Irradiation Misinformation

Yesterday, a politician released a statement saying that if elected, he would campaign to stop food from being irradiated as the process removes up to 80% of vitamins, leaving the food with virtually no nutritional value. He is campaigning to get organic food accepted as standard for cleaner and greener Australia.

I couldn't resist and e-mailed him. I asked him if he was also going to campaign to stop vegetables from being boiled. If you boil a vegetable for several hours, changing the water regularly, you can also leech 80% of the vitamins out of the food.

However, no-one would actually do this to their food. It's only in a laboratory where someone would attempt to remove so much of the vitamin content. The same is true of irradiation. It CAN remove up to 80% of vitamins, but that's something that would only happen in a laboratory.

Research scientists test different methods and then advise food processors which method provides the best result. The commercial practice for iceberg lettuce has shown to have virtually no difference in vitamin content between irradiated and non-irradiated varieties. Some fruits have actually been shown to hold vitamin content longer after irradiation than non-irradiated food.

The food freaks have gotten to this politician and convinced him through the usual bogus pseudo-science tricks they employ. Yes irradiation CAN leech out the vitamins, but the irradiated food that reaches the supermarket shelves still has the vitamins in it. The food that has been leeched of vitamins are in the garbage bin outside the laboratory door.

"There is only one truth. How we interpret that truth is called belief."
"The presence of belief, does not indicate the existence of truth."