PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Fish Can't Scream... Toxins In Fish Flesh
by Animal Rights Coalition Friday, Jun. 16, 2006 at 3:59 PM
fishesrights@yahoo.com

a response to fish flesh promotions by the NY Times, BBC, and Harvard

FISH CAN'T SCREAM

toxins in fish flesh


Because pawns of commercial fishing interests at the NY Times
and BBC in January of 2006 and at Harvard recently have
promoted the consumption of fish flesh, this article is
a response.

Dick Gregory: Eating fish liver oil is like eating the filter out of a
car.

The BBC in an article promoting fish consumption
wrote " Depression - Linked to low intakes of fish - high in omega-3
fatty acids which are essential for good brain health".

MERCURY AND OTHER TOXIC METALS HARM BRAIN

In reality the high mercury levels in fish cause memory and mental function loss. The cultures eating the most fish (Inuit) have the lowest life expectancy of
any group surviving to adulthood, while the Japanese who eat high
amounts of
fish have as their number 1 cause of death fish correlated stomach
cancer.
Toxins in fish include selenium, chromium, lead, arsenic, pcb's, pbb's,
pvc's
and every other nonbiodegradable toxin which is 100 to 1000 times
more concentrated in the flesh of fish than in the water. (Rachel
Carson's The
Silent Spring dealt with among other things the massive loss of bird
and fish
life from DDT. Fish is the antibrain food as fruitarian and vegetarian
geniuses DaVinci, Einstein, Ramanujan, Mary Shelley and
others can attest. Linus Pauling, only person to win a Nobel Prize both for peace and his discovery of 6
elements, has written that an orthmolecule is a fruit
molecule. They are the most similar to the neural
transmitters in the brain. There is no vitamin C (speeds flow
of nerve signals across synapses) in fish or animal flesh
or in animal products.)

PROSTATE UTERINE AND BREAST CANCER FROM FISH

The female hormones correlated to skyrocketing rates of
prostate, uterine and breast cancer in the US come from
injections or 'medications' given to cows, sheep pigs
chickens etc. The urine from these factory farmed animals
is dumped into the waterways causing fish to have
cancerous growths. If they are eaten by humans before
they die they can cause cancer in human beings, just as
a chicken can transmit leukemia (though the multi trillion
dollar chicken industry calls leukemia leukosis when they
don't manage to hide chicken cancer altogether.)


FOOD POISONING

Fish flesh can cause food poisoning (ptomaine, brucellosis,
toxoplasmosis, salmonella,
ecoli). Anaphylactic shock frequently causes death to those who
eat shellfish. It is universally known that dead fish stink (as
do all cadavers). Choking on fish bones has been common throughout the
centuries.

INTESTINAL PROBLEMS

There is no natural bulk in fish. It is naturally constipating.

KIDNEY PROBLEMS

The ketosis from high animal protein diets leads not only
to bleeding ulcers but to kidney shutdown and blocked urethras.

PISCEAN SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALITIS OR MAD FISH DISEASE

In addition is the emerging truth of piscean spongiform encephalopathy or Mad Fish Disease as both
factory farmed and ocean fish are eating the parts of other animals.

HEART DISEASE AND ARTHRITIS
The uric acid in fish is trioxypurine, more powerful than caffein, and is correlated to arthritis as it crystallizes in needle formation around the joints. It also
adds to the incidence of heart disease and stroke, stimulating the
heart unnaturally.

WORMS AND HEPATITIS.
Owen Parrett, MD wrote that even Rocky Mountain trout from the most
unpolluted streams
have worms while the coprophagous (human and other waste eating) habits
of shellfish
are the number 2 (yes) cause of hepatitis.

CHOKING

Choking on meat or fish is the 6th cause of accidental death in the
US. So common has it been to choke on fish bones that the Catholic
Church has a feastday dedicated to St. Blaize in which throats
are blessed.

COMMERCIAL CORRUPTION

There are trillions of gallons of fish oil slop on trawler and
processing floors.

Harvard whose corporate funded studies were a factor in Stanley
Prusiner's (prion discoverer) leaving for California is also promoting
the glut of fish on the market.

MARINE MAMMAL MURDER

Seals and whales are killed by Canadians Norwegians and Japanese
because they
compete for fish.

Dolphins, turtles and other sea creatures are
caught in the nets.

Still other creatures are caught in boat propellers.

Those who promote fisheating incur the karma not only of the
suffocated fish (problems of breath) but the karma of the seals,
whales,
dolphins, turtles, octopi and all other sea beings killed by the
fishing industry or individuals.

