-
- Greenfudge.org on Facebook
FUNDRAISING
We are currently fundraising to start our first real-live nature conservation project. Even $1 can be a big help!Add your green news
You must be logged in to submit a storyRelated Posts
Brazil Prosecutors Seize Shark Fin Shipment Bound for JapanA ton of shark fins bound for Japan was seized in Brazil on Tuesday.
Uncovered by prosecutors from IBAMA’s...
Hammerhead Shark has 360-Degree View of the World—in StereoThe Hammerhead Shark may be the black sheep of all shark species, thanks to the odd shape of...
Creature Feature: The Angel SharkThis week’s Creature Feature takes us along the coasts of Africa and Europe, particularly from the Mediterranean Sea...
Lantern Shark Light Switch Powered By HormonesLurking in the dark, murky depths of the world’s oceans are quite the number of fascinating creatures. Very...
Another Deadly Shark Attack Occurs Near Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa: favored by tourists, a vacation hotspot, and home of yet another fatal shark attack.
Over...
Login
Weekly Poll
Tip of the Day
Home / Shark fin soup is bad for the environment and your brain
Shark fin soup is bad for the environment and your brain
Posted by Joanna in Animal Rights, Animals, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, 27 Feb 2012
Consuming shark fin soup is a bad idea, not only because of the decreasing number of sharks, but it can also lead to a brain damage.
“A new study has found high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins — a neurotoxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases in humans including Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig disease (ALS)”, informs sunnewsnetwork.ca.
Patients with these diseases, tested before they died, had very high levels of BMAA – up to 256 nanograms per milligram – in their brains. Shark fins contain between 144 and 1836 ng/mg of this neurotoxin.
The threat comes, not only from eating the soup, but also from taking supplements that contain shark fat. This has been confirmed in tests on 7 species of shark living off the coast of Florida.
Approximately 70 million sharks are being killed for consumption per year.
“As a result, many shark species are on the verge of becoming extinct. Because sharks play an integral part in maintaining balance in the oceans, the consumption of shark fin soup has become hazardous to the marine environment. Our study suggests that it is possibly harmful to the people who are consuming it too” said the co-author Dr. Neil Hammerschlag.
Is the potential brain damage going to stop people from killing sharks?
Tags: Alzheimer's, brain, fin soup, killing, neurotoxins, shark
One comment
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Film project aims to tell human stories re nuclear power
London-based Tenner Films is an independent documentary film company concentrating on subjects of environmental degradation and global justice. Their project, entitled '13 short films about nuclear power' brings together art, poetry, animation and documentary filmmaking around the nuclear question. The goal of Tenner Films is to encourage debate about nuclear power through social and human stories – in their own words, 'to challenge, entertain and inform'. Some of the films – namely 'Fifty Years' and 'Beyond' – seem like they'd fit...
Unusual weather pattern freezes Europe, Shifts Arctic Ice
By Andrew Freedman The cold snap in Europe that has killed more than 600 people and buried communities under record snow cover has had an entirely different impact in the Arctic, which is where you’d normally expect to find frigid weather at this time of year. In parts of the Far North, it has been unusually mild recently, and broad expanses of open water have emerged. This open water has raised questions about whether Arctic sea ice is declining even faster...
Carbon confusion: What’s the best way to help the environment?
A recent piece in the London Times entitled 'After lunch we'll save the planet' documents a project that set out to calculate the carbon footprints of four families living in the U.K. It came up with some interesting results. The families consider themselves to be living generally Green lifestyles and are conspicuously upper middle class. How they go about being 'eco-friendly' differs, but the overall picture is a curious mix of luxury, admirable effort, frustration and sacrifice. They really want...
Crazy, weird and kind of cool: Geo-engineering against climate change
NBC Nightly News reports on different approaches to mitigating climate change – and more specifically global warming – by using geo-engineering techniques. Some geo-engineering projects sound daring and risky, but perhaps also worth researching. From sun-blocking parasols in outer space, cloud seeding, and various methods of pumping sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, whether they are practical or miss the point entirely, these potential 'last resorts' for dealing with global warming are at least interesting. Msnbc.com – Geo-engineering a last resort climate...
European beavers and floods: An endangered species AND a scapegoat?
European beavers, which have been wiped out in parts of Europe, are now apparently taking revenge on humanity for once being hunted to near extinction. Since European nations – namely Germany, Romania and the Netherlands – have reintroduced beavers into the wild and dedicated time and money to help their recovery, the furry aquatic rodents have been gnawing on the hand that feeds. Typical, thankless behavior. From an article in the London Times: The rodents, Castor fiber, have been munching through dykes and...
A Bird’s Eye View: Chickens See Colors Better Than You
Chickens are enjoyed the world over, both as pets and as tasty meals. Beyond food, companionship, religious purposes or entertainment, not much is really thought of these flightless birds. Even though we may be higher than them on the food chain, they do have us beat in one area, at least: color vision. Compared to the human eye, chickens have superior color vision, which can be contributed to a structurally well-organized eye. Researchers conducted a study that mapped 5 types of...
Plastic Century: Drink At Your Own Risk
Plastic is everywhere. It’s part of our dishes, part of our clothing, and part of our furniture. It can be found in our transportation, hospital medical equipment, and throughout our schools. It’s littered across our forests, polluting our waterways, and taking up a lot of unnecessary space in landfills. We’ve found it in trees, around animals’ necks or in their stomach contents. And the situation is only going to get worse. Plastic Century wants you to know how bad the situation...
Global Warming is Forcing the Migration of Ecosystems
There are many amazing migrations that happen every year across the planet. The Arctic Tern holds the lead for longest regular migration, traveling 24,000 miles every year! A new type of migration may soon be taking place and unfortunately for nature, it’s not one of choice but rather one that is being forced upon the environment. Entire land ecosystems will have to move an average of 420 meters (a quarter of a mile) every year to cooler areas in order to...
Climate change and human health
The main opposition to legislation connected to climate change seems to stem from a public and corporate outcry against paying higher taxes. This could in many instances be interpreted as a selfish reason to oppose any government-backed climate or environmental action. A more sympathetic take on the opposition to regulating global emissions could focus on the belief that such regulations might hinder economic growth in developing countries, thereby keeping them in poverty. However, a recent article from BBC News explores an...
More on Canada’s polluting ways
Not to Canada bash, but the North American Country – known the world over as much kinder, gentler and more just in comparison to its neighbor, the big bad US of A – has been grabbing a few headlines lately for its deteriorating (or at least more conspicuously poor) environmental record. And let’s be real. Environmental pollution is also a social justice issue. Coal kills people as well as animals and plants. Never mind greenhouse gases. Likewise the tar sands in...
View all articles



I’ve read that shark’s fin contains mercury that continuous consumption in a long run could make serious damage to human’s health especially in the brain, liver etc…..