Irradiation: the opposition

The Fresh Talk poll this week was solidly in support of irradiation. But a check of the consumer press headlines reveals the issue is fairly divisive. Here is an excerpt of edit against irradiation in the SF Chronicle:

Irradiation isn't just expensive and unwieldly, it's a distraction from what we really need to be doing to secure the food supply. Beefing up the FDA's regulation team, for instance, would do a world of good when it comes to catching the next outbreak before it spreads too far. It's also time to start encouraging farming methods that won't encourage contamination. The 2006 spinach recall, for instance, was due to infected cattle feces that had tainted the local water supply. The cattle operation was located far too close to the produce operation. It's as simple as that.

Escalating food prices and escalating instances of food-borne illness should have woken the FDA up to the fragility of our food system. Unfortunately, they're still pushing policies that are safe for business but not for the rest of us.

TK: On the other hand, some readers have chimed in to voice support. The Montreal Gazette opinion piece is called "Irradiation is the answer." From that piece:

Augmented use of irradiation technology, used in conjunction with other handling and processing safeguards, would go a long way to preventing future contamination of our food by E. coli, salmonella, and listeria bacteria.

It is a practice endorsed by the World Health Organization. Rational debate on this topic has been undermined by the popular but utterly false belief that foods thus treated become radioactive. Isn't it time to give health-conscious consumers a choice? Personally, if irradiated food is safe enough for NASA astronauts, it's good enough for me.

Michael Wiener

More irradiation headlines:

Would you buy irradiated spinach or lettuce?

Fear not: salmonella outbreak shows benefits or irradiation

TK: For me, it is not a question of whether I would buy irradiated spinach or lettuce, it is whether I would pay the premium demanded for irradiated spinach or lettuce. Probably not....