What Japans Radiation Means for U.S. Food

I am generally what youd call an anti-alarmist. Seat belts? Cars in the 70s didnt have seat belts and look at all these people still walking around. Plane crashes? Ridiculously less likely than a car crash. Radiation in my food? Seriously doubt Im going to worry about it.Until my husband pointed out that grass and other vegetables can be concentrators of toxins. Even then, I disregarded the importance and even validity of this concern. Until he pointed out that I exist mainly on vegetables. And until Food & Water Watch wrote me an email today telling me that low-level radiation from Japan has been detected in milk in Spokane, Washington. That got my attention. Already? Seriously? Im still not willing to be alarmed, but my curiosity was piqued.So after much research, the alarming thing to me is that I cant really pin down any actual information on what I should and shouldnt eat, and I am left with the realization that nobody really knows. What they do know is that food imported from Japan is likely unsafe, as Japan has detected radiation levels in food, vegetables, milk and in their water supply Tokyos drinking water has been deemed unsafe for children. [1]

Image from www.foodandwaterwatch.orgI also learned that we know that the accident in Japan has leaked four identified radioactive chemicals into the air and into the ocean. The two main chemicals being emitted are iodine and cesium. Iodine is necessary for the functioning of the thyroid and your body is continuously replenishing its supply. What you dont want is radioactive iodine. The other two are strontium and plutonium, which appear to be less of an immediate concern than the first two. Iodine and cesium can be spread by particulate matter in both air and rain. These particles can land on crops in the US and if they land on grass that cows or other animals eat, we run the risk of ingesting them too, especially through milk. Ocean and fresh ! water ca n also take up these particles and then they can be transferred to humans though eating fish and seafood. I think the most compelling part of this information is this line, Some types of radiation stay in the body, but even if people are able to excrete or expel radiation, it will again return to the environment to waste treatment plants and then back on to agricultural lands and in waterways. [1]What I didnt learn was what this all really means, other than certainly our foods will be affected but to what extent, and is it really enough to worry about? The Food & Water Watchs solution seems the most intelligent, but perhaps also the most difficult to implement: Tightening up FDA regulations against Japanese food and beverage imports; increasing EPA monitoring of air, water, rain and milk for radiation levels; instigation of sampling programs; financial support for these regulating bodies; and a congressional move to change and restrict our agricultural and trade policies with other countries which may not be regulating their levels of radiation.Interestingly enough, at the same time as the tragedy in Japan unfolds, The federal budget currently proposed by Congress slashes critical funding for food safety and water programs, threatening the health and safety of all Americans. This includes deep cuts in meat inspection, despite the massive recalls of the past few years, and dramatically underfunding necessary water system improvements. President Obamas proposed budget is not much better. Both budgets fail to provide basic services that most of us expect, while keeping spending that directly benefits and subsidizes large corporations. [2]You can help change Congress decision on critical funding for the monitoring and safety of your food and water, by signing an email letter and letting FWW send it to your congress people and your president.Now, for another opinion, and one that is closer to my normal reaction: The Christian Science Monitor says, Worry notcontamination is highly unlikely in the US, as ! is the i mport of tainted Japanese food. [3]Im going to hedge my bets on this one, and heed CSMs advice and not worry, as soon as I write Congress and President Obama.- Jocelyn BroylesRelated Links:
Natural Remedies for Radiation and Toxic Overload
Radiation 101: How Does Nuclear Radiation Affect the Body?[1] The Nuclear Accident in Japan: Impacts on Food: Report from FoodandWaterWatch.org. Published March 31, 2011.[2] FoodandWaterWatch.org[3] Japan nuclear crisis: Will radioactive food reach US supermarkets? by Peter Grier for TheChristianScienceMonitor.com. Published March 22, 2011.Headline image Christopher Wallace