Continued
Shellfish—Eat at Your Own Risk
As a general rule, unclean aquatic creatures are either scavengers or predatory carnivores (such as most sharks). Most clean, edible marine life—those with both fins and scales—are found in deep or fast-running waters and primarily consume algae. However, many varieties (such as the common bass) eat smaller fish, frogs, insects, etc.—but clean fish do not eat dead matter. They also have an efficient enzymatic system of detoxification.
Most unclean aquatic creatures are bottom feeders— scavengers that scour marine beds for dead, decaying matter. The highly popular catfish—which has fins but no scales—is a bottomfeeding scavenger. This feature is precisely what makes unclean marine life unsafe to eat.
Several poisoning syndromes are associated with the consumption of shellfish (mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops). Four are particularly common: amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), diarrheal shellfish poisoning (DSP), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), and paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).19 Human toxicity and mortality sometimes occur after the ingestion of shellfish, but toxicity is also seen in wild animal populations.
Shellfish are bivalve filter feeders and thus rapidly accumulate toxins produced by microscopic algae such as dinoflagellates, diatoms, and cyanobacteria. The toxicity levels of marine bed algae are often seasonal: when the algae of a given area are in “bloom,” the toxicity is high; shellfish that feed on such algae become highly toxic.20 However, it is important to understand that such toxins are a normal byproduct of their existence. In other words, shellfish are always toxic, and have the potential to become dangerously toxic at any time. Attempting to predict the toxicity level of shellfish is highly problematic—a bit like playing Russian roulette!
Paralytic shellfish poisoning is a persistent problem in Alaska and along the West Coast of the United States. Consequently, the State of California once proposed that the following warning label be required on all shellfish packaging: “This food may be dangerous to your health.” The principal toxin responsible for PSP is saxitoxin— a deadly neurotoxin estimated to be 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide (there is no antidote for PSP, and all cases require immediate medical attention). According to research by the State of Alaska, “bivalve shellfish feed on a literal smorgasbord of microscopic algae. Bivalves are ideal conveyers of the PSP toxin because they are relatively indiscriminate filter feeders and consume massive amounts of algae; [shellfish] are not generally killed by saxitoxins, and pass the accumulated saxitoxins on to any animal [or human] that eats them.” 21
It is a common practice to schedule shellfish harvesting around periods of algal bloom. Yet shellfish can store this toxin for several weeks after an algal bloom passes; others, such as butter clams, are known to store high levels of such toxins for up to two years. Moreover, toxic algae can form cysts that reside in the sediment during the non-bloom seasons. “These cysts are as toxic as the suspended vegetative form that are present during a toxic bloom. Shellfish, being bottom dwelling filter feeders, can continue to consume cysts during non-bloom periods and accumulate PSP toxin.”22
In many areas, “off-season occurrences of PSP are most likely caused by [the] retention of toxins from the summer”—long after an episode of algal toxic bloom. Toxic algae are “moved, concentrated, or dispersed by winds, tides, and water currents.” This “patchy distribution” of toxic algae can result in adjacent bays producing shellfish with disparate levels of toxicity—again, making the prediction of risk quite uncertain. For example, in 1993 there were five outbreaks of PSP in the Kodiak area of Alaska, none of which were related to episodes of seasonal algal bloom.23
The fact is, bottom feeders such as shellfish contain hundreds of times more toxins, heavy metals, and harmful chemicals than fish that feed above the bottom—and just happen to have fins and scales. Moreover, the toxins responsible for most shellfish poisonings are water-soluble, heat- and acid-stable, and are thus unaffected by ordinary cooking methods.24
Severe illness from the consumption of raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico is associated with the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Septicemia from this bacteria carries a fatality rate of greater than 50 percent. Some 140 cases were reported by the CDC from 1988 through 1995. “V. vulnificus is present in up to 50% of oyster beds with the water conditions that prevail in the Gulf of Mexico during warm months…. Cases are most commonly reported during warmweather months (April-November), and often are associated with eating raw oysters.” 25
All aquatic scavengers—shellfish, shrimp, catfish, crabs, lobster, squid—are toxic, and their consumption violates God’s instructions designed to protect human health. Why gamble with your health by eating what God has declared to be unclean? Has not God given mankind an abundance of clean fish to eat?
