The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation [Mass Market Paperback]

Gary Gibbs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Soon, more of the food on your market shelves may indeed "last forever" - courtesy of an FDA-approved process called food irradiation. Our federal government has, without great fanfare, authorized exposing our food to radioactive material culled from nuclear reactors. The process destroys insects, kills disease-causing bacteria, and extends shelf life. Isn't science wonderful? Not in this case. While food irradiation may extend shelf life, it may also shorten human life. With each bite of irradiated food, we receive indirect exposure to ionizing radiation. The irradiation process creates new chemicals that can transform healthy foods into potential poisons. In fact, research has shown that consuming irradiated foods can cause cardiac and kidney damage, birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and even cancer. The Food That Would Last Forever presents the facts on food irradiation that the government doesn't want you to know. It examines research documenting the dangers of eating irradiated foods, and exposes the appalling abuses of the irradiation industry. It evaluates the history of food irradiation and the motives of those who promote it. It is a story of money, politics, and the embalming of the American diet.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Avery (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895295474
• ISBN-13: 978-0895295477
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "This Book is Wrong," says ignorance., June 25, 2000

By 

P. Goettlich (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation (Mass Market Paperback)

Dr. Gibbs has done an excellent job of enlightening us as to the recklessness of the FDA in approving the irradiation of food. Illustrating this is a quote from the book:

"Curiously, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given food irradiation the green light, its own Recommendations for Evaluating the Safety of Foods (Final Report) stated that 'chronic feeding studies which have substituted up to thirty five percent of the normal [lab animal] diet with specific irradiated foods ... had to be terminated because of premature mortality and morbidity.' To put it plainly, the animals in these studies got sick and died."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that eating irradiated food is detrimental to ones health. I have great difficulty trusting a government agency (FDA) that acquiesces so readily to industry, in spite of overwhelming evidence. The consumer is left in the dark, not knowing the extent of irradiation, and abandoned by the FDA to read industry supported documents. Another quote from the book:

"The people within the irradiation industry are very tightlipped about their activities, and the FDA does not require them to disclose such information for the public record. Indeed, many aspects of the FDA's food irradiation policy make it virtually impossible for the consumer to find out just how much of the food supply is being irradiated, or to know where these irradiated foods are being used."

I found this book to be most helpful. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether novice or pro.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Food Irradiation: Just How Bad Is It? Ans: REAL Bad!, October 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation (Mass Market Paperback)

I stumbled onto this book while looking for info on the possible adverse effects of eating irradiated food. This book has more documented info on those dangers than I found in toto during several days of searching the web. And the info is indeed scary. Makes me wonder if a scrubbing operation has been conducted on this info. Lots of references in the footnotes.

5.0 out of 5 stars The information in the book needs to be updated with referen, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Food That Would Last Forever: Understanding the Dangers of Food Irradiation (Mass Market Paperback)

If the date shown, 1993, is the correct date then the books is around six year old. It needs to be updated with current reference to current scientific evidence with regards to "electron beam" pastuerization. Dr. do you have a more recent book on the subject or perhaps a research article ?