Re[2]: food irradiation stuff (radiation biology lesson?)

[Ruth Weiner <rfweine@sandia.gov>]

     Yeah, but... you don't buy vegetables in order to plant the seeds, you 
     buy vegetables in order to eat them!!  And the seeds you eat (e.g., 
     tomato seeds) sure don't germinate and grow plants in your gut.  If 
     you want to grow vegetables, you buy seeds (that you don't eat), or 
     better still, plants that have been started, the latter, especially if 
     you live in a cold climate.
     
     An aside: germinating seeds are a problem when spent sewage sludge is 
     used for fertilizer, because the seeds introduce foreign species into 
     ecosystems.
     
     Just my own opinions.
     
     Ruth F. Weiner, Ph. D.
     Transportation Systems Department
     Sandia National Laboratories
     Mail Stop 0718
     P. O. Box 5800
     Albuquerque, NM 87185-0718
     505-844-4791
     505-844-0244 (fax)


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: food irradiation stuff (radiation biology lesson?)
Author:  Martin_Haas@notes.ymp.gov at hubsmtp
Date:    2/17/98 9:35 AM


There may be a potential fly in the ointment /food with the current round 
of explanations.  This has to do with the germination potential of seeds 
within food.  If the food radiation levels are sufficient to kill bacteria, 
and higher organisms, won't it also kill whatever germ cells are in  seeds 
that may accompany fruit.  To the public, the inability of seeds to 
germinate may constitute some form of death to the food in question.  The 
logical explanation for this of course is that this is not dissimilar to 
the effects of heating.
     
I only bring this up as a devil's advocate  in order to help the collective 
we fully think the explanation through before this is presented to the 
public .
     
     
Martin_haas@notes.ymp.gov