This article comes from the magazine Conscious Choice, April 2001.
The highlight of the article is this:
FDA approved irradiation of eggs in July 2000 despite evidence that
radiation destroys about eighty [a whopping 80; what's left?!!] percent of
the vitamin A in eggs. In addition to being nutrient-deficient, irradiated
eggs are difficult to cook with and contain elevated levels of free radicals
(unstable chemical compounds that react with and weaken cell membranes,
making the body more susceptible to cancer and diabetes).
We really need to work to get as much food as we can from small, local
producers. You may be amazed at what you can find and buy directly from
farmers in your area or within a 100 mile radius, if you check around!
Good luck,
Rachel
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Here is the article:
Irradiation in Illinois
Recent government approval is bringing food irradiation to a suburb near
you. Earlier this year, Ion Beam Applications (IBA) announced that its
Schaumburg, Illinois, facility obtained approval from the U.S. government to
use gamma radiation on meat and poultry. The announcement has
consumer-advocacy groups up in arms.
"The all-American breakfast is quickly becoming the all-irradiated
breakfast," said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass
Energy and Environment Program.
Despite concerns that irradiated food may cause adverse health reactions in
humans, irradiation is now reaching mammoth proportions, thanks to the
approval of irradiated products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Most recently, fruit and vegetable juices were added to the growing list,
which already includes flour, spices, whole fruit and vegetables, poultry,
pork, and beef. Irradiated foods are exposed to a radiation dose equaling
that of up to one billion chest x-rays to kill bacteria and increase shelf
life.
In recent years, the FDA was able to ignore consumer outrage, as many of the
studies showing health risks of irradiated food were conducted in the 1960s
and 1970s; consequently they were deemed "outdated" by FDA standards.
Interestingly, much of the research the FDA has used to show that
irradiation is safe is now decades old as well.
The good news is that the FDA may be losing its stronghold, thanks to the
recent release of the world's first English translation of a German study
revealing that a chemical formed in irradiate food can cause genetic
mutations. According to the study, conducted in 1998 by two prominent
pro-irradiation organizations, exposing food to ionizing radiation can cause
the formation of new chemicals, called "unique radiolytic products," that
can cause serious health problems, including "significant DNA damage" in the
colons of rats that ate the treated food. In light of a pending request by
the food industry to irradiate ready-to-eat foods such as deli meats and
precut salads, Public Citizen, the group that released the translation, is
now asking the FDA to reevaluate its position on food irradiation based on
the new findings.
The FDA has chosen to ignore findings such as those of the German study.
However, it appears that the agency also ignores its own scientists. The
recent legalization of juice irradiation was made despite concerns from FDA
researchers that the process destroys nutrients. These findings are nothing
new. The FDA approved irradiation of eggs in July 2000 despite evidence that
radiation destroys about eighty percent of the vitamin A in eggs. In
addition to being nutrient-deficient, irradiated eggs are difficult to cook
with and contain elevated levels of free radicals (unstable chemical
compounds that react with and weaken cell membranes, making the body more
susceptible to cancer and diabetes).
Free-radical formation and nutrient deprivation are just two of the long
list of side effects of food irradiation. According to Public Citizen, the
process can also spurn the development of mutated forms of E. Coli,
salmonella, and other harmful bacteria; can lead to the formation of
carcinogens and other toxic chemicals; can corrupt the flavor and texture of
foods; kills beneficial microorganisms; and does nothing to protect
consumers against meat produced under filthy and inhumane slaughterhouse
conditions.
Food irradiation is not a new process. It began in the 1950s as one of the
nuclear technologies in President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program.
After Hiroshima, the U.S. government's plan was to create a friendlier
"peaceful atom" that would draw the public's attention away from the
destructive forces of nuclear power and toward domestic uses. Under the
guise of Atoms for Peace, the government could continue the nuclear weapons
program, while offering the American public such inventions as food
irradiation, nuclear heart pacemakers, atomic planes, and the
nuclear-powered coffee pot. Food irradiation is one of the Atoms for Peace
inventions that has lasted.
Consumers have little protection against irradiated foods. Irradiated meat
sold in supermarkets must be labeled as such, but restaurants are not
required to provide that information. Whole fruits and vegetables must also
be labeled, but labeling is not required for such products as canned fruit
salad. The recent approval of the Schaumburg IBA plant to irradiate meat
only brings the process closer to home.
For more information on what you can do to protect yourself from the hazards
of irradiated food, visit the Public Citizen Web site at www.citizen.org.
-Molly Birk
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