A Hindu ashram whose guru was violating the Gita by allowing fish consumption
was inundated by the perhaps military machine generated tsunami.

FISHES' SENTIENCE

Dr Donald Broom, science adviser to the British government, has said that the pain
system in fish is the same as for mammals and humans.

Any child who sees a fish flopping on the deck, or struggling for life on a hook,
or impaled in the eye by a flyfisher knows that fishes fill pain.

What's worse than a snakeoil salesman? A pawn of fishmongers.

http://www.fishinghurts.com



FISH CANNOT SCREAM

(to be added:)
a list of some of the thousands of toxins in ocean water
a list of vegan MD links



FREE AND ONLINE ARTICLES BY VEGAN MD'S

http://www.pcrm.org 5% of this 7000 member group are vegan MD's
http://www.drgreger.org/ http://www.veganmd.org
http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/7732/meat.html Owen Parrett, MD
http://www.vegsource.com/harris/cancer_vegdiet.htm Harris
http://www.goveganradio.com Dr Jerry Vlasak LA Surgeon and AR
http://www.drday.com
http://www.vegsource.com/klaper/ vegan lectures on impotence and
animal fat
http://www.christianveg.com articles by Stephen Kaufman, MD
http://news.adventist.org/data/2001/06/0995375716/index.html.en
Adventists longest lived community in US.. Ellen White said to be vegan
Mervyn Hardinge, MD (left Harvard as did Stanley Prusiner)
(Harvard is invested in slaughterhouses and its research
is pawn to its investments)
Hardinge wrote Non Flesh Dietaries, his study of fruitarians, vegans,
vegetarians and animal eaters for the Journal of the ADA (a dairy
dominated lobby)
Stanley Prusiner, PhD discoverer of prions or Mad Cow and
other spongiform encephalopathies
Joan Ullyot MD of San Francisco sports medicine
Linus Pauling, PhD Winner of 2 Nobel Prizes.. one in biochemistry
and one for peace... said fruitarian diet is the diet which
generated neural transmitters of human beings
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/ (an animal abuse institution..
Dr Pauling would not animals harmed in research)
Milton Mills, MD sued dairy industry over lactose intolerance
Physician Exposes:
http://www.envirolink.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1264


