ACTIVE
When Denise Anne and I started Radiation Station exactly four months ago today, we had no idea how much the ongoing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex were going to change our lives.
Within days, we began live-streaming ambient interior and exterior radiation readings 24-7 in the western Los Angeles Basin where millions of people live. We equipped ourselves with High Efficiency Air Particle (HEPA) filters and a countertop reverse osmosis water purification system which we use along with a previously purchased Berkey water filter.
We began growing a variety of sprouts in this controlled environment. We then inventoried our previous survival supplies which are robust because of the threat of earthquakes in Southern California. Figuring out what we then needed became paramount considering the meltdowns’ ongoing and increasingly lethal threats.
While the ambient air readings have been generally benign, our tests of rain water, so-called June Gloom mist, HEPA filter dust, some powdered milk, chocolate and fruit have shown preliminary indications of elevated radiation levels that point to a culprit upwind of us, Fukushima. Astronomical amounts of highly fissile radioactive material have been spewing out of Fukushima unceasingly since three reactors melted down March 15.
Generally, Los Angeles has been the beneficiary of being south of where the jet stream across the Pacific has flowed since March. Fukushima is upwind of the United States, however, and other regions like the Bay Area, Northern California, the Northwest and Midwest have been hammered by high radiation. Potrblog in St. Louis has repeatedly tested rainwater coming in at 62 times background radiation, a level that is dozens of times more than what the Environmental Protection Agency considers harmful.
GO TO EAT ME! RECEIPTS – Requires requested password
So where is the EPA in testing your food for Fukushima fallout contamination? They tested for it from March 11 through June 30 and then said sayonara to enhanced monitoring even though many of their readings were abnormally high.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has repeatedly discounted any possibility that Fukushima fallout could impact America. This week, the NRC released its Near-Term Task Force report on Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century.
Scanning this report we discovered that it includes a dedication to individuals who responded to the Fukushima disaster for their efforts that have resulted in “no fatalities and the expectation of no significant radiological health effects” from the disaster.
The amount of radiation that has oozed into the ocean and steamed into the air at Fukushima is huge and will most certainly have significant radiological health effects. To dare to print such dangerous nonsense belies either incomprehension of science or another agenda driven by money and power. Neither is acceptable.
The government’s take on this is that it’s over even though just one of the destroyed reactors contains enough Plutonium-239 to kill every person on the planet six times over. The deliberately misleading head-in-the-sand policy adopted by the government has put the citizenry at risk without their consent.
Over 10,000 multi-media radiation tests across America since 2011
The EPA decision to halt testing came over a week before the Japanese owner of the stricken reactors, TEPCO, admitted that three of the six reactors melted down on the first day. The EPA didn’t reconsider resumed fallout testing upon learning this nor did it when it was subsequently informed through the media that these reactors have undergone something much more terrifying and uncontrollable which is called a melt-through.
A melt-through is when the molten goo of a reactor in full meltdown burns its way through its containment vessel of steel and concrete. Now TEPCO says it won’t even be able to fix the destroyed fuel rods for at least ten years as if these “rods” even were intact.
And the EPA has not even made a peep about resumed and more robust radiological testing across the nation that has already seen environmental contamination of air, water and food. Finds in foodstuffs and rainwater by the University of Berkeley have shown extensive impacts from radionuclides associated with meltdowns. Fukushima’s fingerprints are all over the place.
The American people are on their own, ‘reassured’ by people claiming authority to posit what on the face of it is a complete falsehood: that this out of control situation, which is getting worse by the day, could in no way affect the health and well being of the creatures that inhabit this land. It already has. It could take years or decades to see the tragic results.
Geiger counters are virtually impossible to obtain. Most Americans haven’t a clue about the threat that this silent and growing menace poses to our water supply, crops, animals, land, environment, health and gene pool. Even now, with two reactor complexes threatened with flooding from the Missouri River and another back east spewing water from its reactor, most folks carry on as if there aren’t three meltdowns upwind of us, three melt-throughs that threaten an ecological calamity the likes of which humanity has never seen.
They won’t see it either because radiation is invisible. It’s also tasteless and doesn’t smell. That makes foraging for fallout-free food so challenging.*
Even though Denise Anne and I have radically adapted our diet to the new realities of radiation contamination, searching out pre-March 11 produced items, finding food grown south of the Equator, growing our own and knowing which foods currently on the grocery shelves were made with last summer’s harvest, most corn being an important example.
We still consume items that aren’t guaranteed to be fallout free. These items have to be tested.
Lucky for us we have an Inspector nuclear radiation monitor which I have used for nearly a dozen years in my role as an environmental investigative reporter. While it may not catch everything due to limitations beyond my control, it sure does catch a lot.
When we go shopping, we first aim to shop rad-smart and then test the items upon returning home. Sometimes, however, I will test items in stores to save me the problem of buying something I know could be impacted by Fukushima. Other times, I’ll test the groceries out in the car before driving off.
The EPA is not testing our food adequately. Our answer to that is Eat Me!. We want to share with you our purchases in an effort to let you see what we have found to be rad-free. It’s no guarantee that these items are totally rad free. But you can damn well bet the farm that I’m not serving up anything contaminated to my bride. And I will work to the best of my ability to find food that’s not hot and test the stuff that may be.
The receipts we’re sharing are from post-Fukushima purchases and do not include everything we eat (we are fortunate to be stocked up on plenty of pre-Fukushima food). You may notice we aren’t exactly gourmet diners and it’s possible you’ll not share our preferences.
We simply want to put our money where our mouth is and our mouth where our money is so to speak. You can too – please feel free to share your discoveries and tips in our Comments section below.
One last thing – if you use these receipts to better judge food options open to you, you agree to abide by our Disclaimer. Send us an email to ask for special Eat Me! receipts password.
We will update Eat Me! with receipts every time we shop.
Bon Appétit!
GO TO EAT ME! RECEIPTS – Requires requested password
Over 10,000 multi-media radiation tests across America since 2011
Hello, just now came across your website while searching for possible radiation in seaweed (nori etc).
Just amazing….did not know that the radiation is still here.
Maybe good to publish a short list of 10 worst and 10 best foods to eat? Anyway, looking forward to the password and reading further.
Thank you very much
Ditte
Tray, sorry I just saw your comment. I’ve been off duty, having a baby. 🙂
I guess you have to decide your own threshold for what is too hot. Some say 15%? The Inspector, which I use, says it has a +/- 15% margin of error. In that case, all of the foods I tested yesterday, for example, would be considered fine to eat. That said, food testing is not that accurate, right? The water in foods can “hide” radiation? We are eating all the foods listed. We rarely drink milk and limit dairy. No Pacific seafood for us, and no wild mushrooms. We haven’t found much that has tested really hot, for what that’s worth.
Some food testing, all tested indoors for 10 minutes.
bg: 46.6
milk (CA): 51.1
costco unsalted mixed nuts: 52.4
blueberries (canada): 50.1
chobani strawberry yogurt: 47.1
avocados (CA): 50.2
Hey Kim, Thanks for posting the food testing you have done. So are almonds okay and brown rice okay? or are they to high? I forget how to do the reads. Thanks!
Internal background: 44.2
apples (grown in WA): 45.0
fish oil capsules (Nature Made brand): 46.2
unbleached wheat flour: 42.6
Thought I’d try to get some food testing done to share. Sorry I’ve been MIA for a while, it’s been a crazy year for us!
Hemet, CA interior background: 45.2
almonds (grown in CA): 49.0
pistachios (grown in CA): 49.3
brown rice (uncooked): 53.4
I will try to get a few more done each day until I test the staples in our house.
@tray: Hey tray! You indeed are an “OR” (Original Raddie) and part of the family. It’s great to hear from you! Denise Anne and I have been testing hundreds of food products, knowing full well what to avoid thereby reducing our risk and not wasting money – i.e. anything from the Pacific, anything from Japan and anything with carrageenan in consumer products. Check out the peanut butter and other foodstuffs we bought before our trip to the desert where we found super-hot radioactive Death Valley rain. The Extra Crunchy Skippy peanut butter tested normal – made in the great state of Arkansas with an expiration date of 14 December 2014. Your welcomed comments, tray, are indeed an early Christmas present! Keep ’em coming. Note that almond milk should be on the ‘no way’ list. We have found, however, sharp cheddar cheese and Monterey jack cheese from Smart & Final have been consistently testing at background. Stock up before Fukushima Unit 4’s spent fuel pool possibly goes kablooey!
Thanks Suzanne! We love honey I will definitely use that instead of jelly. I have been using organic jelly/ all fruit but I will use the honey, thanks.
Has anyone gotten any bad reads on peanut butter? Milk? Almond Milk? Yogurt? Cheese? or any fruits or veggies? Also I’m trying to get a great vitamin for my kids can anyone suggest one that they have tested with a geiger counter and give me the expiration date so I can pick it up. Preferably organic. Now that they are placing WiFi in schools I have to keep the immune system boosted on my children. If anyone tested peanut butter can you tell me the brand and expiration date of that too. Thanks! I haven’t been here in a while but I have been part of this family since it all started.
Tray– You’d be better making that PB and organic honey. Organic HONEY is one of the BEST things for body, commercial jelly is generally full of sugar, and not healthy. You want to BOOST nutrition right now. Honey is very cleansing and good for you.
Also honey has a infinite shelf life.
Glad I just found your site. I’ve been checking out readings on Netc.com
Am a health nut and have always eaten veggie/organic. Live on Monterey Coast blocks from the beach, we are heavily sprayed with chemtrails, I often feel very sick, lungs hurt, etc.
This is the ‘salad bowl’ of the world. Until you live in Northern California don’t really appreciate how much food is grown here, wine, dairy, organic etc.
Monsanto is in league with the chemtrails, a side ‘benefit’ for them is contaminating organic farms like Earthbound that is here, and as you undoubtedly know, they are spraying aluminum and have patented aluminum resistant seeds.
Some of the best things to eat are sprouts/wheat grass. Can buy supplies of organic seeds, soilless sprouters on Amazon. And can sprout indoors within days, very cleansing for system.
Canned food is not the best as, no GMO, also want to keep an alkaline system.
Detoxifying daily habits for chemtrails~
Wheatgrass juice is one of the very best things.
Chlorella – Pulls heavy metals from tissue and encapsulates toxins to prevent reabsorption in the digestive tract.
Pectin – Absorbs heavy metals in the intestines and assists with removal.
Cilantro – Eliminates mercury, lead and aluminum from the body.
Kombu seaweed – Rich in heavy metal-absorbing alginate.
Oxygenated silver – Destroys bacteria, viruses and fungus.
Activated charcoal – Binds to heavy metals for safe removal from the body.
As a powerful detoxifier of heavy metals, parasites, pollutants, bacteria, fungi and viruses, bentonite clay is an excellent defense against chemtrails. For internal consumption, only ingest the food grade variety known as calcium bentonite clay. It can also be used in the bath for gentle detoxification through the skin.
Additionally, DMPS (sodium 2,3-dimercaptopropane-l-sulfonate) is a sulfuric acid salt which is extremely effective in removing heavy metals from the body. In laboratory tests, when an intravenous shot of DMPS was given, 90 percent of heavy metals were excreted through the kidneys after 24 hours. Oral supplementation is also an option, although it’s considered less effective.
Thanks…
Strawberries from Mexico– 46.1 on a 10 min int average
10 minute averages in Ventura, CA
background interior: 50.5
avocado (Mexico): 53.6
Tillamook cheddar (orange label): 40.2
A few food samples, taken with my Inspector. Take them for what they’re worth.
All are 10 minute averages.
Interior background: 44.4
3 year Vermont cheddar: 43.9
plain yogurt, drained and made into “cheese”: 44.7
cherries from chile: 48.3
sprouted wheat bread: 45.2
spirulina tablets: 54.5
Re editor’s note:
I agree.
25.11.2012 – Report of Infant Powered Milk from New Zealand in South Korea, tested with Cesium Cs-137 in it.
http://securitytokyo.com/data/zenrakuren.html
http://nuclear-news.net/2012/11/25/cesium-137-in-infant-milk-in-south-korea-from-new-zealand-oct-2012/
Cs-134 was also detected in the Infant Powered Milk from New Zealand, that was sold in South Korea. Look at the chart results in the report to see the Cs-134 detection.
This is significant because the Cs-134 contamination could only have come from the Fukushima Nuclear disaster.
This presents a number of possibilities.
1. Fallout from the Fukushima Nuclear disaster has reached New Zealand.
2. A contaminated item that originated outside of New Zealand was mixed into the milk.
3. It was contaminated in South Korea during processing and packaging.
The latest International reports of isotope food contamination are listed here, at The Food Lab.
http://sccc.org.au/archives/2861
[EDITOR’S NOTE: We discussed this troubling finding on Jeff Rense show last night. Considering that Security Tokyo also tested New Zealand powdered yogurt with Cs-137 in it as well, we would pick #1 as the reason for its presence.]
interior in Ventura: 49.1
box of CA peaches: 40.2
Geez, Monsanto sure has had it’s mitts busy in our business! I wonder if we dug deeper, if Monsanto worked in tandem with GE over in Japan. Nothing would surprise me anymore.
@Julianne – I had a similar conversation today with Prop 37 activists outside of Trader Joe’s in Santa Barbara. I said that once we get Prop 37 passed maybe they can switch to lobbying for testing of food for radiation. One of the two people agreed and the other was not up to speed on the severity of Fukushima and suggested that if I was “worried” about radiation, eating kabocha squash to remove radiation (um, no, but whatever). How would you know if the squash is not itself contaminated if you didn’t test it first? He had no response.
