Is Food Irradiation the Answer?
Look for this Symbol to Know if Your Food Has Been Irradiated
In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new food recall in the news – this time pistachio nuts are possibly contaminated with salmonella. You really have to wonder why people who are responsible for handling our food – the stuff we put in our bodies! – aren’t more concerned about hygiene including hand washing. After all, aren’t they planning to eat the food too?
Unfortunately, we’re humans, and humans are prone to careless error. And despite the sincerity of our wishes, stuff happens. So aside from having government paid watchdogs standing over each person in a food processing plant, is there an alternative?
Apparently some people believe food irradiation might be the answer. In the process of irradiation, food is exposed to radiation to kill harmful bacteria, insects and parasites, reducing food spoilage and food borne illness. It has been tested for the past 40 years and deemed by scientists in 40 countries and by the World Health Organization to be safe. Scientists claim that there is no residual radiation in the food, that the changes to nutrition and taste are minor, and are less than that resulting from cooking. And, similarly, the by-products from the process aren’t believed to be harmful. If you’re interested in reading more on this process, the CDC has a good article on Food Safety and Irradiation.
Opposition to the process comes from many sources. Some people are merely concerned that irradiated food costs more. Others feel that food safety and handling measures will become extra lax when we assume the problem is being managed with irradiation. They’re also concerned about the dangers of extra radiation in our environment. Finally, there’s a group of people that worry about the dangers of irradiation by-products despite the assurances of scientists in the field. The Center for Food Safety presents a good article on the opposition opinion.
Speaking for myself, I’m inclined to be in favor of irradiation. As much as I’m skeptical about government intervention in my food, I think the benefits outweigh the risks. The University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter, AMA, CDC, FDA, and other independent scientists, all feel that irradiation is safe, making the case for it pretty compelling. Back when pasteurization was implemented, the public experienced equal concerns, but now most of us wouldn’t drink or serve to our kids unpasteurized milk. And if we’re concerned about radiation in the environment, well, we already have it around us in hospitals, dental offices, and airports. It’s a fact of our modern world and, fingers crossed, the benefits have outweighed the risks. So for now, with reservations and a bit of skepticism, I look forward to the implementation of this technology not too far off in the future. Because until people become more reliable with their hand washing, I want to eat my pistachios without worrying about getting sick.
It Matters Where You Buy Your Food
Beauty May Only Be Skin Deep
I just read an unsettling article in the March issue of Gourmet, where they report on a very disturbing reality when it comes to the harvesting of tomatoes. Apparently there’s a virtual slave trade involving the illegal, immigrant migrant workers who harvest Florida tomatoes under the employ of independent contractors that are hired by the large packers. The workers live in squalor within walking distance of the buses that pick up the day laborers, paying exorbitant rents to live in these pitiable conditions, instead of sending their money home to poor family as originally intended. In some especially horrible cases, workers were locked in their quarters at night by the men for whom they worked, and only taken out in the day to be brought to the fields, and threatened with violence if they try to escape. Any money “earned” was kept by the boss in payment for food and board. Since 1997 law-enforcement officials have freed more than 1,00 men and women in seven different cases like this.
There is a group called the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) that is working to change this. For one, they’ve identified these slavery situations to the police. They are now working to ask large customers to pay one cent more per pound for the tomatoes, directly to the workers, although there are obstacles with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange who have legal concerns.
So what can we do, hundreds of miles away from this crime, to improve the situation? First, we can purchase tomatoes only when they are in season locally. We all know a winter tomato isn’t very good, no matter who picks it. Second, if you have access to a Whole Foods, buy your tomatoes there in the winter because they have signed on to the CIW Campaign for Fair Food, meaning they won’t buy from growers who tolerate worker abuse, and they agree to pay a price that supports a living wage for the workers. Finally, look at the origin of your tomatoes and don’t purchase the ones that come from Florida or Mexico where conditions are worse. Buy hydroponic greenhouse tomatoes instead, including the tomatoes that are sold in clusters on the vine. Although many may have issues with the fact that these workers are illegal immigrants, we still cannot tolerate this human violation. We can make a conscious choice by letting our conscience guide us not to support this shameful situation.
Desperately Seeking Satiation
One Way to Notice Your Food
In my post on Tuesday, one of the issues I discussed is whether we take the time to notice what we eat. I speculated that in not paying more attention to our food we are never satisfied by it and consequently, perhaps, ate more. So it’s funny that a day after writing that I read an article in the March issue of “Bon Appetit” about adding spices to our food. In this article the author talks about his experience with a ravenous roomate, and how the only way to cut his appetite (and save on grocery bills) was to cook spicy foods. He then proceeds to discuss research that shows how spices have been found to help the brain regulate appetite by stimulating our brain’s satiety centers.
I could go on at length about how many spices have other health benefits such as turmeric, which has been found to slow down the growth ofthe brain plaque that causes Alzheimer’s disease, but I’ll save that for another post. Today’s take home message for the weekend is to add spice to your meals whenever, and wherever appropriate. Like my husband who has a collection of hot sauces (a small sample of which you can see in this photo), you can add spice to pizza, pasta, rice dishes, eggs, or just as a topping for bread. Even if it has no other benefit, it will make you pay much more attention to your food and, hopefully, help to reduce a ravenous appetite.