Gulf Seafood Safe?

Caught a segment on a morning show where they were promoting the Mardis Gras theme and had a chef on to cook a local gulf shrimp dish, which looked delicious, and the host mentioned safety concerns of the gulf seafood. The chef responded that all is well which prompted me to do a bit of searching to see if it is true..

The first article I located is from Florida and mentions that it has $20 million from BP for inspections and awareness which sounded good, but further reading shows that $10 mil will be spent on fighting perception that the Deepwater disaster event has adversely affected the area's seafood. The article also mentions some sampling results, that didn't reassure me, as the sample seemed to be a bit low, and even with the minimal samples, over 10% had traces of possible oil contaminants. This is supposed to be reassuring?

Then I located an article from Raw Story from last November that had more concerning news, much of which challenges the standards used by the government in testing the seafood. I encourage you to read them both and make up your own mind on this issue..

Seafood businesses welcome increased marketing

Over the next three years, the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plans to spend $20 million to enhance capabilities of its laboratories to inspect seafood and increase public confidence in seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico.

That seems to be good news for some local business owners who believe increased efforts to spread the word about the safety of seafood caught in the Gulf of Mexico will benefit the local industry.

The state department reported laboratory testing shows seafood from Florida is “safe and plentiful and have not been affected by the oil spill.”

Exclusive: Multiple independent lab tests confirm oil in Gulf shrimp

Experts operating states apart confirm toxic content in not just shrimp, but crab and fish too

The federal government is going out of its way to assure the public that seafood pulled from recently reopened Gulf of Mexico waters is safe to consume, in spite of the largest accidental release of crude oil in America's history.

However, testing methodologies used by the government to deem areas of water safe for commercial fishing are woefully inadequate and permit high levels of toxic compounds to slip into the human food chain, according to a series of scientific and medical professionals interviewed by Raw Story.

I don't care what anyone says..You could NOT pay me to eat that sea food.!

It's going to be a long time before the seafood is safe. We wouldn't be in half as bad a shape if our government had poisoned it with cx.... BP should pay every fisherman not to harvest out of the gulf for at least 5 years and pay scientist to monitor this...

reply to post by JacKatMtn


check out youtube on the gulf disaster, people on there who catch the shrimp say the mud vein is gone, the shrimp are rubbery and don't taste right. I don't have the link but is relatively easy to find.

It's amazing with all of the protocols on keeping clean, hand sanitizers, not spreading disease, ect....but the government expects us to eat seafood where these poor animals live in water seeping with oil. BP did a great job of "dispersing" the oil out of sight (from the surface of the sea). All of that oil is on the seabed and everything is dead. It is so sad.

Anyone like some petroleum with those shrimp?

I have family and friends in New Orleans, and they are eating the seafood. They are alive and well, no cancer or anything bad has presented itself. I venture to say it is safe. If it wasn't and people living there or visiting were getting sick, trust me, it would be making headlines and there would be lawsuits galore and more big lawsuits against BP and the locals would be very vocal about it. The entire gulf wasn't covered in oil, there were areas that didn't sustain damage, and these are the waters the seafood is being harvested from. I think it is safe to eat.

reply to post by Shotyoung


That sounds like a much better approach, what really troubles me from the Florida article is that half of the money will be spent on marketing that it's good to go, they are even seeking some positive plugs from the White House in this situation.

I feel for the area, the fishermen, shrimpers etc, and think that BP should pay them to continue the harvesting, so more comprehensive testing can be done, and data collected, not on a small scale, but a much larger one.

I think the Gov'ts approach (smell test), is due to the fact that the harvest is perishable and has to get to market quickly to be of any use. That's not a good enough excuse for me to skip a better testing criteria, especially when they are supposed to be certifying food safety.

I know this winter has been tough on the Gulf area crops, and continued fear of the seafood and beaches can have a devastating effect on businesses in the region, but the safety of the folks should be paramount.

be careful eating seafood at resturaunts where you dont get to look at labels...thats where they are peddling their poisen warez....

i noticed taco bell has new shrimp tacos. beware.

Just look at all the Erl on ma Scrimp!.....