The crazy scary thing is the news this week about the human radiation testing in St. Louis. I’d forgotten Monsanto was based there. Monsanto is the producer of Roundup, GMO seeds, rBST, rBGH, and plastics. Monsanto also ran the atomic bomb chemical producing lab as the Dayton Project that was part of the Manhattan Project. Monsanto also produced DDT, PCBs, and Agent Orange.
A wonderful comment found on enenews (see quoted, below) Please get to know Prop 37. This might be the beginning of wider effort in foodstuff testing… my hope, radiation disclosures shown on the labels. Other states tend to piggyback and imitate Cali laws, especially ones that are voter-initiated. Does anyone see a nexus between genetically modified seeds (in essence, food) and rads since radiation is known to cut up DNA strands and kick them around into new shapes and forms?
“You may be onto something. St. Louis is the worldwide headquarters of Monsanto (or Monsatan as some people call them). The world’s most hated corporation. They’ve been in the business of death and destruction (including nuclear) from the beginning.”
“Check out this link for more on that:”
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Monsanto%27s_Global_Pollution_Legacy
“IF YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA DON’T FORGET ON NOVEMBER 6TH TO VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 37 THE RIGHT TO KNOW FOOD LABELING ACT.”
“Monsanto has been genetically engineering our food going on two decades now. This despite numerous studies showing that they cause cancer. Europeans decided from the beginning to label all foods containing GE ingredients so that people can opt out of the big experiment if they want to. Even Russia has now banned them. Yet WE in the US STILL don’t have that right. Monsanto has fought every effort to label their toxic garbage that comes along. This may be our last chance. ALL prop 37 will do is put a label on food containers which contain their laboratory inventions so that people can say no if they don’t want it. Monsanto is spending $35 million dollars spreading lies about prop 37 (no surprise there!).”
“PLEASE VOTE YES!”
“More about Monsanto here:”
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Monsanto
Also–
“Monsanto nuclear ties:”
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Monsanto#Overview_.26_history
interior background in Ventura: 45.8
CA peaches: 44.0
Hi Tray,
Sorry, I just tossed out my peanut butter after it was recalled by TJ’s. Is that where you normally shop? I am happy to test more when I get it, although we don’t go through it super fast.
HTH.
@Chase
Any quantity of fertilizer with Potassium in it, is going to test higher than background. Even manure could, depending on its composition.
If you had tested these items before Fukushima, or can before another nuclear accident you have a benchmark/reference on which to base your new detections.
What I do as soon as I get new test equipment is test everything I can in the environment as quickly as possible. I then have a base line, an extensive data base to reference. This makes it easy to identify anything that has become newly contaminated in the environment.
Have lots of data to reference. It is very difficult to argue against lots of physical evidence.
Here is one of the first videos I saw of testing fertilizer. (manure)
255 cpm from Redlands, Ca August, 2011
(note: anonymous tester, old geiger)
(may or may not be a result of Fukushima)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoW7YQNjI-k&list=PLD33AEE01FE5EBB75&index=10&feature=plpp_video
Okay, I understand you have have to have equipment to determine the soils ‘specific’ makeup.
However, can’t a basic assumption be made about what used to be normal or even a ‘general’ cpm cutoff that could suggest or indicate, “for sure that’s hot”?
Do some fertilizers test at or near background?
@Susan
Here is screen shot of a local soil test chart from our area. This is all Gamma and X-ray output because it was tested using a NaI scintillator. This device can’t detect Alpha radiation.
I have put markers on it the peaks for the most common isotopes in soil. This chart does not show the K40 content which would normally be to the far right at 1460 keV. The X axis values at the bottom of the chart are in Kilo Electron Volts (keV).
http://sccc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Local-soil-sample-880grms-230812-60-81.jpg
Here is a soil sample chart from Tokyo.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/563078_304234366308510_1777225103_n.jpg
As you can see the Cesium content is overwhelming the test results.
@ Susan,
“What would you say about soil that came back from the lab with 580 bq/kg Gross Alpha, 590 bq/kg Gross Beta and 520 bq/kg K40?”
This is not telling you much except that the soil has these values of gross radioactive output at Beta and Alpha. You need a breakdown of what isotopes are in the soil. The K40 output will indicate how much Potassium is in the soil.
Soils can vary a lot in radioactive output from location to location. There is natural radioactivity in soils, created by the small amounts of decay products produced from the Uranium and Thorium decay chain series of radioactive isotopes. Most plants tend to screen these out at the root system. Brazil nuts are an exception to this.
Uranium and Thorium series decay chains in soils will give out Alpha, Beta and Gamma radiation. So it depends on their concentrations, and if there is any other contamination.
I am not an expert or professional on this subject, this is just a general overview of what I have picked up on the subject.
Hey Kim,
I know you said you get your peanut butter from Trader Joes. Can you tell me the expiration date on the one you tested and maybe the serial number. I don’t have a geiger counter and my kid loves peanut butter and jelly. Thanks for any help you can give.
Tray
10 min interior in Ventura: 45.5
10 min on organic, grass fed ground beef: 45.3
@vital1 Thanks for this information – I will study the diy guide carefully and see if I could set up my own lab. I agree, we need more sensitive equipment than the geiger counter to figure out what’s in our food.
In the meantime, I’m wondering if you can help me figure out Gross Alpha readings that have come from the certified lab. e.g. what would you say about soil that came back from the lab with 580 bq/kg Gross Alpha, 590 bq/kg Gross Beta and 520 bq/kg K40?
@Susan,
I agree, your logic is sound, and there is possibly something else producing the higher CPM than the K40. Again you need better equipment to really know what it is.
A a lot of food and environmental testing tend to concentrate on Cesium because it is relatively easy to test for, and detect.
If Cesium is present there is a very good likely hood that other isotopes are present also. Fallout is a dirty mixture of isotopes it is not just Cesium. Some of the other isotope contaminants are harder to detect, and need more specialized expensive equipment.
Even this suggested DIY unit in this free guide (Link Below), won’t detect some of the more dangerous Alpha isotopes. So whenever they admit Cesium has been detected in food or the environment, the situation could be worse as it may only be part of the isotopic picture of the true contamination.
DIY Food testing lab set up free guide.
http://technologypals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/How-to-set-up-a-home-or-community-food-testing-lab-for-radioactive-contamination.pdf
@Susan Some great data there.
Looking forward to responses.
!!!…Strawberries in CANADA 🙁
The processor took the time to mix them into each basket.
Badly Deformed Strawberries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piiSJMuCpV4&feature=youtu.be
There is nothing ‘naturally occurring’ about this.
Thank you Nuclear Industry for destroying a beautiful planet. (not)
@vital1, @michael – Thanks for your comments re dehydrating. I have two sample results of blueberries from two different sources.
Source A – are organic blueberries from a farm where last year we sent their blueberries to a certified lab and results were:
Cesium 134 < 0.08 bq/kg
Cesium 137 <0.1 bq/kg
Gross alpha <40 bq/kg
Gross beta <20 bq/kg
Iodine 131 <0.2 bq/kg
Potassium 40< 30 bq/kg
So this year we decided just to test them with our geiger counter:
Blueberries from an organic farm in Mission B.C. – blended and dehydrated into fruit leather.
Date August 13, 2012
Inspector Alert
Testing Surface: 34.1 cpm
Sample Average: 30.8 cpm
Source B – are from a conventional farm where last year (after the blueberries were all gone) we sent the soil to the lab and Cesium 137 was found in the soil at 10 bq/kg. So this year we decided to test the blueberries from that farm:
Blueberries from a conventional farm in Richmond B.C. that had the Cesium 137 in the soil at 10 bq/kg – blended and dehydrated into fruit leather.
Date September 1, 2012
Inspector Alert
Testing Surface: 31.1 cpm
Sample Average: 36.2 cpm
Both samples were dehydrated – so presumably have the same level of K40 – but higher cpm for the blueberries that were on the soil that showed 10bq/kg cesium.
Would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Thanks Michael for finding out that what they are using at the Aurora Restaurant in Tokyo to measure radioactivity is the Atomex AT1320.
How sad that the people in Tokyo think that they are eating “becquerel free food” when it could have 81 bq/kg. Those monitoring stations are just giving them a false sense of security. There is no safe level of radiation – but I’d say 3 bq/kg should be the cut off.
The Japanese government says that levels up to 100 bq/kg are safe to eat. Before Fukushima this was considered nuclear waste. This is truly a crime against humanity.
@Susan,
Dehydrating food before you test it is a great idea. You just need to take into account radioactive potassium K40 concentration in some foods may produce a false positive detection, if you are using a sensitive Geiger counter.
For food testing it is an excellent way to concentrate contamination, so you are more likely to detect it.
A sensitive scintillator detector or better, can tell you what isotopes are producing the radiation.
@Susan: We tracked down what kind of equipment this is and the it is an Atomex AT1320 gamma activity monitor out of Belaurus. It is very sensitive but still can only detect down to 27 times the U.S. EPA’s maximum contaminant level of 3 Bq/l for beta.
As Susan knows, EnviroReporter.com is also on the hunt for an extremely sensitive isotopic identifier that doesn’t cost as much as some of the best models do: over $71,000 USD. We are currently studying excellent material sent to us by a helpful and knowledgeable U.S. company representative who we will continue consulting with after two major article deadlines.
@vital1 thanks so much for this information. We are on the look out for a scintillation counter. I read that in Tokyo they have set up public radiation monitoring stations.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201209050004
At the Aurora restaurant in Tokyo they have a piece of equipment that looks like a rice cooker and was made in Belarus. This restaurant advertises “becquerel free food”. We are contacting the manager to find out more. Do you know anything about this type of measuring device?
Do you think we shouldn’t be dehydrating food before we measure it?
Awesome to be able to chat – thanks
Fact 1. Californian Oranges have been detected contaminated with small amounts of Cesium using very sophisticated equipment.
Fact 2. This type of testing is at best a spot checking so some oranges are possibly going to be more or less contaminated, and others not.
Is safe to eat them?
Knowing this I wouldn’t eat them, but others would. If I can purchase an Orange from somewhere else that is not contaminated why take the risk.
@Susan
“Dehydrated California naval oranges”
The dehydration could cause a higher than background detection in these oranges. This is because this process has concentrated the potassium K40 content.
All oranges have a high Potassium Chloride content. Part of all Potassium is radioactive Potassium (K40) which is in all living things.
So there is the possibility that your Inspector Geiger Counter is showing a higher than background radiation detection, because of the dehydration process has concentrated the K40. The only way to know what is causing this higher detection for sure is to test it with better equipment.
We have been through this process here with foods like English Brewers Yeast, Cocoa Powder, and some other dried powdered foods that have high K40 content. People here using the Inspector or Inspector EXP Geiger Counters, to test these foods where getting much higher that normal background detections.
On testing these suspect items with better equipment we concluded that these foods had above average Potassium Chloride content .
Concentrated foods with high K40 content can cause false positive detections with sensitive Geiger Counters like the Inspectors.
@Susan,
“Result: 20% over background”
If you are getting 20% over background with a Geiger Counter it would suggest that what you are testing is much more contaminated than the Tokyo test results show.
@Susan,
“Question: can we detect radioactivity in California naval oranges with our Inspector Alert knowing that Tokyo Security detected Cesium?”
If your Geiger Counter picks up radioactive food or drink, it is definitely unsafe to eat or drink. Geiger Counters are not sensitive enough to detect the very small amounts of radioactive contamination in food or liquids that can cause health issues.
Two parallel Geiger counter SBM20 tubes which are more sensitive than the average Geiger Counter can measure down to 2000 Bq/kg activity. This is a factor of 100 too insensitive for detecting radiation in food that could cause health issues.
A scintillator can detect radiation contaminated in food. Also the scintillator needs to be in a lead shielded environment with the food sample during testing. The lead shielding is to help screen out background radiation noise.
Your Inspector Alert Geiger Counter is more sensitive than the average Geiger Counter, but still would not be sensitive enough to detect Cesium in these small amounts.
@Susan: That long a measurement done with the dehydrated sample is an excellent test. Yes, I would say you are picking up that Cesium which is very active, very destructive and not a good thing to find in California navel oranges. Today in the market, I saw navels on sale and it was like – once again – being in a 1950s Cold War film noir where the only the protagonists know something is terribly wrong and no one is doing anything about it. Except us.
Question: can we detect radioactivity in California naval oranges with our Inspector Alert knowing that Tokyo Security detected Cesium?
Tokyo Security:
April 9, 2012
0.47 Bq/kg Cesium 134
0.49 Bq/kg Cesium 137
Inspector Alert
September 1, 2012
Background: 34 cpm
Dehydrated California naval oranges: 41 cpm – 10 hour average
Result: 20% over background
Would love to hear comments on this.
Here is a free guide on how to maximize the sensitivity of your Geiger counter, for testing food and the environment, for Radioactive contamination.
http://technologypals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Using-a-Geiger-Counter-to-test-food-for-Radioactive-Contamination.pdf
Free DIY Food testing lab set up Guide, if you want to go to the next step.
http://technologypals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/How-to-set-up-a-home-or-community-food-testing-lab-for-radioactive-contamination.pdf
This site has an International list of the food detections. It is by means a complete list. This is to help those who can’t afford the type of equipment above.
http://sccc.org.au/archives/2861
TIP: A good Geiger counter, with a sensitive pancake probe, is more likely to pick up food contamination. This is still not as good as using a scintillator. Some radioactive contamination testing needs very specialized equipment, which is so expensive it is out of reach to the average person.
