“Almost all American and Canadian food is already being irradiated. Take note of out-of-season fruits, looking fine but with blackish and horrible tasting pulp inside. Notice also the strange looking depressions on melon skins with mush and tasteless pulp inside. It is all due to irradiation destroying fruit ripening enzymes that convert their starch into sugar.

Irradiation is also being used in a very big way for pre-packaged meats with little or no preventive effect on food-borne infections, which 36 million Americans and 11 million Canadians suffer every year. In addition to irradiation, USFDA has also approved packaged meats to be sprayed with certain viruses, called bacteriophages, which also does not prevent food-borne infections.

If this is not enough USFDA is allowing a new option for companies which involves gasing meats with ammonia. The sad part of all this is that the public at large is unaware of what damage is being caused to health by these food industries in collusion with national and international regulatory authorities….”

Mercola.com elaborates:

-- Irradiation leads to the formation of furan, which has been linked to liver toxicity, including carcinogenicity

-- Irradiated foods must be labelled with the statement "treated with radiation" or "treated by irradiation" and the international symbol for irradiation, the radura

-- Irradiated foods contain compounds called 2-alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs), which may promote tumour growth and colon cancer; they are found exclusively in irradiated foods

--Irradiation is essentially a very effective medium for masking filthy conditions in slaughterhouses and food processing plants; You can avoid irradiation by choosing locally grown, organic foods as much as possible .

Internet site reference: http://thebovine.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/dr-shiv-chopra-formerly-of-health-canada-talks-on-food-irradiation-etc/