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Portland Observer, May 29, 1906, Page 7
Healthwatch
As more bacteria and parasitic o r­
ganisms become resistant to our pesti­
cides, the efforts by producers and
shippers to utilize Gamma or Ionizing
radiation to sterilize food is increas­
ing. The proponents o f irradiation,
like those o f the "peaceful a to m "
claim that no health dangers exist
through
irradiation.
Proponents
claim that irradiation: I) kills micro­
organisms yet 2) pose " n o " negative
potential for the consumer. Oppon­
ents to irradiation (including myself)
claim that many potential problems
exist with this new process (claims o f
safety in countries such as Japan are
exactly the type o f testing abhored by
the F.D .A . when it comes to accept­
ing new drugs, but appears to be the
primary support for the claims o f
safety offered by the proponents).
When dealing with the effects o f radi­
ation, history has shown that the
general population doesn't manifest
many o f the clinical conditions (such
as leukemia, birth defects and other
cancers) for 10 to 30 years; certainly
we would not expect significant ill-
effects o f the process this early in its
use.
There are three major concerns that
are shared by opponents o f irradia­
tion. They are I) nutritional loss due
to destruction o f vitamins and trace
elements, 2) the creation o f "super
bacteria” similar to what has tran­
spired in the pesticide and anti-biotic
practices, and 3) the creation o f can­
cer causing substances by the conver­
sion o f molecular chemistries through
irradiation.
N u tritio n : We live in a society that
is strongly attached to convenience.
The refinement o f flour, white sugar,
etc., has led to substantially reduced
levels o f certain nutrients in the pre­
pared foods that many Americans
consume. Likewise it is doubtful to
me that the food industry w ill show
any reverence for replacement o f
nutrients that are destroyed by the
irradiation process. I have not seen
any studies on the integrity o f water-
soluble vitamins exposed to these
forms o f irradiation yet it seems rea­
sonable to believe that these foods
that are so sensitive to heat and oxy­
gen. would not be any more stable
against the radiation than are the
bacterium, etc., which show such a
high resistance to other forms o f
sterilization.
R esistance: Our use o f antibiotics
in feed for cattle has recently been
linked with the creation o f bacteria
that are resistant to the antibiotics
used in the feed. This in turn has led
to human deaths from these "super-
bacteria." On a similar vent, the use
o f penicillin to treat gonorrhea has
led to both penicillin destroying nis-
seria gonoccus (the bacteria that
causes gonorrhea) and n. gonoccus
that are completely resistant to peni­
cillin. The potential o f certain bac­
teria to develop resistance to irradi­
ation is a very real possibility. The
life span o f bacterium is very short in
comparison to human life, therefore
allowing for hundreds o f generations
o f a given bacterium within a short
period o f time. The ability o f an o r­
ganism to mutate into a resistant form
is directly related to the number o f
generations o f that particular organ­
ism that are exposed to the particular
substance (irradiation
chemicals,
etc ). Whether 5 - 20 years o f irradia
tion will produce resistant forms o f
bacterium, similar to our experience
with D .D .T ., is an uncertainly, but
certainly worth our concern at the
present.
Cancer: The transformation ol
Black center
anniversary
The Black Educational Center will
celebrate 15 years o f cultural and edu­
cational leadership in Portland at a
banquet and awards ceremony on
Saturday, June 15, 1985, from 7 - 1 0
p.m ., at PSU Smith Center B allrixim ,
located at 1825 S.W. Broadway.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for
children under 12 and are tax deduct­
ible.
The Black Educational Center,
founded in May o f 1970, is a non­
profit organization whose primary
operation is a full-tim e school for
students in kindergarten through
fourth grade The school’ s curriculum
includes reading, mathematics, sci­
ence, music, art, and Spanish. The
Center also operates the Talking
Drum Bookstore, which specializes
in Black literature.
