Land-based protein sources like chicken, beef, pork and tofu contain as many microplastics as fishes, study finds

Land-based protein sources like chicken, beef, pork and tofu contain as many microplastics as fishes, study finds

Microplastics have been found in nearly 90 per cent of sources of proteins, including meat and plant-based, according to a new study that serves as a startling reminder of how prolific plastic pollution has become.

While the presence of microplastics in commercial fish and shellfish has been known for long, there has been little research into terrestrial protein sources like beef and chicken that make up a large part of the Western diet.

A team of researchers studied samples from 16 different protein types destined for American consumers, including seafood, pork, beef, chicken, tofu, and three different plant-based meat alternatives. They found microplastic particles in 88 per cent of protein food samples tested.

  • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
    182·
    10 months ago

    You may as well consider it the lead of the 21st century.

    Children in 3045 will be mockingly deriding us in history class for how flippant we were about plastics.

    • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
      8·
      10 months ago

      Really? There doesn’t seem to be much evidence of any sort, and I don’t have a horse in the race. Other than my body.

      • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
        7·
        10 months ago

        Theres plenty of evidence that it causes inflammation, and your body cant break it down. So if it wiggles itself into a spot in your body that isnt easily flushed, its going to stay there causing inflammation basically forever.

        On top of that, “microplastic” is a catchall term. Rubber dust from car wheels is a microplastic, that you breathe in any time youre within hearing distance of a road. All that rubber in your lungs, alone, cannot be good.

        Thats not even thinking about all the other forms of plastic, or their degredation chemicals, or the films and chem linings they carry.

        • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
          6·
          10 months ago

          Sure, particulate matter of any sort isn’t a good thing to inhale. I’m just wondering if there’s anything specific to plastic. Some of the additives are proven to be awful but e.g. polyethylene has so little available surface energy I wonder if it can be doing much, chemically speaking. If it’s not this it’ll be something else, I’m sure.

          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
            2·
            10 months ago

            I’m just wondering if there’s anything specific to plastic.

            From this article…

            What if any damage microplastics may do when they get into our bodies is not clear, but a growing community of researchers investigating these questions thinks there is reason for concern. Inhaled particles might irritate and damage the lungs, akin to the damage caused by other particulate matter. And although the composition of plastic particles varies, some contain chemicals that are known to interfere with the body’s hormones.