Clean and Unclean Birds
As a rule, unclean birds are predatory—those that kill and eat other animals—or are scavengers, such as the vulture, that eat carrion. Most of them are listed by name or genus in Leviticus 11 as unclean. Generally, clean birds are herbivores; however, farm birds such as chickens do eat a certain amount of small bugs and worms— and ducks eat small fish. (On most commercial poultry farms today, chickens are fed fishmeal or carcass meal—processed dead animals—which raises questions as to their suitability for human consumption.)
While Scripture does not mention clean birds having a “crop,” it does appear that this unique pre-digestion chamber assists in the complete digestion of food and the avoidance of fermentation.
Animals That Eat Animals
God does not reveal in Scripture the precise reasons why the eating of unclean animals is dangerous to our health. Yet we can make certain generalizations based on a particularly notable feature of unclean animals: they are generally consumers of “secondary” materials—that is, they are animals that eat other animals (or their byproducts). God forbids the consumption of all scavengers and carrion eaters—those that devour other animals. Pigs and vultures scavenge decaying flesh; predatory animals such as wolves and various cats typically prey on the weakest (and often the diseased) of a herd. While unclean marine creatures do eat tremendous amounts of algae, they also scavenge dead, decaying matter—even sewage.
The common denominator seems to be the fact that unclean animals habitually eat flesh that would normally sicken or kill humans. By contrast, clean animals almost exclusively consume “primary” materials—various forms of plant life. Moreover, clean animals never eat dead animals or animal byproducts.
It is apparent that God created numerous unclean animals for the express purpose of cleaning up after other animals. Calling them the “sanitation workers of our ecology,” nutritionist David Meinz writes: “Could it be that God, in His wisdom, created certain creatures whose sole purpose is to clean up after the others?”26
Dr. Russell agrees: “Pigs have eaten Philadelphia’s garbage and sewage for more than 100 years, saving the city $3 million a year in landfill costs. This is a wise use of hogs. They are designed [by God] to clean our environment.” Certain scavenger species of marine life perform a similar function. Catfish, for example, “always show the highest levels of contamination in chemically polluted water. After chemical spills, local fishermen are warned not to eat catfish.” Dr. Russell concludes: “Although swine help clean the earth, and shellfish and catfish are ideally designed to purify the water, we don’t want to eat what they clean up!”27
Shellfish—Eat at Your Own Risk
As a general rule, unclean aquatic creatures are either scavengers or predatory carnivores (such as most sharks). Most clean, edible marine life—those with both fins and scales—are found in deep or fast-running waters and primarily consume algae. However, many varieties (such as the common bass) eat smaller fish, frogs, insects, etc.—but clean fish do not eat dead matter. They also have an efficient enzymatic system of detoxification.
Most unclean aquatic creatures are bottom feeders— scavengers that scour marine beds for dead, decaying matter. The highly popular catfish—which has fins but no scales—is a bottomfeeding scavenger. This feature is precisely what makes unclean marine life unsafe to eat.
Several poisoning syndromes are associated with the consumption of shellfish (mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops). Four are particularly common: amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), diarrheal shellfish poisoning (DSP), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), and paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).19 Human toxicity and mortality sometimes occur after the ingestion of shellfish, but toxicity is also seen in wild animal populations.
Shellfish are bivalve filter feeders and thus rapidly accumulate toxins produced by microscopic algae such as dinoflagellates, diatoms, and cyanobacteria. The toxicity levels of marine bed algae are often seasonal: when the algae of a given area are in “bloom,” the toxicity is high; shellfish that feed on such algae become highly toxic.20 However, it is important to understand that such toxins are a normal byproduct of their existence. In other words, shellfish are always toxic, and have the potential to become dangerously toxic at any time. Attempting to predict the toxicity level of shellfish is highly problematic—a bit like playing Russian roulette!
