Mr. Moehnke -
Thank you for your response, and for enlightening me on the E&M range/source, which I was unaware was gamma radiation from radioactive isotopes. I stand corrected and apologize for my remarks and exclusion of the nuclear aspect of food irradiation.
This knowledge does not change my perception of the right of citizens to be aware of risks and dangers that are exacerbated by decisions of public authorities.
While you tout the minimal aspect of the risks posed by food irradiation, the fact of the matter is that they are not zero, and they would be new risks introduced into the lives of otherwise unaware students and parents. Everyone is already aware of the dangers of riding in a motor vehicle or the use of scissors (hence the non-pointed variety used in elementary classrooms,) but most are not aware of the evidence of risk involved in food irradiation. As far as motor vehicle safety, protections including seat belts, crumple zones and air bags are used to further minimize the risks involved. What protections are in place with respect to the ingestion of irradiated food?
AB 1988 does not require the broadcast of risks associated with the irradiated food, just that it has a different preparation than the non-irradiated food, thus providing knowledge and choice. Your personal interpretation of the importance of these risks is one to which you are entitled, but your insistence that your interpretation be forced on the rest of society is a bit big-brotherish. Why not provide individuals with awareness of new risks, and allow them to research the facts and formulate their own opinions and decisions. The expense incurred by school districts to implement the requirements in AB 1988 is almost non-existent (how much could a couple of placard signs cost?) Thus, why would you have such information squelched?
As far as conclusions of the CDC supported by evidence, I need only point back to the Fujian strain of the influenza-A virus which was excluded from last year's flu vaccine to exemplify the possibility of such conclusions being ill-advised.
Dan Wells