Week 5: The Complexity of Life

Are Fukushima tuna safe to eat?

It is unsure whether Pacific Bluefin Fukushima tuna pose any significant threat to human health. Regardless, these tuna were discovered to have radioactive Cesium from the Fukushima nuclear melt-down. When researcher Nicholas Fisher is quoted for saying the tuna have an 'essentially negligible' impact on human health," in one breath, and then, "I wouldn't necessarily encourage [people] to eat these fish," it is clear that the exact impact on human health is unknown. The fact remains- if radioactive cesium was discovered in these fish- then if we eat them- we will be consuming this radioactivity. If one cares to eat radioactive fish- it would be wise to buffer the body's defense with a supplement called Liquid Zeolite which removes almost all radioactive particles from the body while providing crucial minerals that buffer's the body's defense against assimilating radioactive particles. If one wants to be one the safe side, then one should "eat something else," as Fisher puts."

Can we control our sugar habit?

I think New York's idea to tax high sugar drinks is actually brilliant, though I do doubt that for people who are really addicted to Coca Cola, for instance, that a tax would keep them back from drinking Coke unless it was a really high tax. I also thought New York's idea to impose a size limit on sugary drinks for sale was a great idea. The problem- of course- is that sugary drinks are very addictive. It does seem though that New York's effort to impose limits around the purchase of sugary drinks was really helpful as there was a 6-7% drop in the amount of people who were drinking one sugary drink a day during the campaign. Maybe co-current with the campaign could be a boost in the advertisement of fruit and all of their healthful qualities/effects.

Do you vote for the chicken or the egg?

I thought the article had a good point about the egg coming before the chicken. The chicken obviously had to come from an egg. It makes sense that this egg was laid when two bird species got together, mated, and laid an egg that had DNA from both species that when mixed- gave birth to a new species- the chicken.