A group purchase is another option.
Background: 42.9
Fresh and Easy raw almonds: 51.1
Tray, sorry I’ve been out of touch for a while. I just… needed a break from all this. Sadly, it’s gotten worse since I’ve been gone for a couple of weeks. 🙁
Obviously our Inspectors are not picking up all of what is in our food, but I still plan to keep testing, and will report.
The peanut butter I buy is the organic, non-hydrogenated kind, and it always comes from either Trader Joe’s or Fresh & Easy.
I will do some more testing of that other staples in the ext few days and report back.
@Tray, Chase, et al: [Forgive the delay but we are still on deadline. Our next piece addresses your questions, in part.] But know now that we have immediately suspended consumption of almonds and pistachios and are still testing new powdered milk which, like pre-Fukushima powdered milk, bounces all over the place as our recent testing shows. After further testing, we will be returning unused nuts to the store with an explanation.
Our new post will also discuss Fukushima contamination penetrating the Southern Hemisphere in a substantial way rendering 100% certainty of the safety of the food supply south of the equator mute.
Is it better to drink milk now?
Kim what peanut butter are you giving your kids? Is it safe? I am at a loss here with what to feed our kids. I just read almonds are high in cesium and i have been giving us all silk almond milk. Any help would be appreciated. Should we start drinking rice milk?
Interior background, Ventura, CA: 45.2
kale (USA): 46.2
peaches (CA): 43
kerrygold irish butter: 37.9
tillamook aged cheddar: 36.3
Background: 47.3
CA avocado: 48.5
blueberries (USA): 43.4
raw wild honey (Fresh and Easy): 37.7
Interior BG: 43.8
calrose white rice: 45.3
dried pinto beans (Fresh and Easy): 55.2
Not having pinto beans tonight as planned. 🙁
Interior, Ventura: 47.8
plums (CA): 41.3
plain yogurt: 42.8
organic, grass fed ground beef: 42.1
sliced mozzarella: 47
10 min interior, Ventura, CA: 47.5
sprouted wheat bread: 37.5
orange juice: 48
peanut butter: 48.8
Against a 42.2CPM INT Background:
Blue Diamond Plain Oven Roasted Almonds with an expiration of 9-10-2013
49.8 CPM 20 min avg.
@Kim; If you have any, how about testing organic fresh greens mix? And thanks for the honey testing. I just bought raw honey for the first time, being that if you take a teaspoon at night it helps you sleep! And Fukushima has kept me up for a long long time!
Hi Friends,
Ali, the the flour I purchased was from Fresh & Easy.
I have been slacking on testing and posting. Will try to get to some testing and posting in the next few days. Time for an update to our favorite foods.
I will test honey, I have some, I believe it is raw.
Any other requests? If i have it, I’ll test.
K
I wonder how long whole nuts and nuts for nut milk are stored and processed before being sold. Could there be pre-3/11 nuts still being found in products in stores? I have no idea how to determine freshness or processing lead times. Should we assume that last fall’s crop is coming through stores now?
Yeah for Rocket! Time to get a few cans of Almonds!!
Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Almonds March 03, 2013 exp(crushed with mallet)
40.4 CPM against 38.2 CPM INT Background
@rocket; Oddly enough I googled the info on Kashi and today’s huffington post Healthy Living edition just came out with another article on this. Hormone disruption also included in today’s article. We do know that radionucleotides do this, correct?
@rocket; due to the now located GMO’s in Kashi cereals, despite the Organic label, it would be interesting to know what the soy and ingredients had been sprayed with. That might account for a higher reading. NaturalNews reported this summer that Kashi had been found with GMO’s, just an fyi, research for yourself, it is out there.
@Rocket thanks for your measurements. I’ve found that nearly all health food cereals come from either Oregon or Canada. Our primary sources for wheat (and other grains) are the midwest and Canada, directly in the path of the jet stream.
Against a 42.4 INT Background in Sherman Oaks:
Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
47.4 CPM (Saturated paper towel, wrung it out, took 10min avg)
Kashi Go Lean Cereal (Honey Graham/Soy Puff/Fiber Twig)
55.8 CPM
NOT GOOD
Oops. An afterthought, my bad. Flowers. Pollen. Honey. It has been said that honey harbors 137Cs. Anyone a user of honey? And raw honey versus manufactured honey, is there a difference which would hold more contaminants? Or type of honey source (Orange vs. Sage vs. Buckwheat vs. Avocado vs. Cactus vs. Wildflower, etcetera)?
The whole wheat got me thinking again…
@Kim
I assume that is Trader Joes brand WWF? Is it possible to compare it with plain white flour? Thought here is to see if validating prior published findings (as during Chernobyl and Nevada Test Site deliberate releases in the atmosphere) is possible (to show if today’s whole wheat flour retains more rads than white flour now during this Fukushima era).
Is there a way to find out where your samples are sourced from (upper midwest USA wheat, for example) including harvest dates?
@All
Apparently, from the documentation, Canadian wheat suffered more radionuclide fallout contamination than American wheat during Chernobyl and during Nevada Test Site releases. Are there any readers here (with Inspectors) that can run Canadian wheat comparisons (white vs whole wheat)?
We all are so lucky to have this website, thank you to all who run these tests.
@kim; Thanks for the readings. Whole wheat flour, tomatoes and avacodoes are getting spookily high. Almost a no go for me… Surprised about the flour. I guess our silo’s are now using post Fukushima supplies… ??
10 minute averages in Ventura, CA.
background: 49.1
heirloom tomatoes (Mexico): 49.3
Naked blue juice: 43.2
whole wheat flour: 49.2
Kerrygold butter (Ireland): 37.3
avocado (CA): 49.9
Background: 43.5
local free range egg: 45.9
@Zube, yes, dehydrating would be ideal, but you can’t really realistically do that before each food you consume. Just trying to do my best. I have had several foods come in under my background, a few south american fruits, irish butter, and a few misc. other things. Maybe less than 10 items out of at least a hundred tests.
So everyone knows, I always test in the exact same location in my house. I am aware that some containers do “run hot”, so I always use one of several that do not. I test with the windows closed, etc. I never use plastic wrap, I set the item up (sometimes with difficulty!) so that it is as close as possible- within an inch. I try to test multiple items, when possible, cut fruit open, etc.
@Biggee, it is hard to know what to do with food that is borderline. As a guideline, we try not to eat anything that is beyond the Inspector’s 15% +/- margin of error. I really don’t eat anything beyond 10% or so, normally. If it is around that 10% mark, I will usually test again, to see if I was measuring a passing background wave, and a couple of times that seems to have been the case.
Just my 2 cents, and I am a total newbie.
Bought some cherries from Lowes food store the other day in NC.Read cherries were from WASHINGTON State!! (hardest hit by Fukushima?) Going to return them!!!
6/16/12
35.5 bkgrnd
41.2 cherries
6/17/12
33.5 bkgrnd
41.2 cherries
note….both cherries CPM were same
Is this reading high enough NOT to eat????…Accumulative??
RESPONSE??
This is interesting. I am no expert but have yet to find a food that measures below background within the +/- 13% error margin for Inspector Alert. Pls be aware that foods need to be dehydrated before testing otherwise you are mainly testing water in the produce. Tap and filtered water usually checks in at background. Also, the surface you measure on (wood, tile, granite, concrete, etc) as well the type of container (steel, porcelain, ceramic, etc) will affect your readings. Try to do it same way every time in the same location in your home. If you cover with plastic wrap or similar material you will block significant amount of alpha radiation but sometimes it is necessary to prevent contamination.
Apricots and nectarines from the farmers market coming in below background by 10% at least. Big bag of both was 40.1, bg is at least 45.
Meant to ask where they were grown, but it was hectic. Will find out next week when I go back for MORE.
They are incredibly delicious!!
Trader Joe’s trip tip roast: 47.2
Background: 46
CA nectarine: 48.1
Also, forgot to post or write down the exact #, but tested a CA avocado yesterday and it was also at BG.
Hi All – I’m new to the boards but would like to add some findings. These are from Simi Valley.
Interior 3:15p background: 43.8 CPM
Interior 3:30p bing cherries purchased from Albertsons in Simi Valley: 47.2 CPM
plain yogurt: 46.1
broccoli (CA): 42.1
strawberries (CA): 44.1
Background: 46.6
TJ’s chocolate almond milk (with carageenan): 45.9
sprouted wheat bread: 42.9
Good news: Trader Joe’s has 1,000 Day Aged gouda cheese from Holland and it’s really good stuff. Tastes kind of like Beemster — sweet and nutty.
Thanks, SBLocal. I definitely agree about not keeping them in a coop 24/7. My husband is against getting chickens in this house, because we rent and would ideally like to buy or move to another house, and it would be a pain to move them. I get that. But this property has a small fenced yard behind the detached garage… would be PERFECT for hens!
Do you have chickens yourself? We have several friends who have them, or are getting them.
If I had chickens, or a garden, I’d just carefully monitor my exteriors and make sure everyone was buttoned up on “hot” days. Best we can do at this point. 🙁
SBLocal, let me know if you want to get together!
@Kim a really excellent book on raising and housing backyard chickens is called City Chicks by Patricia Foreman. I took a workshop from her and she’s phenomenal. She knows far more than just raising chickens and covers nutritional value, heritage breeds, everything. I’m not sure how well chickens do if they’re confined 24/7 in a coop. You can definitely keep them mostly radiation-free in a coop and test their feed, etc. but I believe they need to range a little to be ideally healthy and get the vitamins they need from soil, bugs, sun. Maybe you could let them range inside an enclosed greenhouse? That might work if it doesn’t get too hot.
@Kim; If you go on youtube, there are videos on how to build your own chicken coop! Also, there are videos on hydroponics, and how to build it yourself. There are also ways to build hydroponics in small areas,(for apartment dwellers). There are directions on youtube for both chicken coops, how to check your eggs, and for hydroponics. If I didn’t have neighbors (Apt dwellers) I would be doing that.
Roundabout, you’re welcome! We eat a lot of eggs too, usually at least 1 each per day.
In fact, I’m wondering if anyone has backyard hens. Our family has been kicking around getting some, and are still thinking about it. I saw a coop with large eaves hanging over the sides, and the owner said that even in the Pacific northwest, her chickens/ coop ewere never wet. I am thinking that it can be done somehow, given some planning, and at least then I can control and monitor more clearly what we are eating.
Also, is anyone gardening? I wanted to do a few pots of basic veggies. I have not looked for a greenhouse, ala Potrblog, but if I saw one, I’d get it. I was thinking I would check my exterior daily and could always move my pots into the garage if it rained or my readings got hot.
Any thoughts from others?
@Kim: Thank you so much for measuring the TJ’s organic egg!! I can have some peace of mind. Thank you, Thank you!!!!
background: 50
blueberries (USA): 46.4
baby carrots (USA): 48.9
TJ’s jumbo organic egg: 41.6
” ‘The tuna packaged it up and brought it across the world’s largest ocean,’ ” said marine ecologist Daniel Madigan at Stanford University, who led the study team.
” ‘We were definitely surprised to see it at all and even more surprised to see it in every one we measured. ‘”
” ‘We found that absolutely every one of them had comparable concentrations of cesium-134 and cesium-137,’ ” said marine biologist Nicholas Fisher at Stony Brook University in New York state, who was part of the study group. ” ‘It is crystal-clear data.’ ”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303395604577432452114613564.html
Local television news advised today that people stay away from sushi restaurants. This would include buying sushi from places like Trader Joes and other food markets.
5-28-12
2:15pm 10 minute timed count
Bckground: 44.0 CPM
power greens (CA grown): 42.8 CPM or 2.7% below background.
celery (CA grown): 47.3 CPM or 7.5% above background.
4:15pm
background: 41.1 CPM
broccoli (CA grown): 45.5 CPM or 10.71% increase over background.
While reviewing potrblogs review of contaminated ground beef… I realized I needed to know what is being caught up in eggs. Several months ago, I believe someone measured them. If anyone buys Trader Joe’s California Grown eggs, and you have a counter, can you test some for me? Thanks! I practically live on eggs. (Trader Joes California seem to be the best as far as eggs go)
Cody, yes! I found that, too. I now have some “testing” cups and plates that do not seem to emit any radiation that will interfere with testing.
***
background: 48
raspberries (USA): 47.3
“Whole wheat foods are made of protein-rich ‘spring wheat.’ Many ‘whole grain’ and ‘unrefined whole wheat’ products go through a milling process that retains the starchy ‘anatomical’ parts of the wheat plant (bran, germ and the endosperm), which is where most of the radioactivity concentrates. Spring wheat rose from about 85 strontium units (pCi/kg) in 1962, to a range of 220 to 335 in 1963, falling back to 140 in 1964. Canadian whole wheat fared slightly worse, rising from 120 to 330 to 220 in 1962, 1963 and 1964 (source: UNSCEAR 1967 figure 14)”
http://www.nuclearcrimes.org/3-4.php
Does anyone know the status of our whole wheat flours? Are they pre-Fukushima (silo-stores) or are contaminated flours now on the shelves? It seems the healthier the foodstuff (ie organic, whole wheat vs white flour/bread, free range, wild caught vs farm raised, etc., etc.) the more likely it will be contaminated with radiation.
Chase, Thanks for links.
