Food irradiation is the practice of exposing foods to radiation. In Australia all irradiation plants use Cobalt 60, a nuclear material that emits gamma rays. Herbal teas, spices and some tropical fruits are permitted for irradiation in Australia.

Irradiation changes food in ways that have not been adequately tested for safety. Irradiation depletes food or vitamins and causes the formation of "radiolytic products" whose effect on human health is not known.

Further information here.

Chain Reaction #117 − April 2013

National Magazine of Friends of the Earth, Australia

Read online here or subscribe (details below).
 
In this edition:

·         Gillard's 'green tape' propaganda

·         Dangerous ingredients in sunscreen and cosmetics

·         Indigenous communities, conservation and the resource boom

·         Deep Sea Mining − The Pacific Experiment

·         River Red Gums face new threat

It’s the next wave of destruction for our native forests. The forestry and energy industries are now poised to unleash their plans to feed our forests into furnaces to produce electricity, convert them into bio-fuels, and into pellets for export.  This will mean more destruction of forests and their wildlife, and release massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Industry calls this ‘renewable energy’.  It wants the government to help pay for it in the form of ‘renewable energy certificates’ and other subsidies at the community’s expense.

High Risk – Low Returns: the case against uranium mining in Queensland is the NGO and civil society response to the LNPs undemocratic decision to go ahead with uranium mining in our state.