The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently released a report showing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is grossly underestimating Gulf diners' exposure to carcinogens in local seafood. In fact, these folks may be consuming as much as 12 times the amount of cancer-causing chemicals than FDA estimates.

After the BP oil spill, the FDA came up with a number indicating the amount of cancer-causing compounds seafood could contain and still be considered safe for consumers to eat. The FDA based this number on a national seafood consumption survey--about two fish meals and one shrimp meal per week. The FDA failed to take into account the fact that Gulf residents eat a heck of a lot more seafood than most Americans. The FDA's negligence means that Gulf residents may be eating 3.6 to 12.1 times the amount of carcinogens than FDA estimates.

Diets differ by region, so a one-size-fits-all seafood safety standard is sorely inadequate for protecting consumers' health.Let's make sure that Gulf residents aren't unknowingly eating themselves into cancer in addition to all the other struggles they face. Sign our petition asking the FDA to immediately reassess its seafood safety standards, taking regional diets into account.

Photo credit: Steve Snodgrass via Flickr