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Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Inuits living in the Arctic have the highest concentrations of toxic contaminants ever recorded in humans.

The high levels are attributed to chemicals originating in the U.S. and other industrial nations. The toxins travel north, where they enter the environment and accumulate in the fat of animals. By the time the food reaches the Inuits, who live a subsistence lifestyle, the contaminants have magnified in danger.

According to studies, the breast milk of Inuit mothers is seven times higher than their counterparts in southern Canada. Almost all Inuits in Greenland and half in Canada have levels of cancer causing PCBs and mercury exceeding international guidelines.

Inuits can do little to battle the problem. Dependent on hunting and fishing, they don't want to give up their traditional lifestyle. They say processed foods, which carry a high price tag, don't provide them with sustenance.

Get the Story:
Ancestral Diet Gone Toxic (The Los Angeles Times 1/13)
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Dioxins are everywhere (10/4)

Relevant Links:
How POPs threaten the Natural Environment and the Future of Indigenous Peoples - http://www.ienearth.org/pops_threat-p1.html
Persistent Organic Pollutants, the United Nations - http://irptc.unep.ch/pops

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