I had never heard of this word before a friend of mine gave me an idea for a blog entry. When I began to read and research this topic, I was blown away by the amount of information out there. What surprised me even more was that there was more information against irradiation than for it. Each side has extreme opinions. I'll admit, I am biased on this issue. However, it's my blog and I can be.What is irradiation? Wikipedia defines it as, "the process by which an item is exposed to radiation. The exposure can be intentional, sometimes to serve a specific purpose, or it can be accidental." Boy does it ever serve a specific purpose.
Irradiation is supposed to eliminate disease-causing microorganisms. It may do that, but it also has some other drastic side-effects to our food supply. Irradiation damages the quality of food. It creates free radicals. Ok, what's a free radical? A free radical is any atom or molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell. It is highly reactive. Ok, what does that mean for all us non-chemistry people? Free radicals cause cellular damage. They trigger things such as heart disease and cancer. That is why you should never stir-fry or saute with olive oil. When olive oil is heated to high temperatures, it releases free radicals. That topic, however, is for another time.
Irradiated foods lose between 5% and 80% of many vitamins. Digestive enzymes in raw foods are also damaged, making it more difficult to digest food. Irradiated fat becomes rancid. Irradiation does not, sterilize food or provide clean food. On the other hand, it does encourage food producers to cut corners on sanitation, because they erroneously think that irradiation will clean up any sanitary issues, nor does it change the way food is grown or produced. Irradiated foods smell, taste, and feel different. The decay process is also sped up.
The FDA has approved beef, pork, lamb, poultry, wheat, wheat flour, vegetables, fruit, shell eggs, seeds for sprouting, spices, and herbal teas for irradiation. Scary???? The FDA also requires labels to inform people that the foods they are purchasing have been irradiated, but the current labeling requirements are not sufficient. Companies are only required to label foods that are sold whole. Restaurant foods, prepared foods, school foods, pre-packaged foods, etc. are not required to show the irradiation label. Also, the source of the irradiation is not listed on the label. Some forms are more dangerous than others.
No long term studies have been done to prove the safety of this process in humans. The longest human study was 15 weeks. Animal studies were done longer. The animals exposed to irradiated foods showed an increase in tumors, reproductive failure, and kidney damage, as well as a host of other medical problems. Four hundred forty-one studies were reviewed by the FDA, and only 5 were able to stand alone in the support of the safety of this practice. In 2002, the European Parliament put a moratorium on irradiation of almost all foods. In 2000, Omaha Steaks used electron beam irradiation for ground beef products. Irradiated meat costs about thirty-five cents more per pound. Seventy-five percent of ground beef in the United States, as well as fifty percent of poultry is currently irradiated. I personally, had no idea.
John Gofman M.D, Ph.D., an expert in the field of radiation and human health stated, "Our ignorance about these foreign compounds (radiolytic products) makes it simply a fraud to tell the public that 'we know' irradiated foods would be safe to eat."
I am by no means an expert, but exposing anything, especially food, to radiation just doesn't make sense. It can't come unscathed through something that harsh. While it is next to impossible to avoid irradiated foods completely, I try my best. Organic foods are not irradiated. I buy organic when I can. After researching this topic, I make more of an effort. I will fore go some luxuries to put what is healthy on my family's dinner table. It's that important to me.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Irrad/irradfact.cfm
(don't know why the font is so big. Blogger is being obnoxious and won't let me change it. Nothing special about that website.)
http://www.truehealth.org/
http://uw-food-irradiation.
http://www.mindfully.org/Food/
http://www.purefood.org/
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/
