"health hazard" news and stories

It is no longer news that Tuna is dangerously high in mercury. But, what's worth remarking is that tuna has remained off consumer watch lists for mercury toxicity due to the influence of the tuna industry on the FDA. The eco-blog Treehugger just commented on an article from Mother Jones uncovering why toxic tuna is still legal.

The article explains that tuna is a huge business in the U.S., and that it's the country's second most popular seafood. The FDA and US Department of Agriculture actually encourage school lunch programs and the federal food program for poor women and children to eat cans of tuna. They promote the fact that it's low in fat, high in protein, and contains lots of omega-3 fatty acids. If some canned tuna receives the American Heart Association seal of approval, can the fact that it has high levels of mercury be so bad?

The issue is that the doctors who flaunt the health benefits of tuna work within the industry. And, the truth is that the health benefits can not outweigh the health hazards of mercury, which over the long-term include damage to the heart, nervous system, and kidneys. The Mother Jones article tells the story of Deborah Landvik-Fellner, a woman who had been eating a can of albacore tuna for 12 years and ended up with shaky hands and a staggering gait. The scary thing about her lawsuit is that the FDA posed the biggest obstacle. After not eating tuna for a year, her symptons went away.

Though the South Beach, Florida store in question was closed for renovations this past Sunday, some mothers gathered at a Starbucks and held a "nurse-in" to protest the expulsion of a woman named Nicole Coombs from the store. Coombs claims that she was asked to leave for breast-feeding her 4-month old son. The Starbucks manager, however, maintains that Coombs was asked to leave for changing her baby's diaper on one of the tables in the cafe.

Coombs states that the store manager asked her to leave while she was breastfeeding. She said she would leave as soon as she was done, because she was so outraged that she did not want to remain in the store. Then, according to Coombs, she proceeded to change her baby's diaper. She does not deny that she changed the baby on the table where people ordinarily eat. Now, the store manager says that he did not say anything to Coombs about breast feeding, which is perfectly acceptable in the store. He contends that he approached her as she changed her baby on the table and asked her to stop. When she refused, she was asked to leave.

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