AlterNet.org:
How Much of Your Food is Being Nuked Before it Hits the Shelf?
By Brita Belli, E Magazine. Posted July 5, 2007.

Excerpt:
"India alone grows 1,000 varieties of mangoes in such delectable variations as the sweet, orange-skinned Alphonso, the Bombay Green and the Bangalora. Here in the U.S., we rarely see more than one lonely variety at the local supermarket, but that's all about to change. Soon consumers will be able to sample the sweet and tart nectars of many more imported fruits and vegetables from Thailand, India and Mexico piled high in the produce section. But there's a catch: this fruit will arrive irradiated."

[www.alternet.org]

Sharrhan:


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Irradiation may be presented to the public as mainly a healthful, sanitary procedure but I'm seeing it mostly as a benefit for businesses.

I suppose I can't blame them for wanting that longer shelf life & being able to use slower, cheaper transportation. That's business. But just because the product will be delivered, will last longer, may be cheaper for retailers & would create more industry (irradiation processing) doesn't mean it will be a good product.

There are more than enough doubts raised for me to say that if I know it's irradiated I don't want bo buy or eat it.

I think it's interesting that according to an article I read (and I'm sorry I can't find the darn thing right now) India banned irradiated wheat because wheat is a staple food there & they've found enough evidence that irradiation is not healthy. Apparently they allow irradiation but not on such a heavily consumed food. Don't quote me because I'd want to re-check that to make sure I understood it correctly.

And, just as we suspected, the recent California grown spinach E coli outbreak is being used to argue that irradiation is a necessary answer to food-borne illness. But it sounds like it may be a little like antibiotics in that it kills good bacteria (and nutrients) too.

I don't see irradiation as an evil plot, I see it as business profit. Those profits are being valued more than public health. Unfortunate but not surprising.

In the movie Jurassic Park 1 I remember the scientist (played by Jeff Goldblum) saying something like "We were so concerned w/ whether we COULD do it we didn't think about whether we SHOULD.

Kit

As a raw foodist, I consider irradiated food cooked, so it really disturbs me that my favorite tropical fruits are going to be off limits.

Irradiated food is not only about 1/3 less nutritious, but it has an excessive amount of free radicals that cause disease.

Kit--
Yes, I agree with you that it's all about business. That's just my point though-- Codex isn't concerned with human health, not one bit. It's all about the bottom line for the food and drug industry. And in fact, Dr. Grossklaus, the German Codex director, stated that nutrition has nothing to do with health! He apparently believes that only medicine creates health, I guess.

I just signed up and am on a waiting list for shares in an organic farm so I can get organic vegetables and maybe a little bit of fruit next year, really cheaply. The good that will come from this is that people will think and buy local, and hopefully that will create a flourishing of organic farming on a small scale. The harm, though, is incalculable, as so many of our friends and loved ones who do not understand what's happening to them will be malnourished and unable and experience a diminished quality of life.

Sharrhan:


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Wow - I come over here to post a resolution they're trying to pass to gain more control over our health, and find this information from you, Sharrhan -- it's hard not to get discouraged. It's hard to keep up with it all. If only more people cared.

They have been iradiating most spices for years. It is not a new thing to iradiate the mangos and the avacados. It is unfortunate thought that we are not aware of this process when we purchase the foods. Iradiation has been around since before the 50's but it was not a widly accepted way to preserve the foods. It was also very expensave to have an iradiation plant built. Iradiation does take away precious enzymes from our food.

In the 6/24/07 South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspapter there was an article under the heading South Florida authorities work to keep radiation out of terrorists' hands. Portions of two paragraphs caught my attention, even though they weren't the main gist of the article:

Quote

On a typical day, there's no end to the radiation in South Florida.

Pottery, smoke alarms, medical devices, road tools, exit signs, watch dials—even some fruits and vegetables—emit radiation. All have set off radiation detectors guarding ports and public buildings at one time or another.

In Amsterdam and other ports, detectors have been routinely set off by smoke alarms, television sets, and fruits and vegetables that have been irradiated to kill insects.

Notice the phrases I highlighted in bold. Makes me consider if in the near future we'll have to be carrying a veggie version of a Geiger counter or other radiation detector to the grocery stores.

Wishing you vibrant health

Brave New World here we come. ;-p

Sharrhan:


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right, its not evil, its business

if buying fresh, organic, local produce becomes important to a larger part of the population - which can only happen by having examples to follow - then what choice to businesses have but to capitulate. In every neighboorhood I see, there are organic specialty stores popping up. of course most of these just focus on organic *products* and overpriced imported fruit. but it really is a huge change.

I set foot inside a whole foods for the first time in awhile. they have alot more emphasis on local produce, commercial and organic. not a big fan or the org myself. but its becomming a major share of food shopping across the US. huge signs that say "LOCAL PRODUCE" have to sink in more subliminally then any other type of campaign.

things are changing in a positive direction. there are no conspiring evils, other then those that have always been around to pick the pockets of those not looking. really what it comes down to is some people just do not give a @#$%&, its the taker mindset, good luck changing that overnight.

we want to increase peoples awareness of the avaliable tools for health, which are with us now, for as long into the future as I can see. The 'brave new world' has been with us since the book came out, you have to choose whether you want to live in it or not. some people choose to see this as their reality, but even so at its worst its no more severe I imagine then the climate of the 50's

if mangos from india is even an issue, all we have to do about it is make sure people that this affects are aware of that. for a larger part of the population, it really isn't even an issue, for an irradiated mango is still a health food for most. so where is the conspiracy?

