eating sushi with skepticism.WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 23, 2008 – The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is alerting reporters and editors nationwide to treat actor Jeremy Piven's claims of mercury poisoning from eating sushi with skepticism. For balanced information on the benefits of seafood consumption and mercury, NFI directs reporters to review two recent pieces published in the online magazine, Slate.
In 2008, Slate media critic Jack Shafer specifically tackled the issue of mercury in tuna sushi and concluded that activists warning Americans about high mercury levels in tuna sushi were engaging in "scaremongering". In 2007, Arthur Allen wrote that not only is it safe for pregnant women to eat fish, but that scientific evidence showed that woman who eat more fish have smarter babies than moms who don't.
"We already know close to 80 percent of Americans are not eating seafood at least twice per week,” said Jennifer Wilmes, a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute. "Messages that inappropriately scare consumers away from fish because of mercury can do a real disservice to public health,” said Wilmes. “When people eat less seafood, they miss out on a significant disease prevention opportunity.”
What’s more, published reports suggest Piven’s situation has more to do with contracts and Hollywood hype than health.
For more than 60 years, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and its members have provided American families with the variety of sustainable seafood essential to a healthy diet. For more information visit: www.AboutSeafood.com.
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Contact Information: Gavin Gibbons
703.752.8891
ggibbons@nfi.org
There's a story making the rounds that actor Jeremy Piven has had to pull out of a Broadway play because of high mercury levels he associates with having eaten too much sushi. But it would appear this fish tale is beginning to unravel.
I'm now in week five of having no kitchen, and the void is
palpable. Taking a kitchen away from an
RD is like taking a canvas away from a painter - my art is totally
stunted. So what am I doing to
cope? Collecting more recipes than ever
in anticipation of the big day when I can cook again. Going out to eat has lost its thrill, so once
I'm set with a kitchen, I plan to eat every meal at home for several
months. Today I happened upon this
What would you think if someone sent you a gift promoting a sushi pocket guide that was supposed to, among other things, help protect you from the perceived evils of things like mercury... but the gift itself featured a warning label that said it contained a chemical that might "cause cancer or birth defects?"
Here come the guides-- the Blue Ocean Institute, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have all launched sustainable sushi guides that not only conflict with red and green lists from other environmental lobbying groups but offer health advice too.
If they're talking about health advice for the oceans perhaps they've got a horse in this race but when it comes to human health I'll stick to doctors and dietitians.
It wasn't that long ago that NFI went head-to-head with the New York Times over its misuse of science and distortion of data in reporting about seafood.
Before she was admonished by the New York Times public editor for the failures of her now discredited story about mercury in sushi tuna, Marion Burros was sleuthing around Gotham spiriting fish samples off to the lab for toxicology tests.
I am not a history buff. In fact, my history knowledge is borderline embarrassing. But I think I have just found a piece of the past I could sink my teeth into - the history of sushi. Author Trevor Corson, an academic/lobster fisherman, explores this topic in his book The Zen of Sushi. And discovers that, "the sushi that we know today almost never came into existence at all, and it's just a series of historical accidents that it did." Yikes! For all the fascinating details, listen to the author discuss his book here.
