Re:Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser(excerpt)

NoDairyGirl, I think it's very pertinent, and thank you for bringing FAST FOOD NATION up. If enough people read it, this book could be instrumental in changing western culture and business practice as we know it today.
Re: radiation, Schlosser says: "Instead of focusing on the primary causes of meat contamination- the feed being given to cattle, the overcrowding at feedlots, the poor sanitation at slaughterhouses,...the meat packing industry and the USDA are now advocating an exotic technological solution to the problem of food borne pathogens...Irradiation is a form of bacterial birth control....When microorganisms are zapped with low levels of gamma rays or x-rays, they are not killed, but their, DNA is disrupted, and they cannot reproduce....Most irradiating facilities have concrete walls that are six feet thick, employing cobalt 60 or cesium 137 (a waste product from nuclear weapons plants and nuclear power plants) to create highly charged, radioactive beams. A new technique developed by the Titan Corp.uses conventional electricity and an electronic accelerator....Titan devised its SureBeam irradiation technology during the 1980's while conducting research for the Star Wars antimissile program...The meatpacking industry is working hard to get rid of the word "irradiation," much preferring the phrase "cold pasteurization"...
One slaughterhouse engineer I interviewed-who has helped to invent some of the most sophisticated food safety equipment now being used- told me that from a purely scientific point of view, irradiation may be safe and effective. But he is concerned about the introduction of highly complex electromagnetic and nuclear technology into slaughterhouses with a largely illiterate, non-English-speaking workforce. "These are not the type of people you want working on that level of equipment," he says. He worries that the widespread use of irradiation might encourage meatpackers "to speed up the kill floor and spray shit everywhere." Steven Bjerklie, the former editor of 'Meat & Poultry', opposes irradiation on similiar grounds. He thinks it will reduce pressure on the meatpacking industry to make fundamental and necessary changes in their production methods, allowing unsanitary practices to continue. "I don't want to be served irradiated feces along with my meat, " Bjerklie says."

IMO, anyone who eats meat, dairy, patronizes fast food outlets,
or cares about the American working class, should read this book! Tweet