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5.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Update of an Essential Book, December 14, 2004
This review is from: Diet for a Poisoned Planet (Paperback)
Do buy this book (even if you have the old edition), but also buy the 1995 book The Safe Shopper's Bible (co-authored by Steinman), and when the two disagree on an individual food item (as they do in a number of cases), believe the one with the most toxic rating, rather than believing the new edition. Here's why.
I own the 1990 edition, and the Safe Shopper's Bible, and have just received a copy of this new edition, and while I have only spent an hour or so comparing the three, unfortunately there are definite indications that this update was done in a rather uncareful manner.
Yes, there are differences between the 1990 and present editions; some foods have been moved from one safety category (e.g., Green Light) to another (e.g., Yellow Light). And when this has been done, the reason is usually noted in the book, which is also helpful.
While relatively few entries are affected by such enhancements, they are no doubt valuable enough to justify buying the new edition, even if you already have the old one. And, of course, if you don't have the old one, you absolutely need this book.
However, I do not believe that this new book is the result of a comprehensive re-review of the available government testing results and/or other current information. I say this for the following reason (based on an analysis of the section covering seafood):
1. Most of the entries in the new edition are copied verbatim from the 1990 edition.
2. Updated, and conflicting, information to some of these copied entries appeared in the seafood section of the 1995 book Safe Shopper's Bible (co-authored by Steinman), which indicates to me that new information became available at that time.
3. Despite the changed information in the 1995 book, in many cases the (apparently outdated) information from the 1990 entry is copied, verbatim, into this "twenty-first century" edition of the work, without any note indicating that there was a return back from its status of 1995.
Here are some examples:
1. The Green Light section of this new book lists Halibut as follows:
"Halibut from Alaska, California, and Iceland is virtually pollution free, although your best bet is Alaskan or Icelandic halibut. Halibut is a moderate mercury accumulator. Some Los Angeles-area halibut may be tainted with PCBs."
This entry is identical to the one in the 1990 edition of the book.
However, the 1995 Safe Shopper's Bible lists Halibut from California as a Red Light fish (the worst possible rating). The listed contaminants supporting that rating are DDT, DDE, DDD and PCBs.
This important update is nowhere reflected in the new edition, which has the older (and conflicting) information. Why go back to the original information? Is it possible that California Halibut suddenly got better? Perhaps, but it seems more likely that the text of the old edition was simply thoughtlessly propagated into the new one, despite the availability of new (and conflicting) information.
2. This new edition lists Salmon in its Green Light section as follows:
"Salmon from Ireland and the United Kingdom is virtually pollution free."
"Pacific salmon (chum, king, silver, sockeye) from Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington is virtually pollution free."
This is, once again, a verbatim copy from the 1990 edition.
However, in the 1995 Safe Shopper's Bible, Salmon (Pacific Coast) and Salmon (Imported) are both listed as Yellow Light fish. The listed contaminants warranting that designation are Benzene Hexachloride, DDT, DDE, DDD, Dioxin, Lindane and PCBs.
I noticed similar discrepancies for Milkfish, Mullet, Striped bass, and Trout, among others. Mullet was particularly disturbing, since the (copied) entry in the new book not only lists imported Mullet as a Green Light fish, but in the Red Light section, where it lists domestic Mullet, it makes a special note that "however, imported mullet is quite clean." By contrast, in the 1995 Safe Shopper's Bible, "Mullet (imported)" is listed as a Red Light fish, due to the presence of "DDT, DDE, DDD."
Perhaps there was some massive improvement in mullet between 1995 and 2006, but more likely, the verbatim repetition of those entries in the new edition was just the result of propagating them with insufficient attention to more recent information, including even information previously published by the author.
Another disappointment is that a large number of fish listed in the Safe Shopper's Bible are nowhere to be found in the new edition of Diet for a Poisoned Planet. Why would the author not have merged the information available from both of his older works? Some examples of missing entries: Anchovies and sardines, both Green Light in the Safe Shopper's Bible.
Hopefully, now you see why you need the Safe Shopper's Bible in addition to this latest edition of Diet for a Poisoned Planet. You can't afford to get into a snit about somehow punishing the author for delivering what may be a sub-par update. This work is too important, and there is nothing else that I have found that could ever replace it. Just give the guy credit for all of the wonderful work he has done in the past, and admit that you slip up from time to time yourself, and then buy both of these books and use them in good health.
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