A new FDA report, still in draft and not yet approved by the White House, says Americans should stop worrying about mercury and eat more fish. But not everyone thinks this is good advice; according to the Washington Post:
The FDA’s recommendations have alarmed scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, who in internal memos criticized them as “scientifically flawed and inadequate” and said they fell short of the “scientific rigor routinely demonstrated by EPA.”
Unfortunately, the article doesn’t consider what would happen to fish populations if Americans followed the FDA’s advice, and began eating up to 12 ounces of fish a week.
Also, the article (and presumably the report) fails to distinguish between fatty, cold water fish — which is loaded with beneficial Omega 3s — and other sorts of fish that carry none of these benefits. And finally, there’s not a word in the article about flax and other vegan sources of Omega 3; considering Omega 3s can be obtained without endangering fish populations and without exposing people to mercury, it’s irresponsible that the government consistently fails to publicize this fact. Link.
