RE: New York Times - Red Meat Irradiation Rules

[Bernard L Cohen <blc+@pitt.edu>]

On Fri, 12 Feb 1999, Scott Flowerday wrote:

> Don't be so quick to condemn Ms.Foreman, maybe we should first examine 
> the motives of those that support food irradiation.

	--My motives are expressed in the opening of my paper in the June
1992 issue of Nuclear News, p.60-68, as follows:
	About 20% of the world's food supply is lost due to spoilage, and
in some disadvantaged areas of the world where food is needed most, the
spoilage rate is as high as 50%. According to National Center for Disease
Control, 6.3 million serious cases of food-borne illness occur in the
United States each year, resulting in 9100 deaths. Other estimates which
include milder forms of illness are as high as 80 million cases, with
costs of medical treatment and reduced worker efficiency as much as $17
Billion. 
	Isn't solving these problems a worthy motive?


Bernard L. Cohen
Physics Dept.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412)624-9245
Fax: (412)624-9163
e-mail: blc+@pitt.edu

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