Persistent Organic Pollutants and Heavy Metals (Including Mercury) - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 197

For nonspecialists, I recommend you start with the topic by Theo Colborn and col-
leagues entitled Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and
Survival? Although published in 1996, it remains a compelling introduction to the topic
and to endocrine disruption. For an up-to-date and more technical summary of the present
understanding of endocrine disruption, there is the 2012 report edited by Åke Bergman and
colleagues and organised by WHO and UNEP (WHO has also produced a summary doc-
ument). It is a very comprehensive synthesis. As you make your way through the report,
you will immediately notice the high degree of concordance between the Arctic disorders
in people and wildlife noted earlier with laboratory and epidemiological studies conducted
elsewhere. It will help you understand the Arctic Messenger's frustrations.
The Arctic Messenger's second concern relates to the so-called “Arctic dilemma”.
Earlierinthischapter,wesawhowphysicalandchemicalprocessesconspiretobringPOPs
and mercury to the Arctic from mid- and low-latitude man-made emissions. We then saw
that biomagnification has resulted in some animals at upper-trophic levels accumulating
concentrations of these substances that approach or even exceed levels at which toxic ef-
fects could be expected. Finally, we learned that these same upper-trophic-level species are
frequently the foundation of the traditional diet of Arctic indigenous peoples, particularly
the Inuit. From a nutritional perspective, these traditional foods are far superior to the pre-
served, packaged and processed foods available to Arctic communities. From a social per-
spective, the same traditional foods are also at the centre of indigenous culture. The per-
suasive power of modern advertising places a heavy impetus on Arctic peoples (especially
the young) to drift towards a southern diet. This process is known as dietary transition .
Indigenous leaders watch this trend with concern. What will the impact be on unique north-
ern cultures that are founded on direct relationships with the life cycles of the animals that
provide them with their food? Human health authorities are equally concerned. As dietary
transition has progressed, epidemiologists have also noticed changing patterns of diet-re-
lated disease. For Inuit, the most dramatic relates to a postdietary transition increase in the
occurrence of metabolic syndrome. This is the name given to a combination of clinical at-
tributes, such as obesity, high blood pressure and raised blood triglycerides, that increases