SOUL FOOD
non-toxic (non-carcinogenic) chemi­
cals into cancer-causing agents (car­
cinogens) has been shown in a variety
o f instances through changes o f acid­
ity, heat and other physical occur­
rences. The dimerization o f human
cells from the excessive exposre to
ultra-violet light (sun-light) has long
been accepted as a cancer initialing
occurrance. Similar changes within
foods exposed to ionizing irradiation
is not at all far-fetched or unrealistic
o f a fear. Should be really expose our
children and ourselves to these risks,
without furthet research into the po­
tential o f these carcinogenic changes?
W hile most foods are not currently
irradiated in the United States, there
is a growing effort to include this as a
standard form o f preparation prior to
transport o f food goods. Many
groups favor this "n e w ” form o f
sterilization, and in fact are presently
opposing an Oregon House Bill (H .B .
2539) that simply requires a warning
label on any fixxls that have been
irradiated This bill introduced by
Rep Dave McTeague would require
the following label on all irradiated
fix 'd : “ W A R N IN G : This product
(fix 'd ) has been radiated with radio-
acive isotopes for purposes o f preser­
vation; the health effects are un­
k n o w n ." While this seems to be a lair
compromise to allow Oregonians the
choice o f whether they want to huy
and consume irradiated foods, there
is a strong industrial opposition to
this bill. Opponents o f this legisla­
tion include the Oregon Department
o f Agriculture, the Assixiation o f
Oregon Fix'd Industries, and the
Oregon Retail Council. Jame Black o f
the Food and Dairy Division o f the
Agriculture Department testified at
a recent House Committee hearing on
this bill, that "W e don’t think this
process has to result in labeling any
more than the canning o f food does,"
adding that " I t (the warning) would
only feed on public fears about radia­
tio n ." This reminds me very much o f
the stance o f Johns Mannville (as­
bestos) that infected individuals
should not he informed o f their con­
dition or the dangers o f exposure to
asbestos as it is irreversible and it
would only lead to unecessary worry
(see the Politics o f Cancer for an
in-depth report on industries and the
American Cancer Society's lack o f ag­
gressiveness
toward
controlling
known cancer causing work and life
related exposures). I feel at this point
that the entire American public is
once again being ignored by indus­
try’s attempt to find a convenient
and profitable new tool.
If you feel strongly about the future
o f fix'd irradiation in Oregon, con­
tact Rep. MtTeague’s office and/or
your own representative to support
H.B. 2539, introduced by Four law s
on Board Toll-free number to the
slate offices is I -800-892-1211. Two
representatives that appear as swing
votes to get this bill out o f committee
arc Rep. Robin Lindquist and Rep
John School). Additional inform ation
on fix 'd irradiation may be ob­
tained by contacting M r. Jeffrey H
Reinhardt o f INFO RM A X , 44 M o n t­
gomery St., 5th Floor, San Francisco,
Calif. 94104
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How to get
book contracts
Got a book idea you’d like to see
published? Dazzling a publisher with
a proposal is the key to receiving a
contract, and at the June 4 meeting
o f Willamette Writers, Brian King
will explain how to write one o f those
winning proposals in a show and
tell presentation complete with hand­
outs.
King is a writer-entrepreneur whose
first proposal to a Portland publisher
got him going as a "high-tech” w rit­
er. His second proposal netted him
a contract fo r six books, and since
then he’s written a total o f 15 books
in the computer field.
After eight years as a police o ffi­
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King's proposal for a book in that
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The June 4 meeting o f Willamette
Writers w ill be held at 7:15 p.m. at
the Imperial Hotel, 400 S.W. Broad­
way, and is open to the public. There
is a $2 50 fee for non members. D in­
ner will he served preceding the meet­
ing, beginning at 6:30. The cost is
$9.20 and this includes gratuity. Res­
ervations are necessary and can be
made by calling Lois Webb at
244-7664 or Tot Jones at 244-5872.
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