According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), continued exposure to the pesticides and insecticides commonly used in commercial farming today causes cancer, birth defects, nerve damage, and genetic mutations. Also according to the EPA, 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides used in nonorganic food are carcinogenic. As the USDA offers plans to irradiate more types of foods, the debate over the carcinogenic potential of radiating meat, seafood, and vegetables continues to rage. Large food industries tend to favor such processes, because radiation increases shelf life. But many citizen action groups and consumer protection agencies in both the United States and Europe have protested, claiming that irradiated foods pose a serious health hazard for both humans and animals.*

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* Public Citizen, The Top 10 Problems with Irradiated Food," www.citizen.org/documents/Top10.pdf. Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded by Ralph Nader in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch, and the courts."

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