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.

    • cybersandwich@lemmy.world
      17·
      1 year ago

      Is it a critical issue?

      I’m not read up on the effects of microplastics. I keep hearing they’ve been found in more things, but what does that mean?

      Is it dangerous? Are there actual diseases or medical side effects like we saw from lead for example?

      • NaughtyKatsuragi@lemmy.world
        20·
        1 year ago

        From limited understanding, it causes inflammation as your body reacts to any amount of stimulis.

        And since we cant digest them, our bodies try to fight it, causing inflammation

      • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
        18·
        1 year 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.

          • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
            1·
            1 year ago

            Oh, easy, we are functional cockroaches of survival.

            Maybe we will be a different species by that point, but our descendants are still in many ways us.

            • Woht24@lemmy.world
              1·
              1 year ago

              Decent point but I also wouldn’t put it past us to completely extinct ourselves one day.

      • trainsaresexy@lemmy.world
        8·
        1 year ago

        Yes it’s not good, but research is lacking.

        This contamination occurs via multiple sources, including primary microplastics (including synthetic materials) and secondary microplastics (derived from the breakdown of larger plastic particles). Microplastic contamination can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on soil properties.

        Additionally, microplastics have been shown to interact with a wide array of contaminants, including pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and antibiotics, and may act as a vector for contaminant transfer in terrestrial environments. Microplastics and their associated chemicals can be transferred through food webs and may accumulate across multiple trophic levels, resulting in potential detrimental health effects for humans and other organisms.

        https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35065936/

        https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34185251/

        • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
          6·
          1 year ago

          Or from tires, as they shred and grind themselves into a fine plastic compound so light it floats in the breeze off roadways.