RE: irradiated?

Wilson, Dale (WILSONDO@phibred.com)
Wed, 11 Mar 1998 09:03:13 -0600

Craig
>
> In the Food and Water
> article the author suggests that most of the studies are lacking in
> various ways. Is this just alarmist political ranting?
>
No study is perfect, and it is always impossible to prove the absence of
very small risks. But it looks like irradiation has been studied pretty
thoroughly, and for many years. The article you sent struck me as
polemic, grabbing at minor points and inconsistencies, while failing to
convey the main results of the many studies, and the scientific
consensus.

> Do you believe that irradiation is the best way to deal with the
> problems of industrial food production?
>
Of course not. It is a small issue. But, IMO, it is the right tool to
solve certain specific problems of food sanitation and safety.

What is interesting to me is the vitriolic response of the sustainable
ag folks. It is almost like this is (along with pesticides and maybe
GMO's) a sort of litmus test. Like you can't be an authentic
sustainable ag person if you accept it. I think that there is a
political root to all of this.

Wouldn't you say that the real driving force is resistance to
globalization and industrialization of agriculture, and that "high-tech"
ag is villified because it is a product of global industry?

Dale


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