Kim, I believe you were right in that my back ground averages seemed really low, making the increase over background on tested foods that much higher.
I have retested some food items today and have noticed much ‘lighter’ results.
It seems that my ‘test’ plates have a significant impact on my background averages and readings over all. So now I include the plates in my background counts. Basic grade 11 Chemistry I know- so I apologize for the error in my previous posts.
5-24-12
10 minute timed counts:
12:30pm
background(ON plate): 41.2 CPM
Organic Carrots(CA grown): 46.7 CPM or 13% increase over background.
1:00pm
background: 44.0 CPM
Organic Greens(CA grown):42.7 CPM or 3% decrease below background.
3:40pm
background: 42.1 CPM
Chaga average from three seperate 10 minute timed counts: 52.9 CPM or 25.6% increase over background.
5:30pm
background: 44.9 CPM
Organic super greens (CA grown): 47.1 CPM or 4.9% increase over background.
6:20pm
background(taken on top floor of home): 34.7 CPM
Organic celery (CA grown): 42.3 CPM or 22% increase over background.
There seems to be a difference of about 10 CPM between the basement and top floor of my home. Could I be detecting Radon?
regards,
Chase, thanks, that’s my understanding, too.
Trader Joe’s lettuce mix: 45.8
Kerrygold butter: 43
– Radiation Protection Protocol –
Scientists WARN of Increased Nuclear Radiation Risks
23 May, 2012 11:00 CET Santa Rosa, California
“…a strategic plan for combating potential radiation exposure, using natural detoxifiers, trace minerals, antioxidants, and immune boosters.”
“As radiation leaks into ocean waters, however, kelp supplies can become contaminated. Dr. Eliaz recommends organic kelp from the North Atlantic ocean.”
Dr. Isaac Eliaz, M.D., M.S., L.Ac.
http://www.cisionwire.com/better-health-publishing/r/scientists-warn-of-increased-nuclear-radiation-risks%2cc9263196
I thought this contained some reliable information.
Greetings all,
5/24/12
09:00AM ten minute timed count
background: 48.1 cpm
Chlorella: 49.6 cpm —— 3.12% increase over back ground
Spirulina: 50.0 cpm —— 4.0% increase over background
Yay for micro algae!
@Kim
Food should not be above the ‘local’ background. That is my understanding.
Considering ‘margin of error’ and a couple of food exceptions like bananas and pistachios.
(possibly coffee beans?)
Background: 48
cilantro (USA): 42.3
refried beans (from Fresh and Easy deli section): 43.0
vanilla coconut milk: 44.3
Cody, I’ll be interested to see what you find about spirulina, etc. I have found them all to be in the 50s and 60s, more or less. Are they a “naturally” radioactive food, like bananas, or are they already picking up Fukushima and passing it on? I am very confused about this one, to be sure, as we had been taking a good bit of it before testing.
Thoughts, anyone?
5/23/12
10:30am ten minute timed count.
background: 46.7 cpm
Organic mixed baby greens (product of California): 72.1 cpm or 54.4% increase over back ground
plantain, dandelion mixture from my back yard: 46.2 cpm or only 16.7% increase over background.
It appears to be much safer to eat the greens and weeds from my lawn rather than what is on sale at ‘safeway’!
Krikey!
@Chase
Thankyou and you’re very welcome.
The celery was shipped up here, aswell as the “super greens”. I believe they were all grown in California.
I am very interested in testing local greenhouse produce and will hopefully see the farmer’s market return here in the coming weeks.
I had been eating the celery and leafy greens Until I recieved the inspector several days ago and learned how to take proper readings.
Now I am considering what actions I will make in response to these results and how I should notify my unsuspecting fellow man.
I agree with you that these things should be tested by the grocery store before hand. Down right ridiculous and irresponsible that it has made its way all the way up here and no one is thinking twice about it.
I am not a doctor but believe some of the bio accumulated rads can be mitigated with high powered anti oxidants such as Spirulina, Chlorella, Chaga ( birch tree ‘shroom) and what have you.
I suppose those are the next things to test!
It’s confusing, isn’t it?
Almost everything Cody tested is within my background levels for my area.
So… is Cody’s background really low, or the food hot?
If I got those numbers, I’d eat the food (maybe not the celery). Hard to not eat food that is lower than my house.
What to do, what to do…
5/23/12
08:50AM 10 minute timed count
background average: 39.6 cpm
cooked left over organic Quinoa: 45.0 cpm or 13.64% increase over back ground.
wild salmon oil capsules: 43.7
avocado (CA): 49.3
raw almonds: 46.2
background: 48
@Cody Thanks for those readings. Looks like you’ve got this stuff down.
I would note however that those readings are above the 15% margin of error. That tells me those items are ‘most likely’ hot. Especially the celery. 🙁
Are those local grown or shipped in?
Now comes the real question…
Do you eat it or not?
So maybe we need a law that says if your food tests above background you should be able to get your money back. Of course then a piece of guaranteed cesium free cheese may cost $500 a pound.
Question: Even better, why not TEST BEFORE selling it?
Answer: Because then we would ALL know the truth/reality and the nuclear overlords obviously don’t want that.
May 22 2012. 10;30AM ten minute count. Williams Lake, BC Canada.
Indoor back ground average: 29.7 cpm
Earth Bound Farm Organic Super Greens average: 42.4 cpm
(42.4 – 29.7 = 12.7, 12.7/29.7= 0.430, 0.430 x 100 = 43.0% increase over background!)
11:11AM ten min count:
Background: 31.6 cpm
Lucerne cheddar cheese: 43.1 cpm
(43.1 – 31.6 =11.5, 11.5/ 31.6 = 0.364, .364 x 100 = 36.4% increase over background!)
2:11PM ten min count:
Background: 34.4 cpm
Organic celery: 53.1 cpm or 54.4% increase over background!
6:00PM ten minute count:
background: 37.4 cpm
Organic milk: 48.6 cpm or 30% increase over background!
Yikes!
5/10/12
7:45pm 10-minute INTERIOR ENGLISH WALNUT POVITICA (2 pound loaf from Strawberry Hill, Lenexa Kansas) average: 46.4 CPM^
7:30pm 10-minute INTERIOR STRAWBERRY POVITICA (2 pound loaf from Strawberry Hill, Lenexa Kansas) average: 45.7 CPM^
7:15pm 10-minute INTERIOR background average: 48.8 CPM^
I’ve solved my rookie question.
Thankyou anyways :0)
Hi Kim,
I’m a rookie, and have some questions :0)
So you said that you tested a CA Avacado @ 49.1CPM
And your home’s back ground is 43.3CPM (in a 10min timed count)
Is that 49.1 CPM including your home’s background levels?
( 49.1 – 43.3 = 5.8CPM Avacado) Making the avacado 5.8CPM overall in a 10 min timed count?
Or did your timed reading include both 43.3(background) and 49.1(avacado) in the total?
Hope my questions make sense.
Thank you in advance
3rd pound of aged Tillamook cheese (red label, 9 months aged, sharp cheddar) tested today, and all there were under 40 cpm, which is at least 10% under my background.
For those of you craving some dairy, you can do with this info what you will!
Background in my house, Ventura, 10 min. average: 43.3
CA avocado: 49.1
farmed tilapia from Ecuador: 46.2
Thanks for the Tillamok update. So far, yes to certain cheeses, no to all other milk products. No on mushrooms, goat cheese and beef. No to tap water. No way to kelp and any other seafood and no more bodyboarding in the pacific for me…However, there does seem to be more things available to eat than I would have thought for it being over one year out! And unfortunately, no to TJ’s Wasabi Mayo, my biggest disappointment so far.
Thanks for all the measurements.
@Kim: I looked up the Tillamook website and found this:
“Multiple breeds of cows provide a blend of milk that gives us just the right combination of butterfat and protein. The milk is loaded onto refrigerated trucks daily, bound for the creamery. But first, each batch is tested. If it doesn’t meet Tillamook standards for the highest quality milk, it doesn’t belong in our cheese.
At the Tillamook Creamery, the fresh milk is heat-shocked. Unlike pasteurization, heat-shocking raises the temperature just enough to kill any bad bacteria, while preserving the milk’s beneficial enzymes. This is an important step in the cheesemaking process, as the cheddar’s flavor, body, and texture depend upon these enzymes.
Next, the milk is poured into vats for cooking and we add a starter culture that produces lactic acid.”
Here’s a chemistry/food chemistry question: Could the presence of radionuclides affect the curdling process? Perhaps there’s a self-limiting factor to radiation in cheese. Radionuclides have been measured in milk by the UC Berkeley Nuclear lab but so far from what I recall nothing (I could be having a memory lapse here) has shown up in cheese. Or it indicates a fallout pattern.
Tested some Tillamook cheddar, aged 9 months, and was surprised to find it well below my background, at 36.7.
Take that for what it’s worth.
@chase – that first article is one yr old. UC Berkeley has tested drinking water since (I believe the last test was in July) along with snow melt that runs into Hetch Hetchy and they did not find any isotopes from Fukushima. We’ve been playing it safe still with our water. I know we can’t avoid some exposure – showers, washingclothes etc but for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth we used pre-fuku bottled water until we couldn’t find it any more (about a month ago) and now we’ve switched to the new Zealand water from trader joes (available other places under the “eternal” label). It’s from a good, protected source that would have been minimally exposed to fallout (if at all) and it’s not put into reservoirs before being bottled. Plus it’s got a good ph. I’m quite happy with it.
As for the milk…I haven’t been able to get a good explanation beyond the fact that certain foods and animals are more efficient at bioaccumulating isotopes than others. Milk is one of these things…supposedly sheep and goats even more so (just in case you thought goat cheese was safer ;-)). It’s an absolute crime that US schools are forcing dairy on kids, it was before this given the quality of milk they serve, but now, with the added “bonus” of radioactive fallout from Japan – even more so!
MILK: In Schools
Side note: “…milk must be offered at every meal if a United States school district wishes to get reimbursement from the federal government.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk#Flavored_milk_in_US_schools
4/09/2011
Milk Contamination At EPA Maximum: Radiation Detected In Drinking Water In 13 More US Cities
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/09/radiation-detected-in-drinking-water-in-13-more-us-cities-cesium-137-in-vermont-milk/
Note: If you compare drinking water levels to milk. hmmm..??? Why the big difference? Makes no sense to me.
5/02/2012
Cesium exceeding new limit detected in 51 food items in nine prefectures:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120502a9.html
from article:
“Mushrooms and other agricultural products containing cesium in excess of the tougher limit were involved in 178 cases, while 156 cases pertained to fish…”
“In addition, two cases involved black bear meat and one case fried “moroko” FRESH WATER fish.”
Fried(?) fresh water fish.
April 30, 2012: Radioactive Alaskan salmon, halibut, hot Korean kelp & control samples of Japanese seaweed prove rad findings plus fracking’s earthquake threat to Midwest and Eastern nuke reactors. Fast-paced show that characterizes the kind of smart discussions Jeff and Michael engage in!
Vital Choice seafood had an independent lab test their salmon. It’s from the Pacific Northwest and says that it’s fish are safe from radiation, only some having very low levels far below the safety limit. I personally find it hard to believe that Kelp measuring hundreds of times above background is going to spare it’s fish. You might want to look at Vital Choice website for more information though. They seem pretty confident in the tests. And it might be your last chance before the Texas size flotilla hits our shores and burns the seafood. Me? i am passing on ALL seafood at the moment.
oh yeah, stay away from chollera tablets. I was so tempted to buy some the other day, and my gut said “Nope!” Interesting that the things that would clear us from radiation, are the things that contaminate. I have one pack of pre-Fuckushima seaweed granules. I am hanging on till Diablo is over it’s crises!
Thanks for the How To on measuring food!
New Zealand cheddar, aged 3-6 months: 42.4 (10 min avg)
Kerrygold Irish butter: 36
irish cheddar– aged 2 years 38
chlorella tablets 50.8
A basic ‘How To’ video on using a rad detector on food.
A simple, but interesting demonstration.
Apr, 26 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIKro3s6eU4&feature=g-all-f
Is Canadian Food Safe? I don’t believe so.
We could ask our Government, yet they stopped testing milk for radiation after taking only 34 samples of 120grams by mid-June of 2011.
Of course, this was done after raising the mandated limits.
http://www.naturalnews.com/031963_radiation_exposure.html
“drinking just one glass of water considered “safe” by the EPA could subject you to the lifetime limit of radiation”
Meanwhile, U Cal Berkeley found levels of Cesium spiked in August 2011.
If you look at their radiation limit of 1000Bq/kg posted by the Feds, this seems to be outrageously high. It appears to more closely relate to EXTERNAL radiation limits. Internalized radiation is more damaging, naturally.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/imp/domeste.shtml
http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?pid=47965#p47965
Is Canadian food fine?
Roundabout, yes, sometimes things are weird like that. Our detections def. don’t always follow intuitive predictions.
That said, the peanut butter was just a titch above background, and within the Inspector’s 15% margin of error. I would have to assume that it is at background and I am just sampling normal background fluctuations. Thoughts, anyone?
Wow, on that peanut butter getting up near fifty! I can’t beleive it was the peanut butter, and not the large leaf Kale that was more radioactive! I am so looking forward to getting my detector soon!
background: 47
green grapes (chile): 45.8
kale (usa): 39.9
lettuce (?): 44.5
plain yogurt: 47
peanut butter: 49.4
UCB Milk Testing: Increasing. Double EPA levels.
