Editor: In February 2004 Assemblywoman Loni Hancock introduced AB 1988. This bill requires school board approval before a school can serve irradiated meat, requires schools to notify parents, label irradiated foods as such, and provide a non-irradiated meal option.
Despite my correspondence to her office, urging her support of this bill, 17th District Assemblywomen, Barbara Matthews voted in opposition. None-the-less, the bill cleared the Assembly floor on Thursday with a vote of 42 ayes to 32 noes.
In May of 2003, the USDA approved irradiated foods for the National School Lunch Program, which provides free or reduced price meals to needy schoolchildren. This USDA decision was made despite overwhelming opposition from parents, teachers, students, and concerned citizens who oppose serving irradiated food to children.
Irradiation exposes food to extremely high doses of ionizing radiation in order to kill bacteria. In the process, nutrients are destroyed and new toxic chemicals are formed. Consumption of irradiated foods has been linked to numerous health problems in humans and animals, including reproductive dysfunction, fatal internal bleeding, and a rare form of cancer. Irradiation perpetuates the filthy and inhumane conditions in factory farms and slaughterhouses, which cause massive amounts of water contamination and degrade air quality.
How anyone can justify opposition to this legislation is beyond me. I look forward to voting in opposition to a re-election bid by Ms. Matthews, as she has again proved her priorities do not lie with the health and safety of our children, but rather with the bottom line of the agriculture industry.
Are you catching this, Senator Machado? I ask because this bill is now headed to the Senate, and I'll be watching your response.
Daniel Wells
Jefferson School District trustee
Tracy