I can't say that I know all the peoples of the world, but the Japanese must be one of the most fish-eating people in the world. With mercury-poisoned fish in the polluted waters of Japan, it's scary to think what the future generation of Japanese will be like. Mutated or demented?

Thanks for the info about the Salmon. I never realized they put die in them, it's good to know. I have recently dramatically cut back on my fish consumption, both for reason you mention, with the mercury (I used to eat mackeral several times a week) and also because I just can't be sure where the fish came from, and even if I am not personally damaged, I wonder who is damaged, and what damage is being done to our environment.

You mention that you only buy organic if it is on sale, and don't worry about your health eating the conventionally grown foods. I agree that I am not too worried about myself eating foods grown with chemicals, and mono-culture farming methods, I don't know that I eat enough to harm myself, but I might think twice if I had small children.. we'll have to wait and see.

I am more worried about the extent of the irreversable damage being done to the environment. Even if a little bit of pesticide doesn't hurt me, I think about the following: What about the rivers and lakes nearby the fields, what about the communities nearby? What happens when I wash the pesticides off of my food? it goes down the drain.

Where are the crops coming from? Are acres of natural eco-system being destroyed to more efficiently harvest large crops coffee, rice, wheat? Are the people living in the area whose natural resources are being compromised being fairly compensated for destroying their own home so that I can have cheap foods? What is the *real* cost to the environment and future generations for me to eat a cheap bunch of spinach?

How far is the food transported before it gets to my table? How is it transported? How much energy is used to deliver it there? Is the damage caused by the transportation and carbon emissions included in the cheap price I see at the groecery store?

I just saw a special on TV showing that in the average super market, the vegitables/produce come from 186 different countries. They showed how the shrimp is coming from Indonesia. Good for indonessians right? Good for now I guess, but in order to farm more shrimp for export to Japan, they are converting the high biodiversity marshes into shrimp farms. What if the shrimp market dries up? What if there is a desease with the shrimp like Mad Cow? Now they have destroyed their natural resources, and from the price of shrimp I see in the store, I can bet that they are not being compensated for that. Is it worth that for me to have a little shrimp?

I'm not making a judgement on what you said, just telling you some of the things that go through my mind when I go shopping.

On one hand, I began to suffer from a little shopper's paralization. I reached a point where I couldn't in good concience buy anything I saw! I have since however discovered the Tokyo Co-op (there's one by my apartment but they also deliver), which sells vegetables grown in an as-organic-as-possible method. I have found places to buy rice and beans online which I know are grown here in Japan, and though sometimes are a little more expensive, I know the farmers are being compensated for their work, and I am paying closer to the real market price, as opposed to prices articficially cheapened by government subsidies, and lax environmental regulations.

To my joy, I now eat a very diverse diet, don't worry as much that my choices are harming others, AND, I actually spend less each month, because by thinking about what I buy before I buy it, and measuring the consiquences, I buy less. No more knee-jerk purchases of crap I don't need.

Well, that turned out to be a little long for a comment :) It's not meant as a rant, or an attack on you, it is simply my thoughts on the subject, and how I have come to live, after having similar thoughts as you mention in your post.

I do think more and more about these things, and I'm sure there are further implications -- like those you are citing -- that affect us (and others) in ways we don't yet know. The world is getting smaller, but it's still very easy not to notice what's happening without making an effort to see past the marketing. Thanks for a very thoughtful post.

ur pictures suck u need better ones for my project

I want to share with you my personal story of a child that is mercury poisoned, I also want to let you know that, My son has a severe seizure disorder called lennox gastaut, I was telling a mom who has been the president of our support group for years about what I have found out about mercury, The diffrence between us, I dont eat fish, But I had a rhogam shot that contained mercury.. She was on some wierd fad diet and ate tuna 5 days a week for 6 straight months right before getting pregnant, Her child has a severe seizure disorder. Hes 27 years old now. Heres my story:

Hello,

My name is Donna, I have been married for 22 years to Jeff. We
have two boys...My daredevil, Jeffrey he just turned 20 years old
last week, and my angel Kevin, He he just turned 18 three weeks ago.

