Radioactive Milk Coming to a Grocer Near You…
Radioactive Milk & Leafy Greens:
I’ve grown weary of the lack of mainstream media coverage in the US regarding the toxic waste in our air, water (rain) and food supply (most notably milk and leafy green produce). It has been explained away by checkered graphs (via Facebook sharing), and the comparisons for exposure in layman’s terms with items like a banana to a CAT scan, or a transatlantic flight. This was helpful in the first weeks following Japan’s multiple crises. Perhaps I am overly suspicious, but I don’t think we are in the same place that we were when those helpful graphics first starting making their rounds via information sharing. So, I’ve been doing my own research. I suggest that you read the European resource I quote in this post as well.
I haven’t come up with any earth shattering answers, but I’ve come up with a few thoughts of my own.
1.Consuming radioactive milk or food products is not the same as being exposed to everyday background radiation or bananas. I for one, don’t want to drink it. I don’t want my family or friends to drink it either. Even if it means giving up my morning latte.
I think that we should all be suspicious of an isotope that finds its way into our milk supply from Japan. How did it get here in the US? Those cows ate grass with nuclear fallout. And traveled their own very long dairy cow intestinal system, and came out in milk that has been processed, minimally or not. And there it is. It’s still there.
Spinach, salads, cabbage and other vegetables with large surface areas are among those food products that are particularly sensitive to iodine-131 contamination, if they are cultivated outside and exposed to rainwater. Washing vegetables does not help, as iodine-131 is quickly metabolised by the plants, CRIIRAD notes.Fresh milk and creamy cheeses, as well as meat from cattle that have been outside eating grass, are categorised as foods that may have been indirectly contaminated and must also be monitored. Contamination of milk and cheese from goats and sheep may be of a greater magnitude than that of produce from cows.”
2. Even if US mainstream media reports are right, and levels post no threat to human health, I am guessing that the length of exposure and how frequently you expose yourself may have more impact than what has been addressed. It’s not over yet, and while media coverage has stopped for the most part, the toxic waste has not. Our children are especially vulnerable.
“If the foods (leafy vegetables, milk etc.) contain between one and 10 Bq per kg or more, it is possible that the reference level of 10 mSv may be exceeded within two to three weeks.” …the report goes on to say that, “The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer “negligible,” according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against “risky behaviour,” such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves.”
SIMILAR: NAKED JUICE MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE: RADIATION
3. There are many websites, some obnoxious, some more reliable looking that others discussing EPA (the Environmental Protection Agency) plans to raise the levels of “safe” consumption so while the levels rise, the exposure stays “safe”. Apparently, Japan is doing this for their seafood. Perhaps these are just rumors. I’ll let you know if I get a clear answer.
Update 7:30 PM PST: Not a rumor.
“We all deserve to know why some in the agency want to legitimize exposing the public to radiation at levels vastly higher than what EPA officially considers dangerous.”
The internal documents show that under the updated PAG a single glass of water could give a lifetime’s permissible exposure. In addition, it would allow long-term cleanup limits thousands of times more lax than anything EPA has ever before accepted. These new limits would cause a cancer in as much as every fourth person exposed.
PEER obtained the internal e-mails after filing a lawsuit this past fall under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) but the EPA has yet to turn over thousands more communications. “EPA touts its new transparency but when it comes to matters of controversy the agency still puts up a wall,” added Erickson, who filed the FOIA suit. “Besides the months of stonewalling, we are seeing them pull stunts such as ORIA giving us rebuttals to other EPA documents they have yet to release.”
4. Just because you buy organic, drink soymilk, or something else (like almond milk) your organic products are often grown on the West Coast. Most items are not grown in a greenhouse. So think about this before dismissing your possibility of ingesting isotopes from Japan. Companies are set to lose money if people start worrying about it, so in this country, we can’t expect them to scare us into not buying. There is a lot for them to lose financially. This, I understand. I for one though, will show more loyalty to a brand who addresses these legitimate concerns with their own research and concerned response- not waiting for the government to tell them to pull it from the shelves.
5. Maybe it really isn’t that bad for you. Maybe it really is just like eating a banana or taking a trip abroad on an airplane. But this isn’t what my gut is telling me, so I just wanted to share it with you.
So, this bit of research is being done for mothers who do not want their children (or anyone in their family for that matter) to drink milk with any level of radioactive toxic waste from Japan. If I get more answers, I will update this post.
Radioactive Particles are Falling From the Sky, Even if you Don't See Them
Horizon Dairy
Having just gotten off the phone with Horizon Dairy, I was given some somewhat helpful information although it was not terribly specific. As their website states,
In addition to the 531 certified organic family farmers currently providing organic milk to Horizon, there are 61 additional farms under contract with the company that will begin supplying milk during the next several months after all transition steps have been met.
“The fact that we added 100 family farmers to our network in 2010 reflects the consumer demand for organic milk, which has been steadily climbing,” said Mike Ferry, Horizon president. Our family farmers are the heart of our business, allowing us to provide the highest quality organic milk to our customers.
Family farmers supply about 93 percent of Horizon’s organic milk. The remainder comes from two company-owned farms in Idaho and Maryland, which were certified organic in 1994 and 1998. The average size of Horizon’s family farm partner is 91 milking cows, and 95 percent of the farms have fewer than 100 milking cows.
Armed with this information, I asked her if with so many farms, how can one tell where your milk comes from? Can you tell by the lot number? The customer service representative said no, you can’t tell by the printed number on the carton. However, she stated, the milk you purchase locally comes from the surrounding states to your local area. So if you live on the East Coast or in the South, your milk is unlikely to come from the West Coast. She did offer up the fact that, “lots of people are calling about this” and launched into a scripted “cooperation with the EPA” speech that included the fact that they would pull milk off the shelves if the EPA told them to.
So what does this mean for the future of the milk supply? Will this stay a fairly quiet issue like it is now (out of mainstream media for the most part) or will there be increased milk prices in order to purchase radioactive free milk?
Kroger/ Ralphs
With Kroger, They operate 15 Dairies. (I’m not sure if the organic line is from somewhere other than the list I found though) A handful of these dairies are on the Western Side of the US. The cartons do not reveal which dairy they came from, and I’m told that like Horizon, you can’t tell from the numbers printed on the carton. My phone call to a local Kroger resulted in a rattling off of the distribution centers, which has little to do with where the cows are or what dairy the milk originated from. And before now, perhaps it didn’t matter as much, so I am not faulting the companies unpreparedness for these questions. However, I do expect them to come up with something soon.
SIMILAR: NAKED JUICE MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE: RADIATION
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