Washington On Monday in Portland, Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) Director of Research David Martosko will be presenting CCFs report Tuna Meltdown during a poster session at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys 2009 National Forum on Contaminants in Fish. The annual conference will take place Nov. 2 through Nov. 4, at Portlands Governor Hotel.
Tuna Meltdown concludes that between 2000 and 2006, more than 250,000 children born into U.S. low-income households were denied the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids because their pregnant mothers completely stopped buying canned tuna. Canned tuna is the only consistently affordable source of omega-3 fatty acids for economically disadvantaged Americans, who cant afford more expensive fatty fish or non-fish omega-3 sources (like flaxseed oil).
CCF analyzed nationwide consumer food purchasing data from ACNielsen for Tuna Meltdown, finding that 4.4 million U.S. households in the $30,000-and-under earning bracket completely stopped buying canned tuna between 2000 and 2006.
Weve seen a dramatic decline in canned tuna purchasing in America, said Martosko. For low-income households, that often means a total lack of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. This is the predictable result of complicated and inaccurate federal fish consumption guidelines, along with mercury misinformation campaigns waged by environmental activist groups.
Martosko continued: How can the government justify issuing fish warnings when its own data show pregnant women arent eating nearly enough fish as it is? The FDA and EPA should revise their outdated advisories before hundreds of thousands more children are born at risk of an intellectual disadvantage. Its time to demand that everyone start putting our childrens interests first.
Source: The Center for Consumer Freedom