“…milk samples obtained from a Bay Area organic dairy where the farmers are encouraged to feed their cows local grass.”
Scroll down to 04/2012
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/UCBAirSampling/MilkSampling
Sampling should be being done everywhere. Testing is not done for many other substances. Just those listed.
hmmm…?
I have been very listless as well. Not your common pollen induced allergy kind of listless. Unable to move around much. Started zeolite a few days ago, four caps a day. Sore throat. Tired, not able to sleep deeply, but very tired. Hair thinning. Central coast, near SLO.
background: 45.9
almond milk: 46.9
mozzarella cheese: 43.5
egg: 44.8
broccoli: 45.7
sprouted wheat bread: 43.5
Several of us in Mt. Washington (near Dodger Stadium and downtown LA) have been feeling nauseous, listless, intestinal distress, headaches since Sunday April 1st. Yesterday, my headache was unstoppable. Tired, I went to bed early. When I awoke, I thought a large glass of water might make me feel better. I instantly felt nauseous and had an instant headache.
Could the water be contaminated? I think yes; I switched to bottled water, took an Advil and drank Miso soup. I feel better now. The intestinal distress I felt on Wednesday was unlike anything I had before. My daughter and her boyfriend had problems, too, my husband not.
Any suggestions?
Susan MacAdams
Fri April 6th, 12PM
background: 46
milk: 46.6
coffee creamer: 43.8
strawberries: 47.7
Background: 44.7
plain yogurt: 40.1
tomatoes (USA): 44.4
cilantro (USA): 42.8
lemon (CA): 43
background: 45.9
broccoli seeds for sprouting: 49
blackberries (mexico): 50.7
avocado (chile): 53
shredded cheese: 44.1
Citymom, thanks for your email! I will send you something, and I’d love to get to know you better. 🙂
SBLocal, I will email you, too. 🙂
And SBLocal, TOOOOOTALLLY. I really try to remind myself of that kind of thing all the time. I live close enough to Santa Susana, and there is a very popular pick your own farm there that every family I know, including us, has visited a million times. My child has eaten so much dirt from there… Kids used to watch bomb tests in Nevada, right? And we have several friends who were children in Germany at the time of Chernobyl, and they are all here. None has mentioned the fact that all the people they knew died from it. So, I obviously don’t want to be Pollyanna either, but yes, we must go on, and attitude is a big part of survival. We do our best.
So glad we’re all getting to know each other!
Background: 43.8
red bell pepper (mexico): 41.9
white rice (forgot to look): 46.4
background: 47.3
swiss chard (doesn’t say): 38.7
onions (USA) : 46.8
celery (CA): 42.8
russet potatoes (ID): 46.0
@sblocal – I think it’s Kim that got your contact info. 🙂 and I posted mine for her as well so we can email about school. 🙂
@Citymom – Glad you got my contact. (Thanks Michael & Denise Ann)
For those of us who worry about the affects on our children, I don’t want to sound Pollyannish, but without Michael Collins’ reporting we’d have never known the extent of radiation pollution at Santa Susana. Think of how much radiation there must have been on the West Coast during the Pacific bomb tests! We’ve all made it this far. I know that’s little comfort, but humans are hearty. Our kids are gonna be alright if we stay vigilant. We’re far, far less cavalier than our parents were about raising kids.
Thanks to everyone posting here I’m much more aware of where potential danger lies.
Kind regards to all.
@Kim – yep! We’re just barely school age homeschoolers too! I might regret posting it but my email is s t i t c h i n g m a m a (at) y a h o o. 🙂 no spaces. I’d love to email with you!
@movieyawn…I guess at some point it’s going to be six of one half a dozen of the other as they say…we’ve been eating lots of SH produce which I’m sure carries an extra pesticide load, not to mention tons of fluoride which I normally avoid like the plague. 🙁 and I’ve purposely stuck with free range chicken because I’m still not ok with giving my husband, my kids or my unborn babe GMO food. So…yeah. We pick our battles I guess. :-/
Citimom and Kim,
I tested the pellets I am using for my salad, they read around 32-38 CPM. With the indoor gardening I am hoping to minimize the additional radiation which is deposited on outdoor produce by Fukushima. Controlling the quality of the water that goes into the salad was the main appeal for me when I started this thing. I don’t know about the seeds, the risk is probably the same indoors or out. It is possible to buy organic soil too and fill small pots.
I am trying to have a semi-normal diet – it is not easy. I stay away from market greens, cabbage and spinach, organic or not. I read the labels on the rest of what I see when I go grocery shopping. When I see the asparagus from Peru and the pears from Argentina, I stock up. What can be frozen I freeze. What can be dried, I dry (like apple slices). At TJ’s I occasionally find frozen vegetables from France, Spain and South America, and the peaches in syrup from Spain are a favorite. In the winter and spring, I consider tomatoes grown in the upper Midwest and Canada mostly safe, because they are green house tomatoes. I make an extra effort and wash them with water and soap, then with bentonite or borax or baking soda solution, then rinse with filtered water. For things that are not so straight forward, I use “mitigation cooking”. For example, we love cauliflower. I make it into cream soup, to which I add bentonite – you can’t even tell it is there. In the meat department, I buy pork and chicken, because they do not eat hay (I think). With chicken, I do the exact opposite of what I did before Fukushima – make sure no “free range” claims appear on the package. Sadly, it is a matter of picking my poison.
Movieyawn, I have thought about growing plants indoors, too, but our space is really limited. We have started sprouting (if things got way worse, we’d always have sprouts), plus we are planning to do an herb pot indoors. I’m also going to do a garden. (Gasp!) I am planning a small garden, tested all along the way, with just a few pots of fresh food. If it rains, I will move them inside. If the weather is “hot”, they will go in the garage. Since we are eating food anyway, I figure I can at least monitor this from soil and seed to finished product.
Citymom, are you a homeschooler? Us too! We’re just almost officially school age. We should exchange emails.
Also, Citymom, I agree with you that we are probably all eating/ drinking/ absorbing/ inhaling particles that are below detection levels, at least with our equipment. What can you do? Not comforting, but realistic. Our family is trying to avoid the really hot items (food, air), stay clean with filters, shoes off, etc, take supplements, and prayer/ meditation.
SBLocal, I got your email address from Michael. I’m happy to meet up with you sometime, or we can meet and exchange samples. 🙂
Background: 48.7
sweet potatoes: 44.2
cabbage: 39.9
orange: 47.3
tofu: 46.7
@movieyawn – thanks for those links! I have thought about indoor gardening but I have extremely limited window space (I’d try to make room though and it would be a fun homeschool project with the kids) and exactly zero experience with gardening. 🙂 and are you more comfortable with the sourcing/safety of those pellets and the seeds you’re using for lettuce than you would be with store bought organic? I’m assuming that most seeds now are from post-Fukushima crops…and what about the peat pellets? Wouldn’t they be likely to contain similar levels of radiation as the soil (seriously I don’t know anything about this stuff).
One of the Berkeley people finally answered my question about radiation in the food chain by it was was only really a half answer. It seems like it shows up in cows milk because it is in everything else (grass and feed) so basically we’re all eating it anyway even if it’s not technically detectable above background or the mda levels of their gammaspectroscopy gadgets. :-/ not very encouraging as far as I’m concerned. 🙁
Kim thanks for posting your results so regularly!
@Kim I know we’re neighbors! I don’t have a Geiger Counter or I’d join you on this adventure to test and document everything. But I could take soil samples and drive them to wherever you wish and test them with yours. Perhaps Michael or Denise Ann could email you my personal email we so can get in touch(I don’t want to post my email here). You are brave to collect soil near Rocketdyne!
@SBLocal, we are practically neighbors. We should get some soil samples and test them. I plan to test soil from Underwood farm (near Rocketdyne) and will collect samples from other places we go, as much as I can.
Some more food tests for you guys.
background: 45.9
almonds: 48.4
corn tortilla: 44.4
background: 48.7
oatmeal: 46.3
baby carrots: 47.5
green juice: 41.9
@Citymom, have you considered growing salad indoors? I have dedicated two of my windows to this. I use Jiffy pellets, the large ones – tomato greenhouse. They expand to 2×3 and there is no need to move to larger pots. You can buy them from here (more expensive) or at Lowes for about $4 for a refill of 16.
http://www.seedandgarden.com/shop/products/Jiffy-Peat-Pellets-50mm-16-Pack.html
I replant a new tray every week, and each tray gives me two to three small crops. This is one or two salads per week, depending on who shows up for dinner . It is not much, but is better than nothing.
Here is a YouTube video to give you an idea of the quantity you can expect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0C0zFCO_10&feature=plcp&context=C4f74b8bVDvjVQa1PpcFMIWgoL7YR_lkb_AtieojdTbFLWdds09G8%3D
Also, have you tried sprouting? Some sprouts grow fast and large and can be prepared as salads or in stir-fry. Again, not much, but maybe can keep your cravings down?
@Citymom and @Kim,
A comment made in a March 2012 interview by Maggie Gundersen (of Fairewinds) references that she knows of an organic farmer in Portland, Oregon that tested his/her soil and stopped producing because the measurement was unacceptable. No mention of the grower’s name or exact location.
I purchased some Sonne clay liquid supplement about a year ago and used it a little while then stopped and just noticed that the company is from Kansas City — too close to St. Louis where POTR Blog measures insane amounts of radiation. Zeolite seems better suited to radiation detoxing anyway but the companies don’t seem to put the source on the label.
Another thing: I saw a map of all of the nuke plants in the US. Two of the many clusters of them are the St. Louis area and North Carolina, where some of the highest levels of radiation are being measured. Helen Caldicott says that all nuke plants leak. Since no one has been paying attention to measuring radiation until now could some of the readings be from local plants?
Thank you Kim, for putting my mind at ease about the food I’m feeding my family. I do wonder about our local farmers and what is in the soil here on the Central Coast.
A capsule that can remove radiation, arsenic and lead from milk and other liquids. Under development. Hopefully, coming soon!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/03/28/technology-radiation-decontamination-nanoparticles.html
_____________________
I also came across this food related article today.
Cesium found in bamboo shoots:
Japan: March 28th, 2012
“…Products including spinach, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tea, milk, plums and fish have been found contaminated with cesium and iodine as far as 360 kilometers from the crippled plant.”
(360 km = 220 miles, that is the approximate distance from San Fransisco, CA to Reno, NV. Basically, the width of the state of California. )
http://enformable.com/2012/03/cesium-found-in-bamboo-shoots-over-200-kilometers-from-fukushima-daiichi/
10 minute averages.
Background 44.8
krill oil capsules 43.3
spirulina tablets 52
apricot kernels 40.9
lentil seeds for sprouting 50.1
PS, Citymom, we do take zeolite. Not every day, but about half the days. We also take turmeric, some spirulina, probiotics, vit D3, and bitter apricot kernels.
Citymom, I will definitely check out that article, thank you!
Tray, thank you for your kindness. From one mom to another, I am SO GLAD to be able to help.
For what it’s worth… I have found very few things to be really hot. I do not test everything we eat, but I do test all the dairy products (not much, but some yogurt, butter and coffee creamer, occasionally cheese that is not aged, but rarely) and about 1/2 of the veggies. I have only found one dairy product that was really hot, and that was powdered buttermilk. Citymom, we’ve never had butter above background, fyi.
Almonds tend to run “warm”, but I haven’t found that to be the case with almond milk. I just haven’t found much with my Inspector that was over the 10-15% margin of error, thankfully.
Just to really trip you out, I’ve had southern hemisphere foods come in a little high, and aged, pre Fuk cheese come out lower than “new” cheese. Things that just don’t make a lot of sense, but there you go.
I am happy to do a round of testing for you. I can’t promise I will purchase everything, but I will check foods that we eat, and try to incorporate your requests into our meal plans. I have tested baby carrots a few times and cucumbers too and not found anything weird in what I’ve tested.
80% of what I get comes from Fresh and Easy, the rest is mostly from Trader Joe’s. Occasionally something from Target.
I will try to do a big round of testing and post back in the next few days, so let me know what you’d like to see.
I tested some plain yogurt today (been doing some lacto-fermenting of veggies) and it was 44.3, my background was 46.8.
I posted this over on the UC Berkeley forum as well, but thought I might post it here…
We’ve been trying to decide whether or not to reintroduce Northern Hemisphere produce back into our diet (the pregnant lady is about to start throwing fits for want of a salad. Forget ice cream and pickles. Mama wants lettuce darnit!). I’ve been trying to look at what was learned following Chernobyl and see if there’s useful info about the food supply from that event. There’s lots of info, I don’t know how much of it is useful. But some is quite interesting…like one article I read mentioned that fat supposedly repels radioactive isotopes, so when butter is made, the isotopes show up in the byproducts, not in the butter itself (can anyone verify if that’s true? Cuz I’m off to buy some Kerrygold if that’s the case ;-)).
This article is from 1 yr after Chernobyl and since that’s about where we are post Fukushima, it seems fitting to post it… http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl?a=d&d=HASHa1a07609b3e17c3e0b059e.4.np&c=cdl&sib=1&dt=&ec=&et=&p.a=b&p.s=ClassifierBrowse&p.sa=
For those of you who have resumed a basically normal diet – are you washing your fruits and veggies with anything extra? I know some of you mentioned you’re also taking zeolite (I still haven’t found a source for this that doesn’t seem massively sketchy, but I’d like to start adding it to my family’s diet, and mine following the birth of this baby in May)…anyone still taking it?
