Well, if you read this report from Professor Ming-Hung Wong of the Hong Kong Institute of Education you certainly will be….
Professor Wong was reporting on food chain contamination and human disease in the Pearl River Delta area, one of the many regions of rapid industrialisation in China. As a result of this uncontrolled industrialisation, the waters of the delta are now contaminated by antibiotics, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, toxic chemicals and hydrocarbons – many of which find their way into the waters inhabited by the farmed fish and are thus transported into human food.
And there is worse….
‘Seaborne plastic residues commonly found inshore act as magnets that absorb toxic chemicals, and subsequently transfer to fish. Feeding farmed fish with contaminated trash (less desirable) fish and fishmeal (commonly derived from trash fish) also contributes to adverse human health effects.’
And then there is the uncontrolled recycling of electronic wastes, such flame retardants…
But don’t get too complacent! Professor Wong believes that expanding world trade means that we could all get a dose of Pearl River Delta contamination quite soon. I always knew there was a good reason to buy local…
Thanks to John Scott for cheering my day with this one…