“MAD AS A HATTER” CAMPAIGN The Clean Air Council’s “Mad as a Hatter” campaign is focused on educating the public about the dangers of mercury in the foods we eat. Our goal is to warn the public against many health hazards associated with eating food contaminated with mercury.
23
Embed
“MAD AS A HATTER” CAMPAIGN The Clean Air Council’s “Mad as a Hatter” campaign is focused on educating the public about the dangers of mercury in the foods.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
“MAD AS A HATTER” CAMPAIGN
The Clean Air Council’s “Mad as a Hatter” campaign is focused on educating the
public about the dangers of mercury in the foods we eat. Our goal is to warn the public against many health hazards
associated with eating food contaminated with mercury.
Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 and mercury in the environment
• The Environmental Protection Agency was required by law to do a comprehensive study of mercury in the environment. In 1997, the Agency’s report to Congress concluded that – The major route of mercury exposure in the
United States was by eating fish– The source of the mercury in the fish was
primarily from air emissions.
TUNA : TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT?
THAT IS THE QUESTION! OR
HOW MUCH MERCURY IS SAFE TO EAT?
Why are we asking this question today?
• Mercury levels have tripled in our environment in the past 200 years.
• It is in some foods we enjoy eating.
• It affects developing fetuses, new born infants, children, as well as adults.
• It can cause a lowering of IQ in newborns.
• It can affect sight, hearing, balance, kidneys and hearts .
• No one knows how much methyl mercury we can safely consume.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says we can eat tuna that contains up to 1.00 ppm. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urges us to not eat fish that contains more than 0.50 ppm.
2. Children have rapid growth processes which can be easily disrupted.
(Links for more information are in italics)
DOES YOUR WEIGHT AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF TUNA YOU CAN SAFELY EAT?
YES!
(Maximum amount is 0.1 micrograms of methyl mercury per kg of body weight per day. Calculations assumes each can contains the same average amount of methyl mercury !)
Your Weight Weekly Amount
200 lbs 19.00 oz
100 lbs 9.50 oz
50 lbs 4.74 oz
(Links for more information are in italics)
FDA recommends eating up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish. But if you just eat tuna, are
you over the limit? Your Weight mercury limit
(FDA/EPA)
200 lbs 60%
100 lbs 130%
50 lbs 250%*these number apply for 12 ounces of canned light tuna
(Links for more information are in italics)
The average can of tuna contains 0.118 ppm
1 in 6 cans contains more than 0.237 ppm
1 can had (7 times the average) 0.852 ppm
Conclusion: Because we do not know exactly how much mercury is in any can of tuna, we do not know which cans of
tuna are safe to eat!
Do all cans of light tuna contain the same amount of methyl mercury?
(Links for more information are in italics)
NO!
Do government agencies agree?
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates commercial fishing
• The FDA maximum was 1.00 ppm
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the sports and subsistence fisherman
• The EPA maximum was 0.50 ppm
If a fish contains too much methyl mercury does it matter
if you caught it locally or a large fishing fleet caught it?
(Links for more information are in italics)
Do you have a choice?
Seafood rich in omega 3 fatty acids and high levels of methyl mercury
Swordfish
Shark
Tilefish
King Mackerel
Tuna
Shrimp Sole
Salmon Haddock
Pollock Sardines
Catfish Oysters
Flounder Herring
Seafood rich in omega 3 fatty acids and NO (or low) methyl mercury
(Links for more information are in italics)
TUNA : TO EAT OR NOT TO EAT? THAT IS THE QUESTION!
• There are some diets that emphasize eating lots of seafood , and the main seafood is tuna.
• Should you follow the “tuna and water 3 day” diet used by some bodybuilders?
• How much methyl mercury should your fetus be exposed to? Your spouse? The rest of your family?
• ONLY YOU CAN ANSWER
• THESE QUESTIONS! (Links for more information are in italics)
THE END
For additional information contact Mervyn Kline, PhD,