Cocaine in Shrimps!

UK flag

Cocaine in shrimps in a river in Suffolk, England, UK.

Who?
Who says so? Are they reliable?

The initial report was in an Environment International magazine. The researchers were from Kings College London and the University of Suffolk.

What to do?
Short-term?
Avoid shellfish?

Luckily for me, I am allergic to shellfish. So I did not eat it in the past and will not do so in the future.

Long-term?
Apart from humans, what else eats shrimps? Is this affecting the food chain? Are other fish in addition to shrimps being affected?

Where?
Where is it happening? I try to distance myself from this problem. I am not in Suffolk. On the day of the report, May 1 2019, I was not in England. Should you care, if, like me, you were not there and are not likely to go there right now?

However, the food in far away areas is sent up to London, where my family and friends, and readers, may be eating. Foods are exported all over the world.

The problem found in one area of one country may be in other areas of the country. It may be the same in other countries which have not yet identified the problem.

Call To Action!
After finding a problem, you can do three things.

One, spread the information, which is what I am doing now.

Once alerted, watch for updates on the situation. The BBC reported on the UK. I did a Google search for the environamnet magazine and immediately came across a New York article featuring the enironment in the USA. Another piece of resarch identified problem on mainland Europe. River water can be used to irrigate, or seep into, vegetables grown in surrounding field.

Two, ask for action, which is what I am doing now.

Three, avoid the existing problem.

Four, prevent it from happening again.

Useful Websites
UK
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-48117678#
EUROPE AND USA
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/12/flanders-stream-so-polluted-water-could-be-used-as-pesticide
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/world/europe/uk-shrimp-cocaine.html
AUSTRALIA
Fish and cattle, flooding and fires and environment dangers in Autralia:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/18/we-all-smell-the-smoke-we-all-feel-the-heat-this-environmental-catastrophe-is-global

TRAVEL - WHILE YOU CAN
visitbritain.com
visitbritain.org
visitbritainshop.com
visitengland.com
visitlondon.com
visitacity.com/flanders
visittheusa.co.uk
australia.com
lonelyplanet.com/australia

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and hotographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.