GotMercury.org: Calculate the mercury in your seafood choices

The good folks at the Turtle Island Restoration Network have harnessed mobile technology to help all of us determine whether the fish we eat is safe in regards to mercury levels. You may have read previous postings where I discussed this important issue and now, when you go to the market or out to to a restaurant, you can determine whether your seafood selection is a safe one by using the GotMercury calculator that can be accessed by many leading mobile devices at www.gotmercury.mobi.

You can also go to the GotMercury.org web site and type in your weight, your selected seafood and the amount, and then it will calculate whether your selection exceeds government standards for safety. Here's an example, if you decide you want to sit down to dine on 8 oz. of swordfish (as you might suspect, it's way over the limit):
Not only does this calculator help us to lead healthier lives, but it also brings home the issue of mercury poisoning in seafood - particularly in pelagics like sharks, swordfish, and tuna.

Contaminated Seafood: how to find the "good stuff"

Seafood contamination - primarily in the form of mercury poisoning - is serious business. It has moved beyond the early contaminated species of tuna to other pelagics like swordfish and sharks and continues to spread to other species. But since uncontaminated fish (from sustainable species, of course) can be a healthy component of our diet, how can we be sure we're purchasing seafood that is safe? Where's a good safe place to buy safe seafood?

Oceana.org has assembled a great interactive mapping service: Interactive Grocery Store Map. With this map you can drill down to your local neighborhood and find stores that are on Oceana's "Green List."

This is a big help to the conscientious shopper but, of course, we need to also address the reasons for seafood contamination in the first place. Industrial processes that put mercury vapor into the air or through industrial discharge must be eliminated both in the U.S. and worldwide. The "liquid metal" was fun to play with when I was a child but in the 50+ years since, we've learned it's no plaything.

Mercury Levels in Fish: Costco posts FDA advisory

Several species of fish, like pelagic sharks and swordfish, have unsafe levels of mercury and are no longer considered good choices by the FDA for human consumptions (Read FDA advisory). Man-made contaminants can work their way up through the marine food chain until they deposit themselves in animals of commercial value.

Many organizations, like Oceana.org, have lobbied grocers and major supermarket chains for years to post the FDA advisory for its customers. A recent participant has been the major food wholesaler, Costco. The advisory provides important information as to which fish are safe or unsafe - not just a blanket warning against all seafood, which would probably not gain much credibility with the general public.

Ironic that the potential for limiting the commercial demand for sharks and swordfish - which could help in their conservation - comes about due to our poisoning of these animals beyond safe limits. Maybe we should irradiate the Amazon rain forest so that the wood could no longer commercially be safely used for paper or building materials. Crazy logic . . .