Because his friends at Greenpeace told him it was so, food columnist Mark Bittman then told his readers that Fish Aggregating Devices used by tuna companies “kill countless numbers of [other] animals in their quest for cheap tuna.”
And then some of the top fishery scientists in the world, whose work is published by outlets like the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, stepped up and noted that despite Bittman’s hyperbole, “catching young tuna around FADs does not necessarily result in overfishing. Additionally, [a] study finds that levels of non-tuna bycatch are comparable or less than in other industrial fisheries. [They then] argue that if certain bycatch problems can be solved, and if FAD fishing is properly monitored and managed, this method of fishing could be one of the most environmentally responsible.”
Ooops.
Food critic says tuna industry uses a method that kills countless critters and real life scientists say that method could be one of the most environmentally responsible. Who do you believe? The people who do the research or the guy who promotes Greenpeace without ever questioning what they tell him?
Keep in mind when scientists, in this case toxicologists, were surveyed, 96 percent said they believed Greenpeace overstates risks. So, there we have nearly 100 percent of the scientists surveyed saying Greenpeace “overstates risks,” which for most people means lies.
Let me put too fine a point on it… Greenpeace gets reporters and columnists who don’t ask tough questions to write about its various campaigns, ones who would not be likely to reach out to the top scientists in the field of tuna sustainability– even when writing about tuna sustainability. Then they take those articles and show their supporters how “well” their campaigns are doing and ask for more money to support said campaigns. But the campaigns never end; so just how “well” could they be doing? It’s a cycle that involves a lot of Green.
Reporters and columnists, don’t end up as a pawn in this cycle… or do… and just admit it.
