- headaches
- cough
- chest pain
- difficulty breathing
- soreness of the mouth
- loss of teeth
- nausea
- diarrhea
- may lead to permanent lung scarring
- high exposure to mercury can damage your kidneys
SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT DOLPHIN MEAT
A study by two Japanese universities found that residents of Taiji, a whaling town on the Pacific coast, who frequently ate the meat of pilot whale - a member of the dolphin family - have mercury levels 10 times the national average.
The hair of three tested residents contained quantities of mercury higher than 50 parts per million, a level that can lead to neurological problems.
The average mercury level among the men was 21.6ppm, and 11.9ppm among women - both about 10 times the national average. The three men with dangerously high levels of mercury said they ate pilot whale meat more than once a month.
Mercury levels halved among people who stopped eating the meat for two months.
Last year a study of dolphin meat served in school lunches in the Taiji area revealed mercury levels 10 to 16 times higher than the health ministry's accepted level of 0.4ppm.
I don't understand why dolphin meat is even served if it has such intense and unhealthy levels of mercury in it. It's ridiculous because people are only eating dolphin meat because there are so many leftover slaughtered dolphins. Kill less dolphins, or don't kill them at all, since there really is not a lot of use for them, and foodwise they are unhealthy. It seems like a no-brainer and it's frustrating that this nasty cycle will probably not stop any time soon. --Marisa
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