Sushi--Does not equal Russian Roulette

Sushi lovers, don't despair. The latest scare tactic is just that--you can still eat your sushi.

While drinking my morning coffee, I read on msn "Skip the Sushi--It might be bad for you" and my heart plummeted. As I kept reading, though, I realized that this is yet another scare--like eggs are bad for us, food coloring is bad, no, wait, eggs ARE good for us, but the special eggs that come in what look like cream containers are even better (and more expensive) for us. Some scientist does some kind of small test, usually on a poor defenseless mouse and then has this revelation about how this type of food or material will cause cancer, deformity in unborn children, or whatever else they can think.

Now, some of these findings have been legit--like aluminum coated pots and pans can lead to Alzheimer’s. But, then, we have that other scare--the wax from milk cartons, you know, the ones we all drank out of every day for 12 years. It causes cancer, but usually only if the person ingests SOOOO much of the waxy material and for so many years. Maybe some people were more into their milk than I was; I usually stopped and tossed the container when the milk was gone. Never, not once, did I scrape the wax off and eat it. Anyway, my thought was thanks for the warning, but really, do this kind of test BEFORE we have already ingested this stuff, and then, put a nice little label on the side of the carton showing the dead lab mouse and the explanation that this poor mouse was shot up with the equivalent of 80 cartons worth of wax.

Okay, a warning about the possible dangers of high mercury in the TUNA would be appropriate for sushi lovers or even those who are giving sushi a try. A warning would let people know that they should have better variety in their sushi selections--not all tuna. That is pretty easy to do (if you are uninitiated to the world of sushi and still think it is all raw fish and gross). The variety of sushi is great, and one need not gorge on tuna. There is salmon, shrimp (cooked even), mackerel (which is fish that got the idea of sushi going in Japan), red snapper, halibut, eel, octopus, crab (usually cooked as well or that fake stuff made out of white fish), lobster, abalone, fish roe, scallops (just to name a few). And, this is if you want some kind of fish.

If one wants to stay away from fish altogether, that is an option. One can have an omelet, cucumber, avocado, carrots, diakon (radish), asparagus, and I've even seen broccoli. Oh, and, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that sushi can even be vegan--nori (seaweed), rice, vinegar mixture, and veggies. Um, sounds like a salad to me and not really a danger.

The msn article quotes a representative from gotmercury.org, a part of California-based Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Eli Saddler: “Eating sushi has become the new Russian roulette.” Excuse me, I don't see any bullets in a veggie maki roll or even one loaded up with shrimp and eel. This statement is much too vague and broad to carry merit. I'm unsure if it is Reuters (from whom msn acquired the article) taking Saddler's warning out of context or if it is Saddler himself who needs to qualify this statement, but whatever the case, sushi, in and of itself, is NOT dangerous. One might want to watch tuna (or other large, salt water fish) intake to avoid too much mercury, and even the tuna is okay in moderation. People can continue to enjoy their spider rolls without fearing that the crab is leveling a revolver at them as they bring the delectable morsel to their mouths.