I think to me, as I read through these articles about Chernobyl, it seems like so much could have been learned from this disaster that has just been ignored in the wake of the Fukushima incident. All the emphasis has been on protecting the good name of nuke power in the US, protecting agricultural interests that might suffer if there was a perception of risk…and what about the sizeable levels of airborne (and rainfall) contamination that hit us in the weeks immediately following the disaster. How many people could have been protected just by a simple “shelter in place as much as possible” warning? We did and our families all thought we were 1000% insane (and they still do because we’re cautious with our food habits). I guess we may never really know how much damage was done by the refusal of our gov’t to take any steps to warn people…it’s pretty heartbreaking.
Sorry for the long comment! Just wanted to share!
Movieyawn,
Thanks for that recap on your family. That is comforting to me.
Kim,
Have you tested anything that is really high consistently? How about peanut butter and jelly? Food for life english muffins? 7 sprouted grain one? We have thrown our hands up on somethings. We pray consistently over everything. How about turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. Our kids love to eat them when we go out. Baby carrots, red peppers, cucumbers? I am hesitant on hamburgers (with the pink slime epidemic going on, kinda gross!) Trying to buy as much as I can from southern hemisphere but now I am going to mexico cause it’s further from the jet stream. It is hard to maintain this fallout diet especially with children but that is the main reason we are all desperately trying to maintain this diet because we would do anything to keep our kids safe. Thanks for doing this Kim you are helping so many moms. Great work!
Green Road, do you mean how am I getting the tests done without getting my Inspector in the food/ water?
If that is indeed what you mean… For liquids, I use a small sample of liquid. I pour them into a shallow container that tests at background (some containers are a little hot in and of themselves, I’ve found), and I set the Inspector directly on the container. It is within an inch of the liquid. Then I set the timer. (Then– so the liquid doesn’t splash up into it– I threaten my child to NOT GO NEAR MOMMY’S MACHINE!!, ha ha)
For food, I do the same basic thing– use another pre-tested container, and pile the food up so that it is within an inch of the unit. I also try to, whenever possible, test something cut open, too. So I might fill my container with brussel sprouts, cut a few in half, and kind of balance my Inspector on top of the pile, more or less. I try to get the unit closest to the cut open items, without touching. It can be quite a balancing act.
Hope that helps.
How are you doing the testing with the Inspector [&] radiation dangers in food and water? Keep up the good work!
brussel sprouts: 48.6
almonds: 47.3
green juice: 44.7
interior background: 44.7
plain yogurt– 45.8
butter– 46.2
powdered buttermilk– 59.1, retested at 62.6
interior background: 43.8
strawberries (Mexico)– 45.3
cucumbers (CA)– 45.3
asparagus (mexico)– 47
baby carrots (CA)–
lemons (local)– 47.2
orange juice– 44.9
chicken– 45.1
almond milk– 46.4
sour cream– 45.8
coffee creamer– 42.1
Movieyawn, so interesting. Sometimes I get so freaked out– especially sitting 1/2 mile from the great Pacific with buckey balls washing my way– but I have to remind myself that even at ground zero, many/ most people will survive. That gives me peace for now.
I, too, have been intrigued to see that many southern hemisphere or aged foods are higher, or equally as high as, young cheese or foods grown here in CA.
Roundabout, I wish I had more answers for you. I wish someone had some for me! I am struggling daily with these questions, especially for my young son. We realized early on that our pre-Fuk supplies would quickly run out, and then what? We use our Inspector to test what we can, and figure that is the best we can do. It will not pick up everything, I suppose, but if something were really quite hot, we should know. Meanwhile, we are exposed to radiation through our breath and our skin… Food isn’t the only worry, of course. I don’t want to deprive us of the foods that can be healthy and full of immune boosting nutrients, either. Such a tough call!
@roundabout, a week ago or so you had a post about a youtube video Chernobyl in Southern California.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g9IN0SEwAM
This rings bells for me. I am a Minneapolis transplant from the Balkans. When Chernobyl happened I was in Sofia, Bulgaria – 670 miles from Chernobyl. This is almost the same as the distance between Fukushima and Korea. According to the video, at 0:33 the plume over me was orange and at 0:47 it was red.
I don’t know if this is going to scare or calm anyone, but what happened to my family and friends years after the disaster has no apparent logical connection to how they dealt with safety issues during the accident. Many people took no safety measures at all. Others did what they could. My parents, for example, installed a DIY “water filter” made of layers of gauze and cotton attached to the faucet with a rubber band. I drank bottled water, avoided greens and stopped buying milk. Twenty five years after Chernobyl my recap is this:
– My younger sister, who was pregnant at the time and drank the contaminated milk, gave birth to a healthy baby; she is fine today and full of energy.
– My daughter, who was in third grade at the time, is today a happy mom of two healthy kids;
– A kid of a friend, in fifth grade at the time, developed golf ball size neck glands; this went away without treatment as the air cleared.
– A friend, who never missed a day of outdoor running during the worst contamination period (think plutonium inhalation), is today in his 60s and in great health.
– I developed (during the first month of Chernobyl) irregular heart beat and it has been with me ever since. I was never diagnosed with an actual heart condition.
I think it is impossible to maintain a perfect Fukushima diet for a prolonged period of time. Clean water, home-made bread and nut milk, non-organic, non-free-range eggs, chicken and pork… and emphasis on detoxification and immune support. I eat cauliflower (its heads are protected because of how it is grown), tomatoes (you can blanch them and peel the skin), peppers (you can char them and peel the skin). Rinsing produce with Bentonite solution helps (I think). Borax works too.
I wonder if there would be any interest in starting a new Fukushima Chef section. I would be willing to contribute
Hmmm I didn’t even think about that with the eggs. 🙁 we’ve been eating trader joes organic eggs for months and being pregnant and only liking breakfast foods – well, I eat 2-3 a day! 🙁 this just gives me one more reason to suspect that our whole strategy for avoiding radiation in our food is going to backfire on me. 🙁 grrr!
In other news, I’ve recently found mission figs from chile, so health and tasty!
I am going to go back to eating Trader Joe’s California eggs if they are under the 50 cpm mark. I know that we shouldn’t eat anything over 50, but I also wonder about the cumulative effect of eating foods near the 50 mark. So say you eat two eggs, does that mean you are eating 90 cpm of radioactivity? Can anyone explain?
I also find it odd that the 12 month cheddar came back higher than the 9 month chedder, being that we are just on the cusp of the anniversary nightmare…
Another round for you, same story.
Background: 48
coffee creamer: 46.8
baby carrots: 45.2
sprouted wheat bread: 43.8
broccoli: 44.9
All numbers are the result of 10 minute averages using my Inspector. 🙂
Background: 45.1
green grapes (chile): 49.1
strawberries (mexico): 45.8
lemon (neighbor’s): 46.9
butter lettuce: 46.1
earth balance margarine: 42.2
egg: 45.4
green juice: 45.4
mozzarella: 48.7
TUNA
heres an article on Tuna that is caught near japan.
There is a map of the locations of the numerous tuna species we consume.
Who knows how much we receive here in the us BTW,This article was written in apr of 2011
modernsurvivalblog.com/nuclear/buy-your-canned-tuna-now/
@CityMom –
Some other so. hemisphere imports we’ve enjoyed of late:
Costco: beautiful plums, organic blueberries & steelhead from Chile
Sprouts: asparagus from Peru, tilapia from Ecuador
Gelson’s: nectarines (white & golden) and peaches from Chile, tilapia from Ecuador
Hang in there!
Citymom, hang in there! Really! I try to remind myself that (sadly), even at ground zero, most people survive. We are all doing our best, and stress = bad, positive thinking = good. Sounds so cliche I am bugging myself, but it’s true.
Glad you’re still here and that these readings may help.
I did some averages today and promptly lost my scratch paper I was writing things down on. My 10 min. background was 46, I remember that, and nothing was over 48. So all this stuff was at background:
sour cream
almond milk
krill oil capsules
kale
strawberries
Seems like I’m forgetting something, so I’ll repost if I remember or find my list.
Take care everyone!
Again Kim, thanks so much for continuing to post your testing results…
I’m irritated tonight because Trader Joe’s hasn’t been getting fresh asparagus from Peru lately…it’s all from Mexico. So we’re back to frozen. 🙁 And I grabbed a bunch of bananas (which are an entire food group to my picky 2yo) thinking they were from Ecuador (because I have never seen a banana not from South America)…and brought them home, DH saw they’re from Guatemala…the one time I forgot to read the sticker. Grr. DH doesn’t want the kids eating them…and after glancing at a few (hard to find!) dispersal maps for the NH after fukushima…I don’t either.
So tired of all this…I’m due with my third in May and the worrying is exhausting…
Have done a bunch of testing the past few days. Take the info and use it as you like.
All 10 minute averages
Backgrounds: 46, 47, 48 (tested over 3 consecutive days)
tomatoes: 43
snap peas: 45
yellow potatoes: 50
broccoli: 40
blueberries (chile): 48
avocado (chile): 44
butter lettuce: 47
baby carrots: 48
green juice: 50
butter: 47
yogurt: 42
coffee creamer:
sprouted wheat bread: 47
wheat tortillas: 45
coconut oil: 45
cage free egg: 46
sliced aged (12mos) cheddar: 45
aged cheddar (9 mos) block: 41
almonds: 53
Organic blueberries at Trader Joes we have been eating them like crazy! They are from Chile and are reallllllly good!!! Happy New Year everyone!!!
Just a heads up: trader joes (I’m in northern California – sf bay area) is selling really delicious sweet red cherries right now – grown in Chile. I plan on going back this week and buying a bunch to make jam (something else we haven’t had in months). And they also just started carrying organic blueberries from Chile as well, they’re some of the best we’ve ever tasted. Also their organic sugar is from Paraguay, we used to buy C&H sugar but when i called them they told me their sugar was exclusively from New Mexico. I know most people have gone back to eating at least some domestic produce; we haven’t yet (I miss salad so much!!), so any new SH food find is a cause for much joy in my book. 🙂
@Kim and Citymom; Trader Joe’s has an 18 month cheddar. It has a dark blue label, and it’s Trader Joe’s brand!
Citymom, I’ll try the vintage cheddar!
We have tested a few corn tortillas and they were fine. We’re not huge into corn around our house, but any time I get anything, I will test and post.
I have recently tested some Target brand almonds, Boathouse green juice, sprouted wheat bread, Tillamook cheddar, coffee creamer, and ???. All were at background levels.
Kim thanks for continuing to post your results! We recently switched from 8month aged cheddar to tillamooks 2yr vintage cheddar. That stuff is like crack! Holy cow (haha! Literally!) it’s so much yummier than the younger stuff. 🙂
I asked once before awhile ago but I don’t think anyone answered…corn? I know the harvest was probably late fall, is it safe to assume it’s on shelves already as corn tortillas and corn chips (things we were eating a lot of this summer)?
Dining room, 2:15: 47
Nestle white chocolate chips: 48
F&E campari tomatoes on vine (USA): 52
F&E cameo apples (WA): 44
F&E cucumbers (Mexico): 46
F&E organic baby carrots (CA): 50
F&E cilantro (USA): 39
F&E broccoli crown (USA): 42
F&E butter leaf lettuce (?): 49
Tillamook cheddar: 47
@ Tray: We sure are! Not once has it been hot. Plus it is way better than milk. Sounds like one of a few pluses to come out of this ongoing disaster. Thanks for asking, Tray!
@ All: Another excellent show on the Rense Radio Network Monday night! Talked about collapsing Unit 4 and related hellish scenarios.
Hey Michael, Just checking in are you still drinking the Blue Diamond almond milk? and garlic naan. As I said they are true staples in our home. Thanks!
dining room, 2 p.m.: 49
clementine oranges: 47
Naked green juice: 46
TJ’s simply almonds, cashews and cranberries trail mix: 50
F&E sprouted wheat bread: 46
Coffee mate simply natural vanilla: 48
F&E broccoli florets: 47
TJ’s scalloped potatoes: 50
[EDITOR’S NOTE: Kim lives on the coast in Ventura California]
Oooo rats! The almonds have finally come out over fifty too!!! Yikes! Most likely they are from Ca… right?
Well, the good old TJ’s half and half is out now isn’t it… being that its over 50. I so miss my wasabi mayo. I have gained fifteen lbs since this accident due to just eating starch because the grains have been in a silo for a year… I just got a job, thank God, and will be purchasing a gieger counter in the next month or so, so that I can eat!!! I am extremely senstive to starches, and yet grains seem to be the safest since they are siloed. When I get my geiger counter it will be helpful. Thanks for the info Kim. Have you tried counting the TU’s salted butter?
Making some cauliflower soup.
Exterior: 51
Dining room: 49
TJ’s 2% organic milk: 44
TJ’s half and half: 51
TJ’s organic sour cream: 44
F&E cauliflower heads: 43
F&E yellow and red bell pepper 2 pack: 49
Hi Cytymom: I currently use zeolite on a daily basis, since the accident. Several of my friends use it too. There is no taste. I prefer the gren colored zeolite over others.
Hey Everyone,
Would anyone know where to get canned tuna that comes from south of the equator?
