Warning: Diatribe
The above is an illustration of the radura. Looks pretty, no? To the casual observer it looks like a green growing plant under the sun, sort of a symbol of nature and naturalness. But what is it really a sign of? It is a symbol that will be attached to produce that has been irradiated, yes, exposed to radiation to kill pathogens (as is already being done to meats). Remember the old black and yellow radura? That was less deceptive, and did not visually suggest some sort of natural process.
After the peanut butter scare, the spinach scare, the green onion scare, it might seem to start to make sense to some that we have to irradiate our food to provide a clean and safe food supply, and accept the assurances of this industry that this is completely safe. I am not expert on the safety of this process. But I need to ask the question, what is this process covering up?
It is covering up dirty food production, fecal matter in our meat, salmonella in our salads. Our food supply can already be made a great deal safer without an expensive, unproven technology that creates radioactive waste, poses potential accidental exposure to radiation and may damage the quality of our food. If we would simply follow the procedures already developed to reduce food-borne illness, and properly fund the budget-gutted food-inspection systems of FDA and Department of Agriculture, the safety of our food supply would rise greatly. (Did you know that, currently, government inspectors cannot stop the line in a meat-processing facility even if they spot gross contamination? They do not have the legal authority)(don't get me started on other aspects of our industrial food supply). This would mean that that the peanut factory in the most recent scare would NOT have rats running around, holes in the roof, and dead roasted mice mixed in with the roasted peanuts on the line. Maybe the company would NOT have been allowed to repeatedly test its products until it got a result it liked, even though previous tests showed clear contamination???
What does this have to do with gardening? Well, until the government gets it together and makes out food supply safer, you can grow your own produce. As a gardener, you have control of the inputs that go into your garden, so you control the outputs. You can decide how to garden and what amendments to use. And, because your kitchen is not a huge processing factory, the possible points of contamination are significantly limited. And remember, garden produce is fresher and more nutritious. You can grow what you like, the varieties you enjoy, what tastes good, not just what stores and ships well (the main criteria for commercials growers). [If you eat meat, you might want to try to source it locally, where you can see the animals being raised and their conditions.]
Happy gardening!
The above is an illustration of the radura. Looks pretty, no? To the casual observer it looks like a green growing plant under the sun, sort of a symbol of nature and naturalness. But what is it really a sign of? It is a symbol that will be attached to produce that has been irradiated, yes, exposed to radiation to kill pathogens (as is already being done to meats). Remember the old black and yellow radura? That was less deceptive, and did not visually suggest some sort of natural process.
After the peanut butter scare, the spinach scare, the green onion scare, it might seem to start to make sense to some that we have to irradiate our food to provide a clean and safe food supply, and accept the assurances of this industry that this is completely safe. I am not expert on the safety of this process. But I need to ask the question, what is this process covering up?
It is covering up dirty food production, fecal matter in our meat, salmonella in our salads. Our food supply can already be made a great deal safer without an expensive, unproven technology that creates radioactive waste, poses potential accidental exposure to radiation and may damage the quality of our food. If we would simply follow the procedures already developed to reduce food-borne illness, and properly fund the budget-gutted food-inspection systems of FDA and Department of Agriculture, the safety of our food supply would rise greatly. (Did you know that, currently, government inspectors cannot stop the line in a meat-processing facility even if they spot gross contamination? They do not have the legal authority)(don't get me started on other aspects of our industrial food supply). This would mean that that the peanut factory in the most recent scare would NOT have rats running around, holes in the roof, and dead roasted mice mixed in with the roasted peanuts on the line. Maybe the company would NOT have been allowed to repeatedly test its products until it got a result it liked, even though previous tests showed clear contamination???
What does this have to do with gardening? Well, until the government gets it together and makes out food supply safer, you can grow your own produce. As a gardener, you have control of the inputs that go into your garden, so you control the outputs. You can decide how to garden and what amendments to use. And, because your kitchen is not a huge processing factory, the possible points of contamination are significantly limited. And remember, garden produce is fresher and more nutritious. You can grow what you like, the varieties you enjoy, what tastes good, not just what stores and ships well (the main criteria for commercials growers). [If you eat meat, you might want to try to source it locally, where you can see the animals being raised and their conditions.]
Happy gardening!
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