I always thought that STARKIST Lite tuna in Water meant just that, tuna in water, which is what I have been using in prepping one recipe of my kitty's home food.

I didn't THINK I had to look, but I did, and guess what: IT'S TUNA, AND VEGETABLE BROTH (SOYBEANS), WATER AND SALT.

How am I ever to know that this BROTH did not include the soy protein isolate, or other vegetable proteins that have just been banned? Their offices are closed now.

Yes, the mercury in fish in general has been a huge problem, it is in human tuna, you bet it is in most all except the most expensively farmed fresh fish out there, and more so in the lower quality fish used for pet food.

However, the PPM of mercury (poison) pales in comparison to the addition of tons of SOY and the SECRET VEGETABLE BROTH all tuna manufacturers are adding to off the shelf tuna... and that is what has been giving me the stomach ache as well... plain SOY BEANs were never meant FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION except IN FERMENTED FORM, e.g., soy sauce and tempeh... since 80% of soy beans are genetically modified ("frankenstein-food" or, just "franken food" if you will) ... even though large manufacturers e.g., StarKist tell me they don't use it, IMHO they are lying. GMO Soybeans are extremely hard on the stomach.

Soy by itself wreaks havoc with the thyroid, depressing thyroid function which can lead to Depression. I am not sure HOW the genetically engineered soy has been tampered with and what additional havoc this may be wreaking on other parts of the endocrine-CNS system... but I am looking at BASF's key role in this. None of this is by accident. This is science of the worst sort.

[If you can, just do this one day you're in the supermarket, wander down the aisles and check the labels to see in how many foods you find SOY. It's even in Kit kat bars in some way (Soy lecithin). ]

I called STAR KIST to get the ingredients in their "Vegtable Broth (Soybeans)" as marked on their package of Tuna Light with Water. Truth in Marketing should force a relabel to "Tuna in Our Secret Sauce"...because here's how that conversation went:

Me: "What's in the vegetable broth. then?"
SKist: "Vegetables in season".
Me: "Why are there soybeans in the vegetable broth, soy is a bean, not a
vegetable and a bean many have problem digesting?"
SKist:  We call Soybean a vegetable.
Me: "What is the recipe for the vegetable broth, then?"
SKist:  "We don't have that information".
Me: "Do you put salt in the broth?"
SKist: There's salt added to the tuna cans but I don't know if they put
salt in the broth.
Me: "Do you put soy protein isolate or hydrolyzed soy (which has MSG) in
the broth?"
SKist: "No."
Me:  "How can you say no if you don't have the recipe?"
SKist: "We'd have to list *those* ingredients?
Me: "Really, then if it isn't a secret, why don't you have or list the
ingredients in your secret  broth?"
Skist: We can send you a list of vegetables in seasons but that's all I
can do.
Me: "Well, thank you but that isn't going to help, your packaged and
canned tuna is so adulterated with additives and secret ingredients I
can't see my way clear to feeding this to my cat."

She told me finally, they do have one version is just "TUNA and Water" as labeled, however it is called "TUNA IN WATER WITH VERY, VERY LOW SODIUM".  I don't know why their plain TUNA IN WATER (as labeled in all the other adulterated versions) has to get the additional VERY VERY LOW SODIUM (like we the people wouldn't want it unless it were laced with their oh so secret sauces?)

Try finding that can in your supermarket, I finally did, there represented less than 2% of all the varieties there, and were practically hidden on the bottom shelf. Tuna and water only, clean as fresh tasting as possible from a can, the way it used to be in US supermarkets about 15 years ago. Taste test that with the other tuna varieties, and notice the difference it makes your stomach feel.

(IMHO "they" never stopped the experiments on the population, the ones there were hearings about in the 70's and 80's ... the difference today is there will never be any more pesky "hearings", they got better and much cleverer at "delivery" - their stated goal is a reduction of the entire population from 5 billion to 500,000 million of their "selected"... )

Yes, you're right, lots of people eat that, and I'm sure they would be upset if they were stealth adding tuna to their edamame, especially though GM processes. But remember, edamame is not called soybean it is called edamame to differentiate it from the ripened soybean, as edamame is picked BEFORE the ripening into the full soybean, so it doesn't required the fermenting that a fully ripened soybean requires.

The real point is, when people want tuna, they should not be forced to eat soy, when people eat chocolate, they shouldn't be forced to eat soy, when people choose egg custard, they should not be forced to eat soy... we're well on our way to the world described in Soylent Green.

Don't feed your kitty tuna! It's loaded with mercury!!!

Need to read this...
" A Tribune investigation shows the tuna industry has failed to adequately warn consumers about the risks of eating canned tuna, while federal regulators have been reluctant to include the fish in their mercury advisories--at times amid heavy lobbying by industry."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/broadband/chi-mercury-htmlstory,0,3799369.htmlstory

Yes, tuna and *all fish* for that matter - is problematic due to the Mercury (Hg) content... and it isn't even recommended for pregnant or nursing mothers. Every single food in the Corporate Food Grid is contaminated, perhaps exceptions are organic meats and farm raised fish.

[The biggest lesson all this is that we will never, ever  be sure again what corporate food (human/pet) is not contaminated. The best answer (for me) is to get the heck off the Corporate Food Grid, which IMHO has sunk lower in the same treacherous, interlocked waters as the Corporate Energy Grid, and establish direct ties with local farmers.]

But, the fact remains that right now, many people cannot afford quality organic meats even for themselves, which in my area go for $21.99 per pound. the US gorwn farm fish is not better priced either. So, packaged tuna likely is a choice in  80% of the people's diet's, and I applaud all those who can manage to purchase human grade tuna instead of pet food tuna for their animals.

(Is it really 80%? Yes, we know that today 20% of people own 85% of the wealth in this country, and 80% of the people get the remaining itty bitty 15% of the wealth. Working the numbers, those 80% are operating below middle class income levels, in the last 6 years. I'd say, the majority of people with families etc. may not be able to afford even good tuna, when the choice between soy-adulterated  tuna is $1.25 for 3 oz vs tuna with no soy being around $2.25, guess what they're buying).

That being said, there needs to be some "balance" in the recognition that tuna and all fish have mercury in them: instead of throwing the "baby out with the bathwater", let's take a look at a good analysis of the tuna  matter by a very wonderfully informed cat person, and she speaks to what pet owners need to be aware of wrt. tuna. 

http://www.felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm#tuna

She ends with this, and I have underlined some words so that her message is not distorted:


So, if you don't feed your kitty low grade tuna regularly or for any length of time, it is unlikely to be a cause for concern.

Therefore, I feed tuna, which my cat adores, occasionally, as part of a balanced feline diet.