Dining room, 3:15: 47
F&E havarti sliced cheese: 44
Red grapes, grown in CA: 49
Tillamook mild cheddar: 42
F&E european salad mix: 46
Cameo apples, grown in WA: 47
Rosarita canned refried beans: 45
Coffee mate natural bliss, vanilla: 45
F&E country style OJ: 46
Kim,Citymom and Tray – It is frustrating that pediatricians, OB’s and others central to our children don’t have a clue. It’s very exhausting and depressing to navigate all of this. What is most frustrating is that every time I try to educate those in “my circle” they just shrug their shoulders. There is a total uproar this week about arsenic in the apple juice…but people don’t bat an eye about radioactive iodine, cesium and strontium in food and drink!
Thanks Kim!
It’s interesting the sunflower seeds were above background. I read somewhere that sunflowers are a good thing to plant after an incident like this because they pull radiation out of the soil…I wonder how much of that gets up into the seeds…
A few more:
Avocado, calavo brand from mexico: 49
F&E corn tortilla: 46
TJ’s roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds: 51
F&E campari tomatoes, grown in USA: 49
Exterior, 3:45: 50
Dining room, 4 p.m: 48
Coffee mate natural vanilla creamer: 45
Del Monte pineapple, costa rica (uncut): 35 (why so low??)
Dining room, 4:15 p.m.: 48
F&E cameo apples, grown in WA: 45
Tillamook mild cheddar cheese: 38
F&E large organic white egg: 46
Archer Farms raw almonds: 51
CityMom, we should totally start a moms’ club, btw. 🙂
We take Zeolite, usually every other day or so. The brand we use is NRG Naturals, I believe.
Hope to get some more food testing done soon and will post back.
Thanks Kim! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I’ve been noticing people elsewhere talking about taking a mineral supplement called zeolite…has anyone here looked into it? It’s supposed to remove radiation from the body. I’m doing more research, but was hoping someone here had brand recommendations. 🙂
In case anyone is interested about Thanksgiving type foods.
Background: 46
Trader Joe’s salted butter: 46
Mrs. Cubbison’s stuffing mix: 45
F&E canned green beans: 48
TJ’s cranberry orange relish: 44
TJ’s Sweet potatoes: 52
Sweet potato: second half of bag: 50
TJ’s sweet yellow onions:43
TJ’s heavy cream: 47
Horizon 2% milk, best by 12-18: 46
TJ’s organic celery: 42
TJ’s frozen mashed potatoes: 48
(and now you know my secret– YES, I love TJ’s frozen mashed potatoes! As good as I make from scratch, without the pot boiling over. Don’t tell.)
Annette and Kim – I want a moms club with ladies like you in it! 🙂 I don’t know a single person in real life who even bats an eye when I try to talk about this stuff. Even my midwife (who’s pretty crunchy and food-aware) gave me a weird look when I told her I had no intention of eating wild Alaskan salmon (her recommendation) because of all the ocean contamination…
Re: S. Hemisphere produce – trader joes and some of the smaller or less snobby markets are where we’ve had the best luck. We’re in San Francisco – stores like Andronicos and Mollie stones take great pride in having mostly locally-sourced produce. I used to love that about them. Now…it’s why I mostly avoid them for shopping. At trader joes we’ve found asparagus from Peru, mangoes from brazil, amazing oranges from Chile, a good assortment of frozen berries from Chile….and Dorot frozen garlic from israel which is still pre-fuku in our local store. Oh! And avocados, which we missed so badly all summer, are now almost all SH. I see a lot of stuff from new Zealand, but i haven’t bought any yet…it’s so close to Japan, I still worry about it getting hit.
Our diet has changed a lot. I miss salads and celery and raw milk (and ice cream!! Made from raw milk!)…we’ve done what we can to adapt…but weve been eating eggs and chicken and bread (though I substitute with pre-fuku corn bread where I can) and a few other things.
I read on the UC Berkeley forum somewhere that the cesium levels should decrease in milk after a few years as it sinks deeper into the soil…but that’s assuming a LOT.
…I’m starting my thanksgiving cooking today and trying to be upbeat about it and not think about all the things I won’t be cooking with…apples, celery, fresh onions (I scored four bags of frozen chopped onions a few months back that I have literally been hoarding for this holiday), ice cream for apple crisp…
I raided the tiny corner market a few months ago and bought all their canned pre-fuku pumpkin and some cans of coconut milk – that’s going to be turned into pumpkin pie this afternoon…probably with a hazelnut/gingersnap crust. I kind of love cooking and it is, in a weird way, a fun challenge to adapt our thanksgiving menu…might as well have fun and make the best of it.
Despite this weird shift…there’s so much to be thankful for. On March 12 of this year, dh and I were looking at that awful map that circulated right after the quake that said maybe 750rads would hit the US…what a terrible hoax…but we were scared. We’re here and our kids are still healthy, we’ve got a healthy baby on the way after several losses, and we are still (relatively, for now) free to take the steps We believe are necessary to protect our loved ones.
Happy thanksgiving, Michael and everyone else!
Hi Citymom and Annette,
It’s a pickle, isn’t it? 🙁
I feel like our Inspector is a blunt instrument that will catch something obviously hot. Is it picking up every tiny particle that could go on to kill us? Probably not.
My husband and I realized early on that this is not going to go away, ever. If we knew that we could eat lentils and homemade bread, and not go outside, and live in a bubble for “X” number of months, and that would protect us and then it would be over, we would do that. But this will never, for all intents and purposes, be over. Much (most) of this is out of our control. So… we are doing the best we can with what we have to work with, and using the knowledge we have as we assimilate it, and trying to eliminate as much exposure as we can. we also want to continue to live as joyously and intentionally as possible. We have vowed to walk this fine line, and accept the outcome.
Practically speaking, we stocked up on several months of butter and cheese and boxes of milk back in late March. We ate a lot of frozen produce at first too, but 95% of our stockpile is gone. Living in a veggie and fruit growing region, it is very difficult to find produce from South America locally. So, we eat. What choice is there, really? We are just trying to scan what comes in, eat mostly healthy foods, limit foods that are more likely to contain more rads, and take a lot of supplements. Obviously using aged cheeses, southern hem. and green house produce when available. Also filtering the air and water, staying out of the rain, leaving dirt at the door…
Sorry to ramble.
K
@Citymom – The Inspector radiation detector (which Michael, potrblog, lucidf8, Kim, I, etc. are all using) does detect beta (along with alpha and gamma). It is a sophisticated and sensitive instrument. It’s important to keep in mind though, that, as the manufacturer website states, “Measuring radiation in food is tricky.”
http://medcom.com/services-support/frequently-asked-questions
Since the Inspector does detect gamma, alpha, beta and xray, it is certainly better than flying blind (or using a gamma-only or less sensitive instrument). We’ve got to eat, and since this fall-out is pervasive, the information from the Inspector screenings (performed by careful operators) provides a good safety net.
I am still concerned that the low cpm of long-lived isotopes will get lost in the background margin of error, and specific to foods testing, that the water content in fresh food items will block/obscure the counts. In fact, the manufacturer also says that the best way to test foods is to ash them first. This is pretty impractical on a daily basis… so doing the timed counts seems to be the best detection option we’ve got at this time. Not perfect, not 100%, but better than nothing.
Clearly, your so. hemisphere food sourcing is a more fail-safe way to avoid Fukushima fall-out. I wish I could find more products from the so. hemisphere. Since our US apple harvest, I can no longer find Chilean apples, only Washington state (which I will not purchase, regardless of what my Inspector may state). Can you provide sources for your so. hemisphere food sourcing?
Re: gardening, you’re right that the Fuku fall-out would only be in the top few centimeters of soil. I removed the top 3-4 inches of topsoil from my garden after last spring’s rains, and it’s been tarped for the storms over the past few months. I’m getting a greenhouse later this month so I can be assured my family’s fresh veggies will be as clean as I can ensure.
I’m really concerned about importing contaminated soil/compost, so since I’ve established low-contamination levels on my property, I’m trying to cycle my own produce/soil/livestock manure on-site, and not bring anything in. The fresh soil I add to my beds/compost piles are not taken from the surface, but rather from a hole that I’ve dug, so would not contain any Fukushima fall-out.
Re: the mushrooms, thanks for chiming in. They’re from a mushroom grower in Olympia, WA. That location alarmed me, but they assured me the mushroom culture was always in the “sterile” lab and that no soil was used. You’re right about the wood-chips… not sure when they were chipped.
Ah, the other things I could be doing with my time & money….
Annette – I haven’t done any indoor growing but if I had more counter space (and mate a grow light ;-)) I would definitely be doing it. UC Berkeley’s soul testing shows there’s cesiu
134 and 137 from fukushima about 1cm deep in the soil. Beyond that it sounds like any other isotopes are from old weapons tests, etc. We don’t have our own backyard for gardening but if/when we do, my plan is to clear out a layer of soul before planting.
I’d think indoor mushrooms are fine…if they’re not from an pyridine source in any way (what abkut the wood chips? When were those harvested and where?).
Others eating fresh food now: I know you’re scanning produce and my understanding of radioactive isotopes is limited to what ive learned in my worried moms post-fuku crash course on radiation – but isn’t it possible that an item can scan at or below background and still contain beta-emitters? I don’t understand the whole process but we’re still not eating fresh veggies from the northern hemisphere because dh and I are worried about this. Can anyone with a better understanding explain?
Thanks again all! Happy Thanksgiving!
We miss our mushrooms! Since mushrooms are known to absorb 10-11 times the amount of radiation from the soil, as compared to other plants, we have abstained because of the nuclear fall-out. I hope that I’ve just found a way to enjoy mushrooms again. I purchased a shiitake mushroom indoor patch from Fungi Perfecti http://fungi.com/kits/index.html). They state that the mushrooms are cultivated from indoor stock in a sterile lab, using organic alder wood shavings as the growing medium – no soil, no outside air. They are to be grown inside the home or greenhouse… so there will be no outside exposure.
I just received the packaged culture, and my Inspector did not detect any radiation hotspots from the outside of the plastic packaging.
Any comments? Do you guys think this would be a safe food?
@Citymom: We did indeed buy carrots, onions and potatoes at Smart and Final and could not detect excessive radiation.
Dining room background:44
Farmers market strawberries, grown in Santa Maria, CA: 42
Farmers market clementines, grown in Ojai, CA: 44
Farmers market avocado, grown in Ventura Co area: 48
F&E Green onions: 43
Tayler organics sweet baby lettuce mix (target): 47
F&E organic sour cream: 46
@Citymom, fwiw, we have tested at least 2 batches each of potatoes and carrots that were at background.
I will be Thanksgiving shopping soon, and will test the basics and post here.
Thank you so much for continuing to monitor this!! You’re a lifesaver!
Am I reading those receipts right? Did you buy and test carrots and potatoes? I am dying for carrots and celery and onions for thanksgiving cooking but don’t want to risk it…have you guys been eating them now?
Again – me and my husband are so grateful for all you’re doing!
We sure are and couldn’t be happier. Well, we could be happier if we didn’t have to check our food and drink for excessive radiation but that’s the triple meltdown hand we’ve been dealt. So we deal and sometimes the changes we implement to protect ourselves from Fukushima fallout either in the air, rain, food, soil and/or water actually make our lives better. This is one small case. Tray when I say ‘your taste is in your mouth’ it is in the most complementary way. Great gastérs gormandize alike.
New food receipts going up as I write. Thanks for keeping the all-important food posts over here on Eat Me because I think we all see all the comments here wherever they appear.
Michael,
Are you still drinking the almond milk and eating the garlic naan? They have become staples in our home.
Thanks so much Kim. I have to find a fresh and easy store in my area. So glad to see some produce testing good.
Dining room, 5:30 p.m.: 47
Fresh & Easy large organic eggs: 46
F&E sliced turkey breast, nitrite free: 40
F&E neufchatel cream cheese: 45
F&E whole wheat tortillas: 43
Exterior, 8:30 a.m.: 48
Dining room, 9:45: 48
F&E extra virgin mediterranean blend olive oil: 45
Trader Joe’s organic canned pumpkin: 45
F&E strawberries and cream instant oatmeal: 50
F&E frozen peas: 46
Dining room, 3:15 p.m.: 49
TJ’s frozen fish nuggets (Alaskan pollock): 49
Blue Diamond almond milk, orginal flavor: 41
F&E organic ground beef: 43
F&E organic baby carrots, grown in CA: 42
TJ’s spiced apple cider: 47
I’ll post my food results here. I use an Inspector, just like Michael’s, and these are all 10 min. averages. My interior background is high 40s.
FYI, I am using the same disclaimer as Michael and Denise.
Tray, I have been testing Tillamook mild cheddar– we go through it like crazy– that is post F, and I have had all non-detects. Horizon organic milk has also been so far always at background. My child is a dairy fiend, and we went off of it at first, but now are testing what we eat first and then figuring that’s the best we can do.
Hi,
I’ve been posting a bunch of food tests in Radiation Conversation (duh). I will post them here now!
JB, I am not that far from you in the scheme of things. I’d be happy to test your peaches, if you want to bring them to me. You can get my email from Michael, if you want.
Kim
We have frozen peaches and plums from our tree in Malibu.
These were growing during late March and April. Would you like to test these to see how much radiation they contain?
Let me know at above email how to get in touch with you and I will make samples available to you.
JB
Good to see you are still at it.
blessings,
Lady
Tray, thanks so much for the encouragement.
Anyone know about corn? I know that for awhile it was considered safe since it was from last years’ harvest…do we know when to start avoiding it as this years’ product? My husband has been eating gluten free and he’s been eating a lot of corn tortillas and other corn products…he’s also a vegetarian and I basically have no idea what to do when corn is unavailable and our (now meager) supply of pre-fuku beans runs out.
