Don't Eat Gulf Coast Seafood, The People Who Catch It Won't

[FluxRostrum]

On Nov 20th the residents of the Gulf Coast states gathered in Grand Isla LA for the "Rally for the Truth" about the BP Oil Spill contamination of the gulf seafood supply and effects of dispersant on the people who live there.

The commercial fishermen are back to work supplying US with seafood that the FDA has approved... but they won't eat it themselves and would like to tell you why.

See what they have to say about it at this link
http://mobilebroadcastnews.com/MBN/story/Rally-Truth-Grand-Isle-LA

[Duval]

1. How will we know where it came from?

We've been buying from Whole Foods in NC, but what about restaurants, etc.? Safer to stick with beef, pork and pasta. :(

[cayanne]

28. I ask

I have never had anyone refuse to answer.

[earth mom]

2. Huge K & R!

:kick:

[gtar100]

3. More proof that the FDA has been taken over by those they are supposed to be regulating

Civics lesson #1: The government is supposed to be acting on behalf of the people. But they don't.

[MadHound]

4. The frank truth of the matter is that we should limit our intake of all seafood

The vast majority of seafood contains high levels of mercury and other toxic substances.

[jtrockville]

18. I agree. Even though some seafood is beneficial, I won't eat it.

[timo]

5. no all the gulf was affected

???? what about like deep south Texas....so you want to boycott our industry because of what happened off the coast of LA???

[aquart]

6. Tell you what, honey. You eat as much of that shrimp as you can.

And be sure to go for a swim.

[cayanne]

27. Why such a rude answer

Since you sound like an authority on the south Texas Gulf region, what do YOU know about the shrimp where timo lives that timo and the rest of us don't know? I'm eating gulf shrimp from south Texas tonight. :shrug:

[Chulanowa]

16. LA, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida's North and West coasts.

Southern Texas might be okay, but it can't meet demand all by itself.

[alarimer]

25. It could if people weren't so ignorant.

They can't give it away right now because of hysterical fear-mongering.

[Chulanowa]

29. How much do you eat?

I spent a lot of time on Prince William Sound. And I've got family who live by shrimping in Mississippi.

Anyone who tells you that oil does not enter the food supply is lying to you. It's not "hysterical fear-mongering," it's a statement of fact - seafood from the Deepwater rig east is going to be unsafe for human consumption.

How long? I don't know. If I still had her number, I'd call my aunt who works at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab as a marine biologist and get a professional opinion.

There was a lot of oil - and evidence is, there still is. Shellfish and small fish might be good in a few years. Larger predatory fish, or anything that involves trawling the bottom? I wouldn't bet on that stuff being safe for a good long time.

If the industry moves to Texas' east coast, what'll happen is that they'll overfish and the ecology will collapse.

:shrug: it sucks for the men and women who make their living on the gulf coast, alarimer. But it's BP that destroyed their livelihoods, not those of us affirming that the food is unsafe.

[InvisibleTouch]

7. I've had this concern too.

I love shellfish (shrimp especially), but I've been reluctant to eat it lately because I'm worried about contamination. Not only that, but I recently bought some decorative sand for a desert terrarium, and I quizzed the seller repeatedly until I was sure it was safe for my animals. Was worried that it might have been collected from a beach where toxins could have washed up. That whole ecosystem is poisoned now, who knows for how long?

[thecrow]

8. We just ate the last of our "before BP" shrimp last month

I will miss them..........

[malaise]

11. You can find shrimp from Belize or Guyana

in many supermarkets in the US.

[Poboy]

9. recommend.

[Atypical Liberal]

10. If they won't eat it why are they catching and selling it?

>The commercial fishermen are back to work supplying US with seafood that the FDA has approved...
>but they won't eat it themselves and would like to tell you why.

Isn't that a little fucked up morally? They won't eat it, but they'll sell it on for other people to eat?

