Health Cost
- The ocean is treated as our ultimate dumping ground for both physical and chemical pollution, everything that enters our waterways ends up in the ocean. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that eating fish and other seafood poses inherent risks to our health.
- Of greatest concern are toxic chemicals like mercury and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) that accumulate up the food chain into the seafood we eat. While these chemicals are not immediately deadly, continued low levels of exposure can cause cancer and impact nervous system development (EDF)!
- Globalization has stretched our seafood supply chain to all corners of the Earth, and large commercial fishing operations rarely offer locally fished options to consumers. On average, seafood in the US travels more than 5,000 miles before reaching your plate. Aquaculture drugs are common practice in the transportation of live seafood. Poor sanitary measures during transport, as a result of time and temperature abuse of fishery products, can result in toxin formation and the presence of hazardous pathogenic bacteria. (FDA).
Did You Know?
Plastic in the ocean breaks up into microplastic particles (<5mm) that travel through the water column acting like magnets, aggregating these and other harmful chemicals. These are then eaten by animals as small as plankton and again accumulate up the food chain. The consumption of plastic and associated chemicals may be causing a decrease in sperm counts and directly reducing fertility in men (Count Down)!