The full environmental impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico won’t be known for a long time, but there is great fear
that all sea life in the region will be severely affected, both
by the oil and the chemicals used to disperse it. The systemic
pollution of our lakes, rivers and oceans, of course, has long
been of concern, and this recent disaster only adds to the
stress the fish and wildlife population is already exposed to.
Not surprisingly, we ourselves are bound to ingest the poisonous
substances we keep releasing into the environment through our
food and especially our seafood. One of the most common
pollutants found in seafood is mercury. In one survey conducted
in New York City, seafood dishes from twenty restaurants and
sushi bars were tested for mercury content. The results were
outright alarming. More than a quarter of the tested items
exceeded not only the limits recommended by the Food and Drug
Administration (F.D.A.), they qualified as hazardous enough to
be removed from the market by lega