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A Farewell to Mercury

September 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment


Opinion

When I stopped eating fish and other sea animals 10 years ago, I worried that I would miss one of the staples in my diet: tuna rolls. I was so addicted that I once bought a tuna roll at a BP station and ate the raw fish while pumping gas. Oddly, I didn’t miss eating tuna at all when I gave it up. Maybe my tastebuds evolved, or maybe the cravings just disappeared after a week.

vegetarian sushi

Vegetarian rolls from Beyond Sushi in NYC

Eliminating tuna and other fish from my diet exposed me to fantastic options that I would have never considered. When I go to Japanese restaurants now, I order vegetarian sushi, which is delicious, eco-friendly, cruelty-free and less expensive than a sushi roll with someone in it. It’s also a lot healthier than fish contaminated with mercury and other pollutants that we dump into the ocean.

In 2009, actor Jerermy Piven ended his run in a Broadway show due to “mercury toxicity” from sushi. He experienced extreme fatigue, dizziness and neuro-muscular disfunction. Is consuming tuna really worth any level of heavy metal exposure?

If you still eat sea animals, please give vegetarian sushi a chance the next time you eat Japanese – to protect your body, the oceans and, of course, the animals.


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