FISH STORIES
a. A man took his daughters fishing in Tampico Bay in Mexico.. and
was spiked by a large catfish which severed a hand artery. He was able
to get medical attention for the profuse bleeding.
b. Janet Barkas, editor of Grove Press, goes fishing and catches
a hook in the fish' eye. That is her last day fishing.
c. PW, at the Soldier and Sailors' Home in Washington, catches the
same fish out of the pond virtually every day for 10 years.. each time
pulling the hook from the throat.. sometimes with flesh attached. PW
died of throat cancer. (The child of a well=known presidential
candidate went to a hospital to be treated for his flyfishing hook
which was imbedded in his nose.)
d. St. Blaze is considered by Catholics the patron saint of
protection
from fishbyproducts since he is said to protect the lives of those
choking on fish bones.
e. One national cancer association reports that fish consumption is
related to stomach cancer.. those countries with the highest fish
consumption having the highest rates. Included are Korea, Japan,
Chile,
Norway and others.
f. The EPA issues 3500 warnings against fish consumption in one year
alone.. because of high levels of pcb's (polychlorinated biphenols),
arsenic, chromium, mercury etc.
g. One fisherman reports that after seeing the fishes gasp for air
in the bottom of his boat.. as they slowly suffocate.. he will never
fish again.
h. Syndee Brinkman: I went snorkeling and saw how gently the fish
welcomed us into their world.. and how violently we welcomed
them into ours.. I never ate an animal or fish again.
i. EB was a fisherman all his life and lived into his mid nineties.
He stopped fishing after he dreamt one night that he was tiny and a
fish
was very large. The fish had him on a hook.
The sale of fish brings 54 million to the state of Maryland, whose
governor has just prevailed on 3 chains in the Washington area to
begin again to sell Chesapeake fish despite the pfiesteria disease.
One factor of many in the disease of the fish might be the Calvert
Cliffs nuclear power plant, which raises the temperature of the water
in the area.
j. NPR caller, Oct 27, 97: My mother never got to see the same
military
MD twice, so it was years before medical detectives realized that her
Saturday headaches were caused by her Friday fisheating with an
allergy
to iodine.
k. NPR November 6, 1997: Dr. James Porter of the Univ. of Athens at
Georgia is studying the many new fishes diseases such as black band
and white pox. He says that increased shipping, increased pollution,
and overfishing (perhaps an oxymoron) are factors for the rise.
In one year, says the EPA, the coral diseases have quadrupled.
Snorkelers
are advised that coral is not a dead rock but a colony of living
animals
and therefore asked not to remove them.
l. U.S. News and World Report Nov 24, 1997: One of the strains
causing
food poisoning in shellfish is Vibria Vulnificus.
m. The phrase 'fresh fish' is an oxymoron.
n. Prince Philip is one of many in a coalition concerned about
fisheries
exhaustion. NPR in May reported that many penguin babies are
expected
to die because there are not enough fishes for them to eat. Whether
one
eats fishes or does not, the dying fisheries need to be restocked.
o. There have been many fraternity house deaths from choking in an
attempt
to swallow live goldfish and other fish. (May God bless those souls.)
p. Many fishermen and women have drowned, e.g. Jerry Garcia's father.
q. 150,000 turtles drown every year in shrimp nets, says Eric Bates
of the Texas Observer (For the article write Manny Pastreich
mpastreich@...) There are also over 100,000 dolphins
caught
in tuna fish and other nets, and many whales are caught in lobster
lines.
Lisa Simpson of the Simpsons rescued a fish caught in a 6 pack
plastic
holder and threw him back into the water.
For information on how ocean birds are harmed by fishes' nets
write 100302.1616@...
r. While the UNFAO The United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization
says the oceans are dying and there are not enough fishes for those
who want to eat them, the Dept. of Interior in July sponsored a week
of fishing. http://www.fao.org
s. The Texas Dept. of Health states that 245 people have been victims
of
illness from oysters in Galveston Bay. The bacterium is Vibrio
parahaemolyticus. 208 people have had oyster illness in the Northwest.
t. The Oklahoma Dept. of Env. Quality has asked pregnant women to
avoid
catfish in certain parts of Oklahoma because of high insecticide
content
in the waters and in the fishes. (JanaWilson@...)
u. With asbestos in Lake Michigan, pcb's in the livers of polar bears
in Alaska, oyster contamination in the Gulf from the runoff of
the Mississippi, lipophilic insecticides in Lake Erie, pfiesteria
in the Atlantic seaboard ..arsenic, chromium and mercury, pcb's,
insecticides, fish killing old oil and every other toxin in the
oceans,
shellfish in the NE
eating unprocessed human waste, where is there fresh fish?
Farmed salmon in the NW, says an NPR guest on Feb 24th, can be
released
into the wild exploding new bacteriae into the ocean.
v. Arsenic poisoning (arsenic from the oceans is concentrated in the
flesh of fishes) creates lesions and warts on the hands. NPR
reported
on Dec 29, 1998 that many million in Bangladesh are dying of arsenic
poisoning from its concentration in well water, and in water of the
delta.
w. Dr. Owen Parrett, MD has spoken of the worms present in Rocky Mtn.
trout. In Dec of 98, AP reported on a parasite worm affecting many
trout in Colorado, Idaho, Montana etc. The parasite causes the fishes
to turn in circles until they die.
x. Government recalls in Jan 99 18,000 lbs of Hansung salted yellow
croaker because of fear of deadly botulism.
y. An El Cajon California man reports that lightning struck
the metal poles (hooks and wires also?) of his group's lightning
rod fishing poles. They abandoned their fishing that day.
Campaign For the Abolition of Angling pisces@...
is an international organization working to end the cruelty of
fish suffocation and fish throat ripping.

BOOK BY VEGETARIAN MD'S

Diet and Nutrition; Rudolf Ballantine, MD.
Diseases Of Food Animals Owen Parrett MD
Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight: The Negative Calorie Effect more books like this
by Barnard, Neal MD (Dr Barnard has written over a dozen books)
EyeCare Sourcebook by Jay Lavine MD http://www.drlavine.org
(some of his articles are free on the internet)
http://hometown.aol.com/sauromalus/jewishveg.htm Jay Lavine MD


Physicians
http://www.pcrm.org
http://www.geocities.com/athens/agora/7732/meat.html Owen Parrett
MD author of Diseases Of Food Animals on why he does not eat meat
http://www.goveganradio.com Dr Jerry Vlasak LA Surgeon and AR
http://www.drday.com
http://www.drgreger.org/ http://www.veganmd.org
http://www.vegsource.com/klaper/ vegan lectures on impotence and
animal fat
http://news.adventist.org/data/2001/06/0995375716/index.html.en
Adventists longest lived community in US.. Ellen White said to be vegan

http://www.ivu.org/news/evu/news971/costs2.html

Please purchase books printed on nontree paper or 100% recycled
paper (e.g. rice, cotton)




