Irradiation Creates New Chemicals

[Guest guest]

Thanks to political pressure, beef irradiation received the thumbs

up from the FDA. Without a single study proving the long-term safety

of eating irradiated beef, the U.S. governent has opened the door to

widespread use of this dangerous technology.

 

The Hudson Foods recall of 25 million pounds of beef potentially

contaminated with E.coli marked the largest food recall in history.

This recall, in conjunction with congressional and presidential

persuasion, motivated the FDA to approve beef irradiation within

weeks of the passage of legislation aimed to expedite the process.

 

Dangerous Health Effects

 

No studies have been done to show that a long-term diet of

irradiated foods is safe.

Irradiation creates new chemicals in food, including known

carcinogens, like benzene in irradiated beef. Others are unique to

the irradiation process and their effects on human health remain

unknown.

 

Irradiation destroys essential vitamins and nutrients, including

vitamins C,K,E, and B-complex

 

 

But irradiating beef in an attempt to rid our food supply of

bacteria fails to address the root causes of our food satety crisis.

 

Rather than taking immediate steps to clean up and slow down this

out-of-control system, the beef industry and government advocate

zapping E.coliI, salmonella, and other dangerous bacteria with

nuclear waste.

 

The harmful effects this technology will have on human life and the

environment remain largely unknown. In effect, the beef

irradiation's approval gave the industry permission to conduct a

massive human experiment in the name of food safety.

 

But what we already know is cause for great concern:

 

Irradiation destroys essential vitamins and creates carcinogenic

chemicals in food.

Existing irradiation facilities have poor safety records, with

records of contamination, spills and dangerous human overexposures.

Scientists, including the chair of the 1982 FDA irradiation

committee, found the studies used to demonstrate irradiation's

safety inadequate and flawed

Approval Doesn't Equal Use

 

Beef irradiation's approval was based on political pressure, not

scientific proof of safety.

 

Citizen's don't want irradiated food. A recent CBS poll found that

nationwide 73 percent of people oppose irradiaton, and 77 percent

say they wouldn't eat irratiated food.

 

 

Of course, government approval of this dangerous technology does not

mean citizens will buy irradiated food. With the results of a recent

poll showing 77 percent of the population won't eat irradiated food,

we're confident the public will continue to reject the technology

for actual use on the food supply

 

Packed with information about food irradiation's history in the

U.S., the industrial food system and congressional games that led to

its approval, and the citizen actions needed to prevent its use,

this Primer was designed to help do just that.

 

The Nuclear Connection - and Risks

 

Irradiation plants and transportation of nuclear materials to them

create environmental threats to workers and surrounding communities.

The U.S. Department of Energy initially encouraged food irradiation

as part of its Byproduct Utilization Program created in the 1970s to

promote the commercial use of nuclear byproducts.

Cobalt 60 and cesium 137 are the radiaton sources used to irradiate

food. But cesium 137 is the only isotope available in sufficient

quantities for large-scale irradiation, and it's also one of the

deadliest. With a half-life of 30 years, cesium 137 remains

dangerous for nearly 600 years.