December 19, 2013
The Top Information Post
Digital News Aggregation,
VIA EMAIL
Dear Managing Editor,
I am writing to address editorial concerns about the alarmist and misleading Top Info Post article, Fukushima is here: ALL Bluefin Tuna Caught In California Are Radioactive.
Author Ann Werner makes claims that fly in the face of scientists from the Food and Drug Administration to The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to Oregon State University who have all determined that fish off the West Coast of the U.S. are safe to eat.
In true If it Bleeds it Leads hyperbole, Ms. Werner starts the article saying, Every bluefin tuna tested in the waters off California has shown to be contaminated with radiation that originated in Fukushima. Every single one. What she didnt say is that this contamination is equal to one twentieth of the radiation found in a banana. A subtle, but important detail that completely changes the story.
She goes on to quote a scientist who says, We found that absolutely every one of them had comparable concentrations of cesium 134 and cesium 137. Ms. Werner forgets to add another story-changer: the findings of those levels are roughly 300 times lower than levels that would prompt FDA to investigate further to determine if there were a health concern. As the FDA noted in an email.
Ms. Werner ends the article by voicing her own concerns about the FDA, The FDA assures us that our food supply is safeBut one has to question if this is true Seeing as Ms. Werners resume includes Wine consultant and Formerly on Days of Our Lives I am going to retain my trust in the PhDs at the FDA.
Alluding to the idea that consumers will be sickened by eating seafood from the Pacific is inaccurate and irresponsible to your readers. An alarmist and misleading article like this has the potential of scaring people away from seafood a food theyre already deficient in. Science shows low seafood consumption is the second-biggest dietary contributor to preventable deaths in the U.S., taking 84,000 lives each year (for perspective, low intake of fruits and vegetables takes 58,000 lives each year).
We ask that you remove this article from your website or re-write it to include important details that tell the whole story of Fukushima and West Coast fish.
Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Lynsee Fowler

Communications Coordinator
National Fisheries Institute