------
both Oregon State and the
Seventh Day Adventist Hospitals
are inflicting pain on animals.
Dr Pauling would not want
his Nobel winning work contaminated
by animal torture.

http://www.fishinghurts.com



MARINE TOXINS


Generally, the CDC has been the tool of multinational
pharmaceutical drug pushers and has stifled information
about the toxic effects of meat, fish, and animal products.
However this article from the cdc.gov webpage is
informative.


What are marine toxins?

Marine toxins are naturally occurring chemicals that can contaminate certain seafood. The seafood contaminated with these chemicals frequently looks, smells, and tastes normal. When humans eat such seafood, disease can result.

What sort of diseases do marine toxins cause?

The most common diseases caused by marine toxins in United States in order of incidence are scombrotoxic fish poisoning, ciguatera poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and amnesic shellfish poisoning.

Scombrotoxic fish poisoning also known as scombroid or histamine fish poisoning, is caused by bacterial spoilage of certain finfish such as tuna, mackerel, bonito, and, rarely, other fish. As bacteria break down fish proteins, byproducts such as histamine and other substances that block histamine breakdown build up in fish. Eating spoiled fish that have high levels of these histamines can cause in human disease. Symptoms begin within 2 minutes to 2 hours after eating the fish. The most common symptoms are rash, diarrhea, flushing, sweating, headache, and vomiting. Burning or swelling of the mouth, abdominal pain, or a metallic taste may also occur. The majority of patients have mild symptoms that resolve within a few hours. Treatment is generally unnecessary, but antihistamines or epinephrine may be needed in certain instances. Symptoms may be more severe in patients taking certain medications that slow the breakdown of histamine by their liver, such as isoniazide and doxycycline.

Ciguatera poisoning or ciguatera is caused by eating contaminated tropical reef fish. Ciguatoxins that cause ciguatera poisoning are actually produced by microscopic sea plants called dinoflagellates. These toxins become progressively concentrated as they move up the food chain from small fish to large fish that eat them, and reach particularly high concentrations in large predatory tropical reef fish. Barracuda are commonly associated with ciguatoxin poisoning, but eating grouper, sea bass, snapper, mullet, and a number of other fish that live in oceans between latitude 35° N and 35° S has caused the disease. These fish are typically caught by sport fishermen on reefs in Hawaii, Guam and other South Pacific islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Ciguatoxin usually causes symptoms within a few minutes to 30 hours after eating contaminated fish, and occasionally it may take up to 6 hours. Common nonspecific symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, excessive sweating, headache, and muscle aches. The sensation of burning or "pins-and-needles," weakness, itching, and dizziness can occur. Patients may experience reversal of temperature sensation in their mouth (hot surfaces feeling cold and cold, hot), unusual taste sensations, nightmares, or hallucinations. Ciguatera poisoning is rarely fatal. Symptoms usually clear in 1 to 4 weeks.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by a different dinoflagellate with a different toxin, than that causing ciguatera poisoning. These dinoflagellates have a red-brown color, and can grow to such numbers that they cause red streaks to appear in the ocean called "red tides." This toxin is known to concentrate within certain shellfish that typically live in the colder coastal waters of the Pacific states and New England, though the syndrome has been reported in Central America. Shellfish that have caused this disease include mussels, cockles, clams, scallops, oysters, crabs, and lobsters. Symptoms begin anywhere from 15 minutes to 10 hours after eating the contaminated shellfish, although usually within 2 hours. Symptoms are generally mild, and begin with numbness or tingling of the face, arms, and legs. This is followed by headache, dizziness, nausea, and muscular incoordination. Patients sometimes describe a floating sensation. In cases of severe poisoning, muscle paralysis and respiratory failure occur, and in these cases death may occur in 2 to 25 hours.

Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning is caused by a third type of dinoflagellate with another toxin that occasionally accumulates in oysters, clams, and mussels from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of the southern states. Symptoms begin 1 to 3 hours after eating the contaminated shellfish and include numbness, tingling in the mouth, arms and legs, incoordination, and gastrointestinal upset. As in ciguatera poisoning, some patients report temperature reversal. Death is rare. Recovery normally occurs in 2 to 3 days.