Kevin was born on Long Island, we moved to North Carolina right
before his 4th birthday.

When Kevin was born, I had natural child birth (no anesthesia, I
didnt want him to have any problems) I had a very fast labor, 2
hours from the time I arrived at the hospital until he was born, his
apgar score was 9. He was born with a full head of beautiful golden
blonde hair, which is very unusal for newborns.

His first well baby check up. The doctor thought Kevin was blind,
Because Kevin was lying on the table and we were a few feet away,
Kevin was cooing with no one around to stimulate him, The dr said
blind babies will do this..So I took him to a specialist, Kevin is
not blind, I did find out a few years ago that he does have cortical
blindness. I was upset with this pediatrican for putting me through
this, I switched drs. I landed up at one of the top pediatrican
office in suffolk county, This dr specialized in handicapped
children, which I did not know at the time. He ask me why I am
switching drs, so I told him, That other dr told me Kevin might be
blind, and that he did not know what he was talking about because
Kevin is not blind. The first pediatrican is also one of the top drs
in suffolk county.

I started breastfeeding right after Kevin was born, He did fine for
the first 2-3 months, Then he started having trouble sucking and
developed "colic" I was careful with my diet, so he would not get
colic, But he continued to scream all day all night, The dr told me
he just has colic. I had to quit nursing by the time he was 5 months
old...He was having more trouble sucking and the "colic" would not
let up...Of course none of the formulas, soy milk, goats milk,
fennel tea, Nothing worked.. He just continued to scream, his scream
sounded like a wounded cat screaming. By this point he had already
received two sets on vaccinations. He was very floppy and had no
motor control, his pediatrican kept reassuring me that some babies
are slower, He WILL catch up. I have a child that is 23 months
older, My older son was a fast learner, he was walking when he was
10 months old...on his own! Kevin could not sit alone at his 12
month old check up...The nurse walks in and says angirly "Has He
(the dr) said anything to you yet!" I said no, Then he walks in and
tells me he thinks Kevin might have cp, and wants him to be seen by
a neurologist.

Kevin went through all the testing to have diffrent syndromes ruled
out...Why did this happen to my son I ask, My answer always came
back..."sometimes things just happen"

Kevin was hospitalized with his "first" seizure at age 22 months.
Two months after his 4th dpt vaccine. I say first, because while he
was getting his first EEG, Kevin was being really fussy, He did this
often at home, I was trying to calm him down, The EEG technician
looked at me and said.." you can not help him, hes in the middle of
a seizure" So I have no idea when he actually had his first seizure.

Kevins final diagnose is:

progressive microcephaly, severe spastic quadriparetic cerebral
palsy, profound mental retardation, lennox gastaut syndrome(severe
seizure disorder) cortical blindness, and is non verbal

After having all the causes and all the syndromes ruled out..I
settled for what the drs were telling me, "things just happen"

Last year, I met a woman who had been poisoned by chemicals in
paint, It got me thinking about "why" with Kevin, And now with the
internet...things are much easier! The only thing that I thought of
was the Rhogam that I had while I was 6 months pregnant...So just
for the heck of it I typed in rhogam and seizures on my search bar.
There was Mercury in the Rhogam..So I search the affects of mercury
on a fetus. Kevin has all the "classic" symptoms of mercury
poisoning. I had a rhogam after my older son was born one while I
was pregnant with kevin another after giving birth while I was
breastfeeding. He had all his vaccines on time. All of this mercury
in his little body. I am not a fish eater, and had 4 fillings in my
mouth. I was a stay at home mom. A lady from my lennox gastaut
support group had gone through the vaccine court and won her case, I
called her on the phone, she suggested that I have Kevins baby hair
tested at Great Smokies Lab, Because he was born with a full head of
hair, he had an early hair cut. (I did not want my baby boy looking
like a girl!) His 6 month old baby hair tested for mercury was
13.78. This is very toxic for an adult. He only weighed 17 lbs.

Thats my story...

Donna