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Re: food irradiation



You lost me after the dead meat part:

> But what you are talking about is dead meat...

Further on you seem to be making a point about the enviro-economics/ethics
involved in producing and consuming meat.  Good point.  Very plausible
concern.  But what does that have to do with food irradiation or food
prep/preservation in general? 
----------
> From: David Fuller <sol3az@igc.apc.org>
> To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
> Cc: Tim Reynolds <t.reynolds@motiv.co.uk>;
permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
> Subject: Re: food irradiation
> Date: Saturday, September 13, 1997 3:27 AM
> 
> The object of food irradiation is to stop things moving. By that we mean 
> genes, and their products, the various toxins that some E.coli strains 
> produce.
> 
> We digest proteins that we consume, and interconvert the oligopeptides 
> and amino acids into the host of substances that make up our communities.
> 
> We convert sugars...we assemble pretty much what 4 billion years of 
> genetic experimentation has equipped us to deal with.
> 
> But what you are talking about is dead meat...
> 
> Very dead meat....meat that the autolysis process has begun to convert 
> into the classic "tender" steak. The free radicals and lipid peroxides
> have just a tiny path length before they expire in a welter of 
> half-denatured proteins (Rare Steak).
> 
> A shame that the 25 million pounds of protein-rich food was wasted in a 
> world that has so little care for its poor. We are not dealing with 
> Cordon Bleu cooking here, but simply the need to provide the basic 
> building blocks for life.
> 
> On Wed, 10 Sep 1997, Lawrence F. London, Jr. wrote:
> 
> > Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 23:54:01 -0400 (EDT)
> > From: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <london@sunsite.unc.edu>
> > To: Tim Reynolds <t.reynolds@motiv.co.uk>
> > Cc: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
> > Subject: Re: food irradiation
> > 
> > 
> > On Wed, 10 Sep 1997, Tim Reynolds wrote:
> > 
> > > > john valenzuela wrote:
> > > > > I don't see that food irradiation fits into permaculture.
> > Agreed. Why don't we try to end this thread pretty soon?
> > 
> > > It is my understanding that irradiation of food makes use of high 
> > > voltages to create ionising radiation, much the same way as x-rays 
> > > are produced. In both processes there is no involvement of 
> > > radioactive materials and no radioactive by-products.
> > 
> > Wrong. Electricity is not used. Spent nuclear fuel is used to irradiate
> > food products. It probably kills enzymes in the food utilized by humans

> > for digestion. It may destroy vitamins & produce unhealthy or toxic
> > byproducts as well.
> > 
> > For all you would like to know about food irradiation call:
> > 
> > Food and Water
> > Vermont, USA
> > 1-800-EATSAFE (there may be a new number)
> > - maybe thay have email & a website
> > 


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