To the Editor:
As a public-health professional, I was relieved to read that scientists have not advised the Inuit in the eastern Arctic to change their native diets to avoid "dangerous substances" such as DDT and PCBs (Igoolik Journal, Feb. 5). Those substances, at levels found in the environment, have never been shown to cause disease in humans. This is in contrast to a steady diet of fast-foods now tempting the Inuit.
A more realistic danger would be food-borne illness (e.g., parasites) secondary to eating raw caribou meat.
To the Editor:
As a public-health professional, I was relieved to read that scientists have not advised the Inuit in the eastern Arctic to change their native diets to avoid "dangerous substances" such as DDT and PCBs (Igoolik Journal, Feb. 5). Those substances, at levels found in the environment, have never been shown to cause disease in humans. This is in contrast to a steady diet of fast-foods now tempting the Inuit.
A more realistic danger would be food-borne illness (e.g., parasites) secondary to eating raw caribou meat.
