01 Aug Take Action! Mercury in our seafood

Dear Austin EcoNetwork community, Oceana is coming to Austin and we need your help to get Walmart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club to post warnings about mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that contaminates seafood. I’m bringing our campaign mascot, a giant cartoon swordfish, to town next Thursday and Friday on his mission to show the company that customers across the country support our campaign. Will you help out?

While news stories about food recalls rip through the headlines at light speed, many families remain unaware of the ongoing risk of mercury in seafood. Because mercury can harm a young child or unborn baby’s developing nervous system, the FDA has issued advice for women of child-bearing age and children to avoid or limit their consumption of certain fish that are contaminated with elevated levels of mercury. Studies have shown that as many as 30 percent of women planning to have a child or already pregnant do not know that mercury in fish could harm their children’s development. And an EPA scientist has estimated that one in ten women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her body to pose neurological risks to her developing baby. If you can help, please sign up and I’ll get in touch with you with all the details! http://takeaction.oceana.org/t/7427/questionnaire.jsp?questionnaire_KEY=631