It's time to add another activist group to the list of organizations that are trying to sensationalize the recent USGS report on sport-caught fish in order to scare the public out of buying seafood: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
It shouldn’t comes as a shock, in the wake of their efforts to rebrand fish as "sea kittens," (click here too) but it’s worth mentioning that PETA is distributing a short piece about the USGS study that goes on to tie it to the work of mercury activist Jane Hightower.
The recipe here is pretty typical: quote the USGS study without mentioning the distinction between sport- caught and store-bought fish; mix in some anecdotal but unproven claims about someone suffering from general symptoms that could be caused by any number of other ailments; and then add a dash of Hightower's rhetoric to give it a sheen of credibility. Half bake, serve with a side of hysteria and you've got a standard PETA campaign.
Enjoy.
