After receiving a computer generated brush off from the New York Times ombudsman, who was apparently too busy writing about Sesame Street, Leonard Cohen, the 7-minute workout, Kanye West, and barbershops in Africa.We decided to take our concerns about Mark Bittmans writing on seafood to Mark Bittman.

Dear Mr. Bittman:

Since you are someone who has argued for transparency and integrity in the coverage of food issues, I’d like to put a few questions to you about your June 11 piecequestioning the safety of tuna. We had a number of concerns with that article that have not been addressed by your ombudsman, you can find those full detailshere.

— Did your primary source, Dominique Browning, ever disclose to you that she works for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) or that EDF pays for and operates the Moms Clean Air Force? If she did, then why wasn’t that pointed out to readers? Your editor told us that readers should do that research on their own although I doubt many readers would agree.

— Do you realize that EDF is actively lobbying on the very regulatory issue that you advocated for in your piece and that your view matches theirs? Are you aware that EDF is now using your piece as part of its advocacy outreach as well as its fundraising?

— Are you aware of the Harvard study showing that low seafood/omega-3 intake is the second-largest dietary cause of preventable death — resulting in some 84,000 deaths annually? That’s important because when people are discouraged from eating fish, as your article urges, that public health problem only worsens.

— In the research for your piece, did you look in to what the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have to say about eating fish? A panel of 13 nutrition experts and physicians reviewed 46 studies to reach the conclusion that people, especially women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, should eat seafood twice a week.

— Did any of the sources you spoke with point out that there’s not a single case in published peer-reviewed medical literature of anyone in this country suffering mercury toxicity from the normal consumption of commercial seafood?

— Are you aware that a joint report from the Food & Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization that is based on nearly 150 studies and articles warns people that not eating enough fish is a risk to heart health among adults and brain development in babies? And a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Avoidance of modest fish consumption due to confusion regarding risks and benefits could result in thousands of excess CHD deaths annually and suboptimal neurodevelopment in children.

I would be grateful for your feedback on these points. And as the leading seafood trade association, we would of course be glad to speak with you in advance of any piece you may compose in the future about seafood safety. I only wish we could have had that opportunity this time around.

Sincerely,

Gavin Gibbons

National Fisheries Institute