This sounds just like those bastards making those loans that brought the system to its knees a few years ago. "I don't care cause I'm selling this bill of goods on down the line and I'm getting mine, fuck everyone else."

[WinkyDink]

13. Why don't you volunteer to go jobless and starve first, and let the rest of us know what it's like?

[bluedigger]

14. So anything goes if you need money?

Good to know. Hey, I'll be right back...just need to make a quick run to the convenience store...:eyes:

[Atypical Liberal]

15. So let's be clear here...

OK, I have not watched all the videos, and there is no text in the link that makes the claim that the OP is making. But assuming the videos do, in fact, indicate that the people catching and selling the seafood are unwilling to eat it themselves because of contamination, you're saying it's OK that these people are catching and selling food that they themselves won't eat? Is that your position?

[jtrockville]

19. Government intervention is needed.

If Gulf seafood isn't safe, the FDA needs to say so, and BP needs to compensate these folks. Otherwise they have little choice but to do what they're doing.

[Atypical Liberal]

21. What?

People always have the choice to do the right thing. If these people really believe they are selling contaminated, unsafe food, not only is this a morally-wrong choice they are making, but they may be opening themselves up to lawsuits for knowingly selling food they had reason to believe was unsafe.

Again, I have not watched all the videos in the link, and there is no text that indicates what the OP says is happening, so I am assuming that the videos do, in fact, indicate that the fishermen are selling food they themselves would not eat because they think it is unsafe to do so.

I agree with you that if the food is unsafe the FDA should say so, and BP should compensate people affected by their colossal incompetence.

But to say that fishermen have no choice but to sell poisoned food is untrue. No more than it would be to say mortgage brokers had no choice but to sell mortgages with no regard to whether they would be repaid or not.

[jtrockville]

22. Well... I tend to agree.

But only because I don't think mortage brokers did anything wrong. Sure it's stupid to loan someone monty who clearly can't repay it - it's certainly not a risk I would be willing to take on either end. I wouldn't loan money to someone who has no means to repay it, and I wouldn't borrow more than I could repay. So if both sides were willing to take the risk - the bank was willing to loan and the borrower was willing to borrow, then the person facilitating the deal didn't do anything wrong.

We shouldn't expect Gulf fishermen/fisherwomen to forfeit their livelihood because of BP's negligence and the FDA's willingness to let BP off the (financial) hook. These folks are ringing the warning bell. Let's hope the FDA hears it and responds accordingly.

[Atypical Liberal]

23. You need to listen to this NPR broadcast...

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/355/the-giant-pool-of-money

To hold the middle man harmless when they were engaging in something they knew was wrong is ludicrous. They were profiting from something they knew was wrong.

Whether you are a mortgage broker or a fisherman, profiting from doing something you know is wrong is just wrong.

The Gulf fishermen's livelihood has already been forfeited. Yes, the people responsible need to be held accountable, and reparations need to be made. But this does not excuse catching and selling poisoned food that you know to be poisoned.

[Poboy]

12. .

[HCE SuiGeneris]

17. Please keep this kicked and recommended.

Many people's health are at stake here.

[blindpig]

20. BP shareholders should be made to eat it.

Least they can do.

[alarimer]

24. This blanket condemnation of all Gulf seafood is contrary to the facts.

and it is hurting commercial fishermen in places where the seafood IS safe to eat, like Texas. Baffin Bay, Texas is 1000 miles from the site of the oil spill (and not directly connected to the Gulf anyway), a place I am very familiar with, has an abundance of black drum that is safe and good to eat, yet they are not selling because of ignorance. The Gulf is a huge area and most of Texas was not affected anyway. People should know that and I am doing my best to dispel the ignorance.

[tammywammy]

26. I had some yummy Gulf shrimp last week

Mmmm, at a place right on a bayou. I wasn't worried a bit, it's Texas and wasn't in the way of the spill.

[somone]

30. FDA advice: Gulf seafood is perfectly safe - if you eat enough bacteria with it -

because the bacteria will break down the oil in the seafood --> No problemo!