Don´t give up on seafood: I´m a seafood lover, and after reading your mouth-watering descriptions of the Fin & Claw restaurant (¨By Hook and Crook,¨ Gail Shepherd, July 5), I have a mean craving for crab cakes. I am also a nutrition professional and have a bone to pick about your statement that ¨fish is a freaking mess in the 21st Century.¨ As a nutrition communicator, I work to provide science-based information to consumers about seafood, and I wanted to share with you my perspective, which is that Americans have access to a safe, healthy, sustainable seafood supply. Regarding sustainability, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration closely monitors fish stocks in America, and its latest report shows that 80 percent of U.S. fisheries are sustainably managed. For the remaining 20 percent, strict rebuilding regulations are in place. The bottom line is that if a fish is in the store or on the menu, it is available to meet consumer demand.
To keep wild stocks plentiful, aquaculture, or farmed fish, complements our seafood supply. Scientific studies show that aquaculture can benefit the natural environment and that both wild and farmed seafood are equally nutritious and have a part in a well-balanced diet.
As far as trade is concerned, consumers should have confidence in U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards and the consequences for not meeting them. Americans eat billions of safe meals every single day, and that is a testament to the strict FDA standards ensuring that the U.S. has the safest food supply in the world. Overseas companies occasionally found to be in violation of U.S. law can be placed on immediate import detention status and must prove that they adhere to U.S. regulations before their products enter commerce, as was recently the case with five species of fish from China.
Jennifer Wilmes,
National Fisheries Institute
McLean, Virginia
Real Deal
Give that man a book deal: Hutch [Chris Hutchins] is a great storyteller (¨Pod Shots,¨ Amy Guthrie, July 5). I was not a podcast fan until 7th Son but was hooked after two minutes. I will be buying several copies (once the books are published) as gifts, because I know everyone will love the books and to help Hutch ¨retire¨ to do his real work as a writer. Hutch is ¨the real deal.¨
Eddie Haynes
Via the Internet
Six Feet Under
The fat lady sang a long time ago: In response to Tailpipe´s ¨R.I.P. Jocks¨ (July 5), things are a lot worse than you write. First, with regard to the Triple A Marlins forget about Joe Borchard. What are the rotting Fish gonna do when the contracts of Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera come up for renewal? Answer: Adios, D-Train and Miggy! Next: the Dolphins and the Panthers two critters near extinction. The Dolphins are run-of-the-mill humpties. No need to say anything more about the rotten Panthers, so I won´t. Saving the ¨best¨ for last: the over-the-hill and doomed Miami Heat. The best news for the Heat is that Shaq wants to be sheriff of Broward County. If he runs and wins next year, two great things will happen. First, we´ll get rid of one of the most corrupt guys in Broward Ken Jenne. Next, the Heat will get more than $20 million in cap space and get rid of the most overrated slug in the NBA, a guy who didn´t finish in the top 20 in scoring or rebounding and still collects all that cash. (Just what you don´t want is your highest-paid player on the bench at the end of close games because he can´t make foul shots!) Maybe the most overrated GM in the NBA, Pat Riley, will figure out what to do with all that cap room, but I doubt it. And time is running out on getting anyone worth a crap this season. So, hats off to Tailpipe.
Harvey Slavin
Hollywood
Bust ´Em
Teaching hate should be a crime: The article on the Phelps clan (¨God Hates You,¨ Brandon K. Thorp, June 28) is the best excuse for the use of birth control. They also should be prosecuted for child abuse. Teaching children to hate is abuse.
Christine Marquette
Fort Lauderdale
You make us feel so young: I stumbled across this article while researching something totally different, and your writing drew me in! Very well-written current, young, and intriguing. So much more relevant than most mainstream media these days. Well done!
Name withheld by request
Via the Internet
Hey, these people have issues: Nice article, compellingly written. The ¨level of piss-offedness that surely can be maintained for only so long before somebody starts some shit¨ was especially funny. Apropos of Westboro Baptist Church hypocrisy, bear in mind that: 1. Shirley Phelps-Roper is the daughter of a religious leader (Fred).
2. She had an illegitimate son, Sam (now an adult).
3. WBC believes the Bible is the literal word of an angry God and must be obeyed. ¨And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.¨ (Leviticus 21:9)
Oh-oh ...
Name withheld by request
Via the Internet
