To the Editor:
Paul Greenberg tells us he’s tried to come up with a “seafood three-liner that would be as concise, elegant and free from exceptions” as the writer Michael Pollan’s maxim: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” (“Simple Rules for Seafood,” Sunday Review, June 14).
Seafood is complex, and that’s why Mr. Greenberg hasn’t been “entirely successful.” Perhaps it’s this complexity and the sources and methods he uses that challenge him so. His zeal to highlight his ideal seafood takes him on the wrong path.
For instance, he cites a Consumer Reports article about mercury in canned tuna but never mentions that the Food and Drug Administration criticized that report because it “overestimates the negative effects and overlooks the strong body of scientific evidence published in the last decade” about the benefits of fish.
Wallet cards and lists of fish to avoid have tried to dumb down seafood science for years. Perhaps a longer conversation about seafood’s nutritional importance is needed before we switch to CliffsNotes. Or Mr. Greenberg could adopt the simple approach of doctors’ three-word advice: “Eat more seafood.”
LYNSEE FOWLER
Communications Manager
National Fisheries Institute
McLean, Va.