For the record, I don't think avocados are irradiated. ALL mangos are (that are imported), even organic ones, it has to do with infestations in the seeds.

>things are changing in a positive direction. there are no conspiring evils<

Depends on what you mean by 'conspiring evils.' Check out what's going on with FDA and Codex lately and you will understand that things are not 'getting better' and yes, they're conspiring in the sense that it's all about the corporate bottom line, and not at all about health or nutrition.

For the record, I didn't say it was a 'conspiracy.' I said it was an injustice. However, the conspiracy is that WE HAVE NO INPUT into what is done to our food. All of these new ways of ruining our food are just forced on us.

Have you done any reading about this, Anaken? Have you watched "We Become Silent" or "Nutricide"? Have you gone to the websites that I have been talking about? If you had, you would know what's going on and you wouldn't be nearly as blase about these issues.

Sharrhan:


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Ugh, this makes my head hurt. I feel like one day I'm going to have to starve to death instead of eating the only thing I want - the world's most simplistic source of food, that has been repeatedly raped by our country. That was really melodramatic. Hahahaha. But it's how I feel.

rawfrancois--
I know how you feel; I felt that way a few times. I was waking up feeling panicky when I was investigating this stuff. However, I've been meditating about it and even had a healing group helping me with this issue, and what has transpired is that I feel strongly now that even though some of these injustices will transpire, we'll still have avenues open to us to obtain unadulterated food.

That said, it's disgusting and disheartening. What it's done for me, however, is wake me up to ways in which I can personally provide my own food supply, which is empowering. I'm on a waiting list for my own public garden plot and for a weekly delivery of organic produce (both will happen next year), and in the meantime I'm reading up on container gardening.

What breaks my heart is that so many around us-- our friends and loved ones-- will be unaware of the dangers and will suffer, not knowing why their health is declining. The system is set up so that people are so busy making a living they hardly have time to investigate what's happening to their resources, and many do not know about Codex Alimentarius or any of the other changes that are happening at the top of the chain of command as national sovereignty takes a backseat to global tyranny.

Sharrhan:


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Hi Kwan
I haven't read the codex but I get the gist of it. I have read and heard tons of info over the years concerning humanities suppression in all its various forms which can essentialy be pinned to a ruling elite who controll the majority of the worlds resorces.
There are still many who will quickly lable such a statement as another conspiracy theory which along with plain disregard, is a perspective that is nurtured by the establishment as a process of its own support system.
I hardly even blink when I hear any latest developments now days as insidious as they may be because I feel that one can easily become convinced of the need to "fight" back, or simply panic in the face of such adversity.
IMO neither of these approaches will actualy help regardless of the precautions one takes or the vigilance with which one applies to preventing them.
I personaly feel that they, like every other issue facing humanity today are a result of the collective mindset in which we all contribute with our own personal grievances and judgements. This said, I also believe that the solution lies in using the same process which has created them to recreate them into something better.. i.e create peace insted of anger in our personal lives and channel our energies into supporting the desired state rather than fighting the one that is not.
This is just my humble opinion and every day I seek to understand it better

Hi Lightform,

A group of us who regularly correspond about Codex were just discussing this very subject!: the need to cultivate the love vibration in order to come through this perilous time in the best way possible. It will take all of our spiritual resources and a deep commitment to developing compassion and fearlessness, forgiveness and kindness to be successful activists. Make no mistake about it, though; in every time of crisis there were those who rose up and acted in the face of oppression. Think of Gandhi and King. Imagine if they had just said "Well, we collectively created this, so we'll just meditate and try to think better thoughts." It's a little like walking a tightrope: a delicate balacing act in which on the one hand we must go within and find the deepest core of LOVE and let it permeate our mind and actions, and on the other hand we must be prepared to be spiritual warriors and take action in any way that we are called to act.

(That's my 2 cents' worth.)

Sharrhan:


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Hmmm..
I'm not sure about this eh, this area seems to get a little grey for me Kwan.
Or maybe its just that it scares me and I don't want to accept its implications for myself.
I'm fairly convinced at this point that the use of force to achieve any ends is a method born of the human missunderstanding of god/self. There have definately been key figures who have shone as becons of righteousness in such times as you mention, but I personaly feel that the effectiveness of their actions came from their courage and self sacrifice rather than the specifics of what they actualy did.
An example off the top of my head is when Gandhi went on his many fasts how it had such huge impact on the nation, where if it had been another it may have done nothing. The courage of certain peoples actions has inspired the people to change themselves, but it seems to be the clarity of mind which is the real mover.
So I don't realy understand the connection between action and effect other than that ones intention and purity of heart seems to be key. If this is the case then what action is ever necessary ?

>The courage of certain peoples actions has inspired the people to change themselves, but it seems to be the clarity of mind which is the real mover.<

Wow, really well said. I couldn't agree more. It's the love and the purity of mind that IS the real mover, and that's the part we're striving to realize.

>So I don't realy understand the connection between action and effect other than that ones intention and purity of heart seems to be key. If this is the case then what action is ever necessary ?<

Oh absolutely!-- even though intention and purity of heart are key, specific, inspired action is very often the fruit, I believe. This is where we must be very careful and consider how vital it is that after we get the right vibration and set the right intention, we listen within and then take action, if it is our role to do so in a given instance or situation. Not everyone is called to act in all cases, naturally.

For instance, I know that Codex and world peace are the two larger societal issues I am to work on as my 'service' in the world (not as my career focus , which is music, though I use music toward the end of inner and outer peace), at least in the present moment in time, so I don't waste a lot of energy elsewhere.