Not safe

reply to post by TechVampyre


I agree....I love seafood, but these days I check the package to see where it's coming from. Although, when you look into things, it's hard to say if any of it is really very safe. I read somwhere that the Mississipi pours high contents of commercial fertilizers into the Gulf every day. Also, over in Asia, multiple factories on the banks of rivers pour left over dyes and chemicals directly into the rivers to dispose of them. This has to reach the oceans at some point. I also recall reading about some tests being conducted in England that found that large amounts of anti-depressants and hormones were being dumped into the waters. Very scary stuff. Add to that the fact that farm animals are full of steroids and such and you get a deadly cocktail of toxins and poisons we are exposed to every day.

China water pollution

Steroid use in farm animals

England water pollution

Mississipi fertilizer problem

Its cheaper to pay for lies then the cost of truth.. We continue to be passive while accepting what BP dictates..
and some will eat that to.

Again go here for a reminder..

Keep in mind that BP will pay to keep everything as quite as they can...
Cheaper to pay for lies then the expense of the truth.

Tell me again could you live in this outcome and to expect those that are dependent on it for all life to exist..

I've seen some of these photes, but not all..

snardfarker.ning.com...

This clip was on this site I go to often..

whatreallyhappened.com...

We remain passive as our food source is being depleted, and what will be there could be toxic..
Thus already the massive die off's..

Jesse

I live in Florida on the east coast and there are many awesome seafood restaurants here but since the BP disaster I haven't eaten any seafood around here because they get a lot of it from the gulf, esp my shrimp

I don't care what they say, that seafood can't be safe.

I read baby dolphins washed ashore in the Gulf and my first thought was the BP spill and what they sprayed and used in the Gulf. I do know quite a few people who have said it is much worse in some areas than they let on. I have met people from FL to LA who have come to this area to get away from the smell and after affects. Some people say that even in parts of the west coast near Tampa you can see some oil at times. I haven't seen it myself but I have friends and family there who have told me these things.

No seafood for me right now.

It is a short life, eat up!

Go to Walmart, all the fish and seafood sold there is from China and if that doesn't kill you then you are immortal!

I highly doubt the "Chef" is the best person to tell people what is safe and what is not.

It probably would not hurt to link this Thread here

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Although it is not a result of eating the seafood, this should open enough eyes to warrant eating something other than GOM poison.

Well....I have personally seen crabs, which when cracked open, are black inside. There are still dead sea creatures, birds, and oil on the coasts and beaches. FRESH oil in some places. So....NO....I won't touch it! Here is some interesting reading on the subject....you will be shocked that they are pushing this AND feeding it to our service people after you read this and see these pics. Oh....and lots of dead baby dolphins washing up too!
www.floridaoilspilllaw.com...

reply to post by JacKatMtn


You be the judge. Caught this in September about 90 miles south of Pensacola.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1e93d7edf2b0.jpg[/atsimg]

Originally posted by TechVampyre
I don't care what anyone says..You could NOT pay me to eat that sea food.!

When I visited my family in LA at Christmas, they were all very defensive about the safety of the seafood, despite first hand experience with the effects of the oil spill in both LA and FL.

It was really astounding to me.

I was left with the impression that they're experiencing some sort of cognitive dissonance. They just can't process the magnitude of it all. Seafood is so fundamental to the culture and economy, they just can't conceive that it's not safe. Furthermore, to accept that it was ruined by their main source of revenue - oil - would mean that they have to change, well, everything.

I think they're in denial. And right now they're going through the motions, pretending if you will. It may take a generation and a lot of death to accept it.

If I recall, Fragile Earth has a thread or two on baby dolphins washing up in Florida and Louisana.
My state has promoted that a persons fish/seafood intake should be limited. Some fish species such as trout,even more so because of mercury.

reply to post by JacKatMtn


I ate shrimp two times since BP disaster... The first about three months ago and the second this past weekend. Both times, I experienced an extreme upset stomach within hours of eating... Two samples of it was enough for me.

I hate to do this to the industry and the good folks that actually work it, but no thanks guys... I think I'll pass on any more Gulf Seafood for a bit longer...

reply to post by kosmicjack


I think you are exactly right. The gulf, and seafood, are a big part of our lives and culture.....and the ironic part is....so is OIL! Our whole economy is based on those 3 things. People don't know what to do. People here have deep feelings about our home....the land, and the gulf. Even our social lives are based on the gulf and seafood. Summer means everyone getting together on the weekend to have crawfish boils, seafood gumbo, fish fries....you are either eating them or catching them .....and now all that is just gone....and so is a big part of our lives.

This is a MUST read!
www.floridaoilspilllaw.com...