| Please copy, paste
and email or print, mail/fax the following
petition to the Japanese Minister of
Health: PETITION TO WARN THE JAPANESE
PEOPLE OF MERCURY DANGER
To:
Policy Planning and Communication
Division
The Department of Food Safety
Bureau
The Ministry of Health, Labor and
Welfare
Tokyo, Japan
E-Mail:
syokucommunication@mhlw.go.jp
Fax:
+81-3-3503-7965
Dear Minister of
Health:
There is worldwide concern
that mercury accumulated in the human body
may pose a serious health risk, especially to
pregnant women and children.
As
you know, dolphin meat from drive hunts in
Taiji, Wakayama prefecture, proved to be
highly contaminated with toxic chemicals such
as mercury, methyl mercury and PCBs. Repeated
chemical analyses have shown that the level
of mercury in dolphin meat is much higher than
the maximum allowable level set by the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of
Japan.
We understand that the role
of the Department of Food Safety Bureau is to
promote food safety, thereby ensuring the
health of the Japanese people. We urgently
request the following:
1. Prohibit
the sale of dolphin meat that contains mercury
exceeding the maximum allowable level set by
the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
(MHLW). The sale of food items with toxic
agricultural chemicals exceeding the maximum
allowable level set by MHLW is already
prohibited as a result of the "Positive-list
System," which was adopted in 2006. Since
mercury is as harmful to the human body as
toxic agricultural chemicals, the
"Positive-list System" should also apply to
mercury.
2. Until the above request
is put into effect, consumers must be warned
of the dangers associated with consuming
mercury contaminated dolphin meat, in much
the same way they are being warned of the
health risks associated with smoking
cigarettes: Every store that sells dolphin meat
must be obligated to post a prominent warning
label on each meat package, stating as
follows: "This food item possibly contains
mercury exceeding the maximum allowable level
set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and
Welfare. Mercury accumulated in the human body
may harm your health."
Sincerely,
Name & address:
____________________
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