Defending Good Science

February, 2004

Fish Tales

When you debunk activist lies for a living, as I do, you run into your fair share of bizarre stories.  For example, just last month, I wrote about a group that is burying a killer whale carcass so they can create a museum for Keiko, the “Free-Willy” orca. 
 
But what scares me most as a professional communicator are not the truly strange stories.  What makes me lay awake at night is when the lies start to wear a cloak of legitimacy.
 
Take, for example, the media coverage regarding the health effects of eating farmed salmon.  A study published in the journal “Science” this month reported that the levels of man-made chemicals (such as PCB’s) in farmed salmon are six times higher than those found in wild salmon.  This fact, along with an assertion by an author of the report that people should limit their intake of farmed salmon, drew widespread media attention.
 
There are a few things to bear in mind here.  First, I have no problem with the journal “Science”– it’s a respected publication, with a strong peer-review process.  But the claims about limiting your farmed salmon intake did not appear in the study itself. 
 
Indeed, the study itself showed that while levels of PCB’s were six times higher in farmed salmon than those found in wild salmon, the farmed salmon levels are still well within the safe limits established by our food authorities.  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says farmed salmon are safe. Health Canada says fish – farmed and otherwise - is a healthy form of protein. The US Food and Drug Administration agrees, as does Britain’s Food Standards Agency.
 
Even if we were to examine the issue of contaminants themselves, bear in mind, we are talking about tiny amounts. The ‘Science’ research found 5 parts per billion(ppb) of contaminants in wild salmon, versus 30 ppb in the farmed stuff. That’s a meaningless difference, says Michael Gallo of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Cancer Institute.  Put this in perspective - it’s approximately the difference between a pinpoint and half-a-tear drop in an Olympic sized pool.
 
The study further acknowledges that removing the skin of the farmed salmon (which is customary for the preparation of a variety of salmon dishes) removes the vast majority of ‘contaminants.’
 
But even if the chemicals were there and in copious amounts – there is no evidence that indicates that these particular types of PCB’s referenced in the study actually cause cancer. 
 
So why does the author claim we need to limit farmed salmon intake? 
 
It probably has a lot to do with where he got the funding for his study – the Pew Charitable Trust.  Pew has donated tens of millions of dollars over the last decade to activist groups dedicated to opposing aquaculture.
 
This alarmism has garnered major media attention despite the best efforts of expert after expert to show that the major benefits of eating farmed salmon hugely outweigh any health risk associated with this new research.
 
As Brian Lee Crowley with the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has written “the food supply isn’t contaminated by PCBs; the science supply has been contaminated by politics.”
 
The expression worth repeating is ‘Believe half of what you read and none of what you hear.’  I don’t expect you to believe everything I write without verifying the facts for yourself, and forming your own opinion.  I only wish that other members of the general public would give pseudo-science claims like this similar treatment.
 
The aquaculture industry has taken repeated hits from activist groups worldwide.  I don’t think this study is going to be a knockout… but my concern is not the knockout punch, but the ongoing, sustained damage any industry absorbs for no good reason.

Checkmate Link of the Month

http://www.foodsafetynetwork.ca is the official website for a great food safety initiative run out of the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada.  They offer specialized email list-servs on a variety of food safety news, and advertise themselves as “a one-stop location that answers your questions about healthy eating.”  It’s a fantastic resource if you have an interest in biotechnology or agriculture-science.

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