Mackerel

"Nietzsche writes that happiness comes from power. For me, happiness comes from the tender meat of Atlantic mackerel." -- A dolphin, from American Dad

For some reason, I've been craving mackerel sashimi recently, along with slices of duck meat on fois gras. I have no idea why I'm obsessing over expensive and potentially dangerous food. Train of thoughts diverted me to thinking about mercury poisoning and next thing I knew I was wiki-surfing again.

Many people in the U.S. probably don't know or remember much of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan. The most famous case occurred in the 1950's being the Minamata Disease caused by mercury poisoning, specifically concerning methyl-mercury. Effluent discharge from a local factory, the Chisso Corporation, caused a high level of mercury being dumped into the local fishing waters. Initially, the disease victims were ostracized, and the company denied any correlation between the discharge and the disease affecting the local population. The victims were not allowed on the negotiation table, and they were not consulted regarding their condition. It wasn't until much later, in the 1960's, with the support of the Japanese Communist Party, when negotiations began to progress. A few decades later, a settlement was reached and over 1400 people had died from the disease.



























It might be interesting to note that one of Japan's prominent animator, Hayao Miyazaki, was a member of the Japanese Communist Party at that time. It is possible that he was a part of the protests, which influenced his later works to focus on ecological themes such as man vs nature (a la Nausicaa Valley of the Wind to Princess Mononoke).

Japan is particularly affected due the high population density and its reliance on fishing as its main source of protein. Mercury level are especially high in seafood consists of predacious fish, mostly due to bio-accumulation from its prey, which in turn receives trace amounts of the metal through naturally occurring mercury production in the atmosphere. However, mercury contamination is exacerbated by factory discharge. Methyl-mercury is particularly nasty because it is readily absorbed through the gastro-intestinal system and it binds with other chemicals to mimic the shape of one of our essential amino acids, causing it to permeate throughout our bodies. The half-life of methyl-mercury in our blood system is approximately 50 days.

Contamination also affects people who consumes vegetable. The Itai-Itai Disease, though a funny sounding name to the western ear, is actually actually the word the Japanese use when they are in great pain. Water contaminated by cadmium were used for irrigation on local rice fields. The painful effects of cadmium poisoning include severe pain in the joints, kidney failure and brittle bones due to calcium depletion (similar to osteoporosis).

Please keep in mind, that the cases mentioned occurred between 1910's to 1970's. However, even today somewhere in the world, a local village is being affected by ignorance of the people in charge. For our own native soil, we only need to look no further than the PG&E case made famous by Erin Brockovich, the hundreds of Superfund Sites here in the U.S., including the Berkeley Pit (The Daily Show fans will know this one) and the Love Canal, to name a few.

Berkeley Pit (aka yummy sulfuric acid laced with huge quantities of copper, lead, and cadmium, to name a few)

When will the few in charge of the many learn that the very people that they do not care about are the selfsame people who are keeping them in their power? Money does not grow food, people do. For proof, go to a remote inhabited land and bury some change. Sit there for several years and watch yourself disintegrate.

In the words of Kurt Vonnegut:

"Sometimes I think that's the trouble with the world: too many people in high places who are stone-cold dead."