The Cancer Prevention Coalition and Illinois Food Safety Coalition Announce a Public Information Campaign to Warn of the Serious Dangers of Food Irradiation

The irradiation industry, with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, claims that irradiating meat and other food is essential to preventing E.coli O157 and other serious bacterial food poisoning. In fact, this could readily be prevented by basic sanitary practices in feedlots and meat packing plants which the powerful meat and irradiation industries are unwilling to do. Furthermore, industry and the FDA claim that irradiated food is safe.

However, these claims are false. "There is well-documented scientific evidence on the cancer and other risks of irradiated food," emphasizes Dr. Samuel Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC). Furthermore, Paul Fehribach, Director of the Illinois Food Safety Coalition (IFSC) states: "The posters will warn of the risks to Schaumburg and Glendale Heights communities where irradiation plants have been recently constructed."

The CPC and possibly the IFSC will be displaying signs and providing handouts, across the state.

These warnings were previously endorsed by 20 statewide citizen and consumer groups in Chicago and may participate this year in our state. The groups may included: Alden Ponds Foundation, Chicago Diner, Earth Save, Families Against Rural Messes (F.A.R.M.), Food Animal Concerns Trust (F.A.C.T.), Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE), Illinois Greens, Illinois Peace Action, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Lake Michigan Interleague Group of the League of Women Voters (LMILG), Living Upstream, Media Watch, Natural Needs, Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), Nukewatch, Nutrition for Optimal Health Association (NOHA), Organic Consumers Association, and Organic Food Network.  

Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.
emeritus Professor environmental and occupational medicine at the

University of Illinois School of Public Health, and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition
2121 W. Taylor Street, MC 922, Chicago, IL 60612
email: epstein@uic.edu

website: www.preventcancer.com