Do You Know What's In Your Tuna?

There may not be any dolphin meat in your canned tuna, but there may be something more toxic...

I don't want to pull a Jeremy Piven on all you people here, but you might want to reconsider how much tuna you and your family consume.

At the risk of being overly-alarmist based upon a documentary I just rented from NetFlix, but The Cove took me by surprise. Not just because of what's happening to dolphins in this tiny cove in Japan but because I didn't realize that there are high levels of mercury present in a lot of the fish you can buy canned in supermarket aisles or prepared in the finest sushi restaurants.

Some excerpts clipped from the EPA:

What is mercury and methylmercury?

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water. It is this type of mercury that can be harmful to your unborn baby and young child. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others, depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels vary.

Is there methylmercury in all fish and shellfish?

Nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of methylmercury. However, larger fish that have lived longer have the highest levels of methylmercury because they've had more time to accumulate it. These large fish (swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish) pose the greatest risk. Other types of fish and shellfish may be eaten in the amounts recommended by FDA and EPA.

It's POISON, people!!!

Okay. It led to an epidemic of birth defects in a small village in Japan a while back. The Japanese government orchestrated a massive cover-up. Like so many of these things, it's hard to say what the real long-term effect is if you're consuming a steady stream of mercury over X number of years... but it's worth taking a step back and considering.

I've actually been eating more tuna for the past few weeks because it's high in protein. Looks like I'm going to be cutting back...