Paralytic shellfish poisoning is a persistent problem in Alaska and along the West Coast of the United States. Consequently, the State of California once proposed that the following warning label be required on all shellfish packaging: “This food may be dangerous to your health.” The principal toxin responsible for PSP is saxitoxin— a deadly neurotoxin estimated to be 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide (there is no antidote for PSP, and all cases require immediate medical attention). According to research by the State of Alaska, “bivalve shellfish feed on a literal smorgasbord of microscopic algae. Bivalves are ideal conveyers of the PSP toxin because they are relatively indiscriminate filter feeders and consume massive amounts of algae; [shellfish] are not generally killed by saxitoxins, and pass the accumulated saxitoxins on to any animal [or human] that eats them.” 21
It is a common practice to schedule shellfish harvesting around periods of algal bloom. Yet shellfish can store this toxin for several weeks after an algal bloom passes; others, such as butter clams, are known to store high levels of such toxins for up to two years. Moreover, toxic algae can form cysts that reside in the sediment during the non-bloom seasons. “These cysts are as toxic as the suspended vegetative form that are present during a toxic bloom. Shellfish, being bottom dwelling filter feeders, can continue to consume cysts during non-bloom periods and accumulate PSP toxin.”22
In many areas, “off-season occurrences of PSP are most likely caused by [the] retention of toxins from the summer”—long after an episode of algal toxic bloom. Toxic algae are “moved, concentrated, or dispersed by winds, tides, and water currents.” This “patchy distribution” of toxic algae can result in adjacent bays producing shellfish with disparate levels of toxicity—again, making the prediction of risk quite uncertain. For example, in 1993 there were five outbreaks of PSP in the Kodiak area of Alaska, none of which were related to episodes of seasonal algal bloom.23
The fact is, bottom feeders such as shellfish contain hundreds of times more toxins, heavy metals, and harmful chemicals than fish that feed above the bottom—and just happen to have fins and scales. Moreover, the toxins responsible for most shellfish poisonings are water-soluble, heat- and acid-stable, and are thus unaffected by ordinary cooking methods.24
Severe illness from the consumption of raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico is associated with the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. Septicemia from this bacteria carries a fatality rate of greater than 50 percent. Some 140 cases were reported by the CDC from 1988 through 1995. “V. vulnificus is present in up to 50% of oyster beds with the water conditions that prevail in the Gulf of Mexico during warm months…. Cases are most commonly reported during warmweather months (April-November), and often are associated with eating raw oysters.” 25
All aquatic scavengers—shellfish, shrimp, catfish, crabs, lobster, squid—are toxic, and their consumption violates God’s instructions designed to protect human health. Why gamble with your health by eating what God has declared to be unclean? Has not God given mankind an abundance of clean fish to eat?
Clean and Unclean Birds
As a rule, unclean birds are predatory—those that kill and eat other animals—or are scavengers, such as the vulture, that eat carrion. Most of them are listed by name or genus in Leviticus 11 as unclean. Generally, clean birds are herbivores; however, farm birds such as chickens do eat a certain amount of small bugs and worms— and ducks eat small fish. (On most commercial poultry farms today, chickens are fed fishmeal or carcass meal—processed dead animals—which raises questions as to their suitability for human consumption.)
While Scripture does not mention clean birds having a “crop,” it does appear that this unique pre-digestion chamber assists in the complete digestion of food and the avoidance of fermentation.
Animals That Eat Animals
God does not reveal in Scripture the precise reasons why the eating of unclean animals is dangerous to our health. Yet we can make certain generalizations based on a particularly notable feature of unclean animals: they are generally consumers of “secondary” materials—that is, they are animals that eat other animals (or their byproducts). God forbids the consumption of all scavengers and carrion eaters—those that devour other animals. Pigs and vultures scavenge decaying flesh; predatory animals such as wolves and various cats typically prey on the weakest (and often the diseased) of a herd. While unclean marine creatures do eat tremendous amounts of algae, they also scavenge dead, decaying matter—even sewage.
The common denominator seems to be the fact that unclean animals habitually eat flesh that would normally sicken or kill humans. By contrast, clean animals almost exclusively consume “primary” materials—various forms of plant life. Moreover, clean animals never eat dead animals or animal byproducts.
It is apparent that God created numerous unclean animals for the express purpose of cleaning up after other animals. Calling them the “sanitation workers of our ecology,” nutritionist David Meinz writes: “Could it be that God, in His wisdom, created certain creatures whose sole purpose is to clean up after the others?”26
Dr. Russell agrees: “Pigs have eaten Philadelphia’s garbage and sewage for more than 100 years, saving the city $3 million a year in landfill costs. This is a wise use of hogs. They are designed [by God] to clean our environment.” Certain scavenger species of marine life perform a similar function. Catfish, for example, “always show the highest levels of contamination in chemically polluted water. After chemical spills, local fishermen are warned not to eat catfish.” Dr. Russell concludes: “Although swine help clean the earth, and shellfish and catfish are ideally designed to purify the water, we don’t want to eat what they clean up!”27
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