Irradiating Food

[PlayingKoi]

I'm concerned about the fact that the FDA is putting a band aid on a very serious food situation.
It started with beef. E Coli and Salmonella are very serious, illness causing bacteria, so you must cook the meat properly to kill it. We're supposed to eat cooked meat, right? Okay.......so you want that burger rare? Here comes irradiated beef. It is labled, so you do have a choice in buying it.
Next, spinach and lettuce are a risk. Now, these are things that you can and usually eat raw. Now, the government is suggesting that all lettuce and spinach should be irradiated.
This is very disturbing to me. I'm not even going to get into the debate of whether it is safe or not. What I truly find troubling is the fact that the solution is reactive, rather than proactive.
What about inspecting farms and growing conditions? What about proper handling and shipping?
Not to mention that irradiating food only kills bacteria, not viruses. This is no solution to the fact that contaminated water, soil and people carry Hepititis.
Any thoughts?

[The Stig]

This is very disturbing to me. I'm not even going to get into the debate of whether it is safe or not. What I truly find troubling is the fact that the solution is reactive, rather than proactive.

Is your computer's monitor a CRT? Just curious.

Anyway, if America wants cheap* food, you will continue to buy lettuce from Mexico and China.

If you want scary, look into where McDonald's gets their beef. You're eating a multinational lump of beef- so if any of those 17 different cow-bits are contaminated, all of it is.

*Cheap is relative. Don't get me started on the dumb crap America subsidizes in the name of agriculture. It's rare the government subsidizes healthy foods.

[PlayingKoi]

I get where you're going with the radiation factors. I just feel that we should try to make food safe from start to finish, not just at the finish line.
I have quite the garden going this year. Yes, a few rabbits get in and I'm sure that they poop. So, there is the possibilty of some E Coli. But, I do not water with contaminated fluids and I properly wash the vegetables.
We have programs all over the world to help underdeveloped countries purify the water sources to cut down on diseses. Why can't we do the same with the farms that grow our own food.
Aside from Mexico and China, one of the biggest food borne illness outbreak was last year and it started with spinach from California.

[The Stig]

I get where you're going with the radiation factors. I just feel that we should try to make food safe from start to finish, not just at the finish line.
I have quite the garden going this year. Yes, a few rabbits get in and I'm sure that they poop. So, there is the possibilty of some E Coli. But, I do not water with contaminated fluids and I properly wash the vegetables.
We have programs all over the world to help underdeveloped countries purify the water sources to cut down on diseses. Why can't we do the same with the farms that grow our own food.
Aside from Mexico and China, one of the biggest food borne illness outbreak was last year and it started with spinach from California.

The problem is that food is purchased from farms that do this sort of thing.

So long as vast pockets of American real estate are wasted on ethanol, the same land is no longer used to grow peppers, for the most recent example.

If something can be done immediately, it would be to eliminate the ethanol subsidy and get real American farmers growing real food. As this ignorant program gets more and more tax money thrown at it, the problem will get worse.

[PlayingKoi]

It would also be wise for America to change the way we make ethanol. In Euope, they don't use corn. It is mostly made of non-food crops and the leftover parts of the food crops. We don't need the corn itself, it can be made just from the stalks.
I myself am guilty of trying for the quick reward in some cases. I have learned to look before I leap from those experiences. I believe that we can and should explore anternate fuels, but the way we are going about it is wrong.

[Sylvan]

The way to go about a "transition" would be for people to own primary and secondary vehicles. An electric vehicle for local errands and responsibilities, and a gasoline powered car for longer distance trips.

Dont just live "in" a house, create a homestead. Plant a garden and cut yourself from the utility grids.

[speaker]

It would also be wise for America to change the way we make ethanol. In Euope, they don't use corn. It is mostly made of non-food crops and the leftover parts of the food crops. We don't need the corn itself, it can be made just from the stalks.
I myself am guilty of trying for the quick reward in some cases. I have learned to look before I leap from those experiences. I believe that we can and should explore anternate fuels, but the way we are going about it is wrong.

I couldn't agree more.

I think the use of corn for ethanol should be halted immediately, no matter what the expense, and research on the use of fibre materials for ethanol expanded.

But to get back to irradiation. I've used irradiated beef for several years. When Wegman's discontinued their sales of this ground beef because the original producer went out of business, I wanted Wegman's to buy him out and do it themselves, which eventually they did.

As of now, it's probably not been a profitable endeavor for Wegman's, but in light of suggestions that some fresh vegetables be irradiated, it will pay off, and be healthier.

[The Stig]

But to get back to irradiation. I've used irradiated beef for several years. When Wegman's discontinued their sales of this ground beef because the original producer went out of business, I wanted Wegman's to buy him out and do it themselves, which eventually they did.

As of now, it's probably not been a profitable endeavor for Wegman's, but in light of suggestions that some fresh vegetables be irradiated, it will pay off, and be healthier.

The equipment is not cheap. Worse, junk science in America reigns King- thank public schools and the mass media for that.

People see "irradiation" and think radioactive. The sad thing is that it's safer than any organic produce sold in the very same store.

[PlayingKoi]

The equipment is not cheap. Worse, junk science in America reigns King- thank public schools and the mass media for that.

People see "irradiation" and think radioactive. The sad thing is that it's safer than any organic produce sold in the very same store.
Yes, it is technically safe since the irradiation comes from bombarding the food with high doses of UV light. This is a form of "radiation".
Alot of organic produce can harbor bacteria the same as conventional produce. The main idea is that there are no pesticides, hormones and medications used.
My main point is still, no matter how "safe", why should it have to be done in the first place?

[Effigy]

I have quite the garden going this year. Yes, a few rabbits get in and I'm sure that they poop. So, there is the possibilty of some E Coli.

IIRC (it's been many years since that biology course) E coli only comes from the uh, poop of a meat eating creature. So unless you have the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python & The Holy Grail in your garden, no worries.

That's why farmers have used horse, cow & pig manure for years as fertilizer - they're herbivores.

[sharky]

IIRC (it's been many years since that biology course) E coli only comes from the uh, poop of a meat eating creature. So unless you have the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python & The Holy Grail in your garden, no worries.

That's why farmers have used horse, cow & pig manure for years as fertilizer - they're herbivores.

plus they had tons of it laying around that they needed to do something with

[The Stig]

Yes, it is technically safe since the irradiation comes from bombarding the food with high doses of UV light. This is a form of "radiation".

Not sure where you're going there but food is irradiated with an electron beam, which is not radiation (UV/IR/X-ray, etc) in the conventional sense, though I'm sure some physicist can prove me wrong :)

Alot of organic produce can harbor bacteria the same as conventional produce. The main idea is that there are no pesticides, hormones and medications used.

'Organic' food is not pesticide free, unless it's guaranteed to be.

My main point is still, no matter how "safe", why should it have to be done in the first place?

The same reason we have health inspectors in restaurants. You can never be certain you're eating safe food unless you watched each and every aspect of it being produced, processed, prepared, and served.

[speaker]

IIRC (it's been many years since that biology course) E coli only comes from the uh, poop of a meat eating creature. So unless you have the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python & The Holy Grail in your garden, no worries.

That's why farmers have used horse, cow & pig manure for years as fertilizer - they're herbivores.

Cows are fed a mixture of feed and, yes, dead cows. This makes me shudder. Along with all the other additives, hormones, antibiotics and stuff, they have reduced beef to a dangerous food.

I still love it.