Amnesic shellfish poisoning is a rare syndrome caused by a toxin made by a microscopic, red-brown, salt-water plant, or diatom called Nitzchia pungens. The toxin produced by these diatoms is concentrated in shellfish such as mussels and causes disease when the contaminated shellfish are eaten. Patients first experience gastrointestinal distress within 24 hours after eating the contaminated shellfish. Other reported symptoms have included dizziness, headache, disorientation, and permanent short-term memory loss. In severe poisoning, seizures, focal weakness or paralysis, and death may occur.



How can these diseases be diagnosed?

Diagnosis of marine toxin poisoning is generally based on symptoms and a history of recently eating a particular kind of seafood. Laboratory testing for the specific toxin in patient samples is generally not necessary because this requires special techniques and equipment available in only specialized laboratories. If suspect, leftover fish or shellfish are available, they can be tested for the presence of the toxin more easily. Identification of the specific toxin is not usually necessary for treating patients because there is no specific treatment.

How can these diseases be treated?

Other than supportive care there are few specific treatments for ciguatera poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, or amnesic shellfish poisoning. Antihistamines and epinephrine, however, may sometimes be useful in treating the symptoms of scombrotoxic fish poisoning. Intravenous mannitol has been suggested for the treatment of severe ciguatera poisoning.



Are there long-term consequences to these diseases?

Ciguatera poisoning has resulted in some neurologic problems persisting for weeks, and in rare cases, even years. Symptoms have sometimes returned after eating contaminated fish a second time. Amnesic shellfish poisoning has resulted in long-term problems with short-term memory. Long-term consequences have not been associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and scombrotoxic fish poisoning.

How common are these diseases?

Every year, approximately 30 cases of poisoning by marine toxins are reported in the United States. Because healthcare providers are not required to report these illnesses and because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of poisonings may be much greater. Toxic seafood poisonings are more common in the summer than winter because dinoflagelates grow well in warmer seasons. It is estimated from cases with available data that one person dies every 4 years from toxic seafood poisonings.



What can I do to prevent poisoning by marine toxins?

General guidelines for safe seafood consumption:

1. Although any person eating fish or shellfish containing toxin or disease-causing bacteria may become ill, persons with weakened immune systems or liver problems should not eat raw seafood because of their higher risk of Vibrio infection (see Vibrio FAQ- http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/vibriovulnificus_g.htm).
2. Keep seafood on ice or refrigerated at less than 38° Fahrenheit to prevent spoilage.

Specific advise for avoiding marine toxin poisoning:

1. Keep fresh tuna, mackerel, grouper, and mahi mahi refrigerated to prevent development of histamine. Don't believe that cooking spoiled or toxic seafood will keep you safe. These toxins are not destroyed by cooking.
2. Do not eat barracuda, especially, those from the Caribbean.
3. Check with local health officials before collecting shellfish, and look for Health Department advisories about algal blooms, dinoflagellate growth or "redtide" conditions that may be posted at fishing supply stores.
4. Do not eat finfish or shellfish sold as bait. Bait products do not need to meet the same food safety regulations as seafood for human consumption.



What is the government doing about these diseases?

Some health departments test shellfish harvested within their jurisdiction to monitor the level of dinoflagellate toxins and asses the risk for contamination. Based on the results of such testing, recreational and commercial seafood harvesting may be prohibited locally during periods of risk. State and federal regulatory agencies monitor reported cases of marine toxin poisoning, and health departments investigate possible outbreaks and devise control measures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides support to investigators as needed.

What else can be done to prevent these diseases?

It is important to notify public health departments about even one person with marine toxin poisoning. Public health departments can then investigate to determine if a restaurant, oyster bed, or fishing area has a problem. This prevents other illnesses. In any food poisoning occurrence, consumers should note foods eaten and freeze any uneaten portions in case they need to be tested. A commercial test has been developed in Hawaii to allow persons to test sport caught fish for ciguatoxins.


How can I learn more about this and other public health problems?

You can discuss any medical concerns you may have with your doctor or other healthcare provider. Your local city, county, or state health department can provide more information about this and other public health problems that are occurring in your area. General information about the public health of the nation is published every week in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, by CDC in Atlanta, GA (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/). Epidemiologists in your local and state health departments are tracking a number of important public health problems, investigating special problems that arise, and helping to prevent them from occurring in the first place, and from spreading if they do occur.




Date: October 12, 2005
Content source: National Center for Infectious Diseases/Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases

http://www.worldanimalnet.org

Animal Rights Coalition 9

www.pcrm.org