This week the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and its puppet the Mercury Policy Project (MPP) are out with a misguided release that, not surprisingly, flies in the face of the latest science on seafood and mercury as well as… common sense.

Adding to their history of misinformation and hyperbole, the duo claims “American babies are currently at risk of mercury toxicity based on current fish consumption levels.” FDA research finds American mothers currently eat 1.89 ounces of seafood per week when the target consumption number for pregnant women, to gain even the minimum amount of benefits, is 8 to 12 ounces. EWG and MPP know this but persist in pushing a scare story because it furthers their environmental health agenda.

Albacore tuna is a frequent target of their distorted propaganda and once again they’re taking aim at the popular omega 3 powerhouse. This time ranting that pregnant women should “limit their consumption of canned albacore tuna.” What they know and don’t tell the media is that the FDA’s net effects report (p.111); a decade worth of published peer-reviewed science, found (at the most conservative levels) pregnant women could eat up to 56 ounces of albacore tuna a week without concern.

So, published, peer-reviewed science completed over a ten year span finds it’s safe for pregnant women to eat 56 ounces of albacore a week and 164 ounces of light tuna a week, when in reality pregnant women eat barely a fraction of that. It’s almost comical how little they eat compared to those numbers but the real science-based answer to the question how much can I eat or more importantly should I eat does not match their fear-based messaging so they… simply ignore it.

EWG parrot, Michael Bender from MPP, says “pregnant women need sound, science-based advice about the benefits of increased seafood consumption.” Yet ironically he obscures that very science with spin.

What’s more disturbing is that EWG and MPP shamefully try to appear as though they’ve transformed from environmental crusaders into nutrition champions for the poor when they claim underserved populations would be harmed by greater access to seafood. Harmed—yes, harmed. Meanwhile, experts who work to feed these very communities testified before the FDA that, “from a hunger standpoint, there are communities in every state that are in desperate need of food. From a nutritional standpoint, there are communities in every state that are in desperate need of lean protein and omega-3s.”