Also…vitamins? I am pregnant and just ran out of vitamins thinking I had another bottle stored away. Turns out I don’t and I have no idea what source to go to for rad-safe supplements. :-/
I’m so exhausted with all of this…I want to keep my family safe but it’s starting to feel like the only way to really protect ourselves is to pack up our lives and move to a country like Chile. Nice fantasy but not really an option for us…
Citymom, I also have asked about the almond milk and Michael said it is testing good. He said he uses the Blue Diamond brand in vanilla. We go for the original but the vanilla might be more like the rice milk so I would maybe try that one first.
As for cheese, Tillamook makes a few: one aged 15 months and they also have one aged 2 years. The 2 year one is called vintage white. Really good. I will let you also know that Michael has tested the garlic naan at Trader Joes (tested good) and it makes really good pizza. I throw some tomato sauce on it with some shredded tillamook cheese and my kid loves it. I am trying to make things as normal as possible for him. But he knows what is going on and gets that I am trying to protect him. It confuses him a bit when he sees his cousins eating things I desperately try not to give him. None the less he gets it and trusts mom.
I just want you to know how much I understand you and everyone on this post. The grocery stores must think I am insane I walk around checking labels for where things are made and ask for fruit from Chile in Whole Foods. Which you have these workers looking at me like “excuse me we should buy local what about your carbon footprint?” I have Trader Joes and other companies phone numbers programmed in my cell phone so I can call and ask when something was packaged. Not really my personality but we have to make these choices for the safety of our families. All I can say is welcome to a wealth of knowledge. I have been at this site from the beginning and have learned so much. Some has freaked me out beyond belief but has made me stronger and wiser. I try not to worry so much but I have to say when I start worrying I start praying like crazy.
God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
Nothing is impossible with God.
I just go to my bible verses and then I start to feel so much better. I don’t know if that works for you but ultimately there is only one person in charge, God, in my opinion and I have seen the power of prayer work miracles. We can only control so much.
@citymom: Michael Collins measured Almond Milk, I am pretty sure it was from California… and it came back okay. Also, Black Diamond Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese is aged one year and you can find that at Trader Joes. It’s almost five bucks though for the slices so it is pricey. But available.
Anyone know about rice milk (trader joes or rice dream)? Up to this point I’ve been able to find pre-fuku rice milk and almond milk but I’ve scavenged all the local markets and can’t find any more. I heard a rumor that rice dream uses RO filtered water but I’m still concerned about their rice…I see you guys have been buying almond milk but those almonds are mostly grown in CA and were probably harvested this year…is that safe? My kids are used to rice milk (we only drank raw milk once on awhile before Japan, mostly we used rice milk) and they kind of hate almond milk…but we’re coming up on the point where we won’t be able to find pre-fuku cheese and I’m concerned that without enriched rice milk and cheese, our diets are going to be seriously vitamin deficient…
Any ideas? Have you tested rice milk (either the shelf stable kind or the stuff you buy in the refrigerated section)?
@ Tray: That wasn’t a poem. Those are words spoken in a speech by Martin Luther King Jr.. They seemed appropriate to share as they helped form a bedrock for our awareness and unwillingness to simply sit back and let injustice descend upon the world in the form of fallout and the greed and hubris of the powers that be that caused it. We hope that these words will spark up that same determination in you.
We haven’t switched to soy milk at all but we did switch almond milk brands to Blue Diamond vanilla, which test normal and is the closest thing to dairy milk we’ve found (superior in fact). BD has a cane juice-sweetened variety that is really good too but a little too sweet for us. And yes, that garlic nan from Trader Joes is still a favorite as long as it registers normal and it still is.
Familial and fraternal pressure to eat and drink everything without regard to its fallout content, if any, will increase. Your vigilance probably sparks the ‘am I being careless with my health and the health of my kids?’ switch in these folks. That doesn’t mean you have to play Russian Roulette along with them. You have a responsibility to yourself, children and I daresay country not to nuke yourself through laziness and gluttony. Be proud of this and do not wear your raddie label with shame. At least it seems that the processed foods we’ve tested mostly have not had the rads work their way through into them yet. Yet as far as we can tell and that certainly is no guarantee.
Thanks Michael for the wonderful poem and uplifting thoughts. And thanks to everyone else too! I will pray, forge ahead and thank my lucky stars there are people out there who care enough to put a website up such as this and the incredibly smart group of people who care enough to comment. THANKS!
Michael, quick question. I saw you switched to soy milk. Are you still drinking almond milk? When will that ship sail? It’s really all we drink. Also garlic nan from Trader Joes are you still eating that? It has been really good to make pizza with for my family.
Gator, Thanks. We are not doing it as perfectly as everyone else but we are 90 percent in the zone. It’s been really hard when you have pizza parties on the weekend with cake and people think you lost it cause you wont let your kid have some. (I want to carry a bag of shredded cheese and pull the other cheese off and replace it with my tillamook) Sounds really insane right?! Or everyone goes out for breakfast and all the kids are having chocolate milk and you pull a carton of almond milk out and pour it in a cup. Oh man I have become one nutty lady but I stick with my family here on this website because thats what we all become. I don’t know what any of you look like. I may walk by you in the grocery store and not even know it but I appreciate you all. Thanks!
Tray,
You are not alone … precisely how my wife and I feel at this point. We have been following this since its beginning, and it is exhausting. Other than the people who frequent this website and other similar sites, most people (even the most highly educated) seem to summarily dismiss these issues.
Okay so hear me out on this and I can only really talk to you all about this because well lets face it nobody else really cares. I wonder if eating (one day a week) some strawberries or fresh carrots isn’t so bad. I wonder if the nutrition value out weighs the small about of radiation one can consume. It just seems that we will never be able to eat produce made in the US ever again the way things are going with Japan now burning the radioactive materials for the next 2 yrs possibly. Because I can’t find much in the Southern hemisphere veggie wise (other then what you amazing people have posted) I am now thinking it may not be so bad to get some stuff from Mexico. At least it is not as close to the jet stream. I am at a loss. After reading an article someone posted about apple juice and how other countries us arsenic as pesticide. I wonder if all those apples I bought from Chile were better for us or not. Arsenic or radiaiton. kinda a no win situation. I have been putting off flying with my kid and his dental x rays because I am somehow trying to “balance” this stuff out. How do you raise kids with no fruits or veggies ? (the exact things we are suppose to use to guard our bodies from this we can not eat) I am just thinking out loud here. I know a lot of people who lived in NY when 3 mile island hit and my entire family is from NY and all of them old and healthy. Thank God! and that was just a state away from us. Japan is over 5000 miles away. I am just trying to make sense of this all. I went to my family gathering this weekend and they were putting it away: lettuce, strawberries, cheese (lots of pizza) etc… and nobody batted an eye. I cringed when my sister in law gave the baby milk and then I got ganged up on when I went and bought some almond milk for my kid. How are we supposed to continue eating prior to stuff made on March 11, It is all going to run out and then what do we do? We have to start eating again and then what if all this hard work was for nothing? and what if breathing the air is worse? I have always been a glass is half full person but today I needed to vent. I just want to pray over my food and live my life. I will say I have been through this cancer thing once in my life and that is why I am connected to this website because I will do ANYTHING to protect my family but to be honest this is really stressful and I think that is the cause of many problems. Sorry to be so long winded but had to do some venting with people who understand me and are not telling me to get over it! I ultimately trust God and Thank God for all my blessings!!! I know this rant sounded weak but please know this is just me thinking out loud for a moment.
@ Chase: This is an extraordinarily overpriced unit with a detector with 1/1000th the range of the Inspector Alert yet over 2.4 times the cost. That works out to be just 1/2,400 as effective as the Inspector in a cost/range ratio comparison. Must be one helluva special plastic bucket.
@ ALL: Our twin article coverage of the Fukushima disaster and its impact on North America and beyond is coming soon (sure, you say, but oh yes it is – the timing has to be just right). Part of that coverage’s extras are first-person accounts of how the multiple meltdowns/melt-throughs/melt-outs have impacted their lives and thoughts on just what this all means for our countries, planet, crops, water, children and even the very process that governs us yet tells us that Fukushima is benign. Two raddies are crafting such essays right now and their quotes will be used in the pieces.
I invite you to submit any such first-person account you may want to craft and send to us. This is your chance to write a stand-alone piece that reflects your concerns, anger, fears, hope and determination as we continue through the worst single man-made environmental disaster to afflict humanity. There are no rules like word count but we will edit the pieces to make sure they are tip-top. We also will give special preference to folks submitting who fully identify themselves because anonymous postings these aren’t. It would be great to include a photo of you too as it helps the reader to relate better to you.
You have shown the millions of people who have visited this website since that your comments rank with the best discussions of Fukushima and its consequences found anywhere. Denise and I invite you to show that brilliance in what could be one of the finest and most important written works you may ever create. The deadline, so to speak, is next Tuesday, October 11. Good luck!
Send your first-person essays and any attached photos to contact [[at]] enviroreporter.com.
A new food tester. (coming soon) I wonder what the manual reads like? A plastic bucket with a rad detector basically.
(I have no clue as to it effectiveness or it’s user friendly capabilities.)
Headline says:
Must-have kitchen gadget: Food radiation checker
Priced at 125,000 yen or($1,628), the Radi can detect radiation ranging from 0.001 to 9.999 microsieverts per hour and has a buzzer option for alerts.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20116445-1/must-have-kitchen-gadget-food-radiation-checker/#ixzz1a2vJrz17
@Tray; Michael has a better water filter which Potrblog recommended to him, and you know that Michael and Potrblog are really in the know. I would email Michael at; contact [[at]] enviroreporter.com for more info!
Citymom and Tray; I went almost an entire year without fruits or vegetables and I survived. Okay I had one half cup of Kale steamed once during that time. Until we are about 30 years old, most of us can survive on what our mothers ate for us while we were in the womb. This info comes from a macrobiotic nutritionist I knew about 30 years ago when I was very young… ha ha. But it makes sense. I did eat a lot of eggs and mustard as a condiment during that year. Yikes. Also, Albertsons has a “butter lettuce” that is hydroponically grown, (eliminates soil cesium, not sure of the water source) But you can look into it. Also, places like the Grocery Outlet have pre-fukushima canned fruit and veggies, which do have more starch than frozen, but are packed before March 11th. And they are cheap. Their Dole Bananas are from the southern hemisphere as well. You can find cheese aged over 2 years at Safeway in the Deli section. Pray over your food. The muscle testing proves it works. But I don’t want to get into that on this forum.
@tray: fruits and veggies are hard. We’ve been living off of whatever south America produce we can find…lately avocados from chile (Lucky/albertsons store in northern ca), mangoes from brazil (also Lucky), clementines and oranges from chile and fresh or frozen asparagus from Peru (all at trader joes). Up until a few weeks ago we could find lots of Chilean apples at trader joes too. No more…they’re all USA now. 🙁 so much for my hopes of an apple pie at thanksgiving.
I miss lettuce and salads like you wouldnt believe. My five year old makes pictures and stories about kale. Kale people!! That’s how deprived we are. :-/ I’ve found lots of pre-fuku frozen veggies in the past, but that’s running out now too. We’re doing lots of supplementing with vitamin c and d.
I don’t know now long we’ll be able to keep this up…but we’ve been on it for almost 7 months now. It is definitely exhausting but I hope it’s worth it to protect our kids especially.
Okay people what fruits and veggies are you eating? I am at a total loss. Flu season is upon us and I have to stock my family with antioxidants. I am at a total loss at what to do. Thanks for any help.
Roundabout, thanks for the filter referral. This looks like exactly what I have been wanting for a long time.
@citymom; After a lot of investigation, I found these water filters. The top model knocks out fukushima fallout and reduces fluoride so you can be nuke free and still save your brain cells! Seriously, this is the one I found to be the best bet as it mentions radioactivity specifically. There are three models, choose the anti-rad one. http://pureeffectfilters.com/filter-units/pure-effect-ultra.html
Citymom, I am using a company I pay per month to rent a ro filter called Culligan. It’s like $30.00 a month. I also have a whole house filter and a filter on my sink. I actually do 1/2 filter on my sink and 1/2 reverse osmosis. I was to nervous about the ph level in reverse osmosis being so low so I mix the two. Also, I called my water company and they said that we use ground water so if radiation makes it’s way in our water it will take several years. I don’t know who to believe these days but I am a mom too and I go with my instinct. I find that works best. This is such a difficult time especially for us with kids and pregnant women. Pray and do the best you can. There are so many pregnant women out there who have no idea this is even going on. We have two Birthday parties to go to in the next few days and undoubtly there will be pizza and cake and everything else we are supposed to stay away from. I just guide my kid to the “better” choices without looking crazy in front of anyone. Hope this helps.
My family isn’t able to get an RO filter at the moment but we’re having huge difficulty finding pre-Fukushima water now. I know trader joes carries water from new Zealand…do you think that is safe? I’m pregnant and we have two small kids so we’re really anxious to do as much as we possibly can to protect ourselves from this monstrous new reality. 🙁
So grateful for all your work and the valuable information you’ve made available to all us “little people.” please keep it up.
Chase thanks for your post. I am so annoyed because at Trader Joes I found some apple juice drink boxes made with apples from Chile. I thought GREAT South of the border what a score! Now I know better.
Here’s my question and it may sound really stupid and maybe I am hoping to hear what I want to hear but… they talk about it in the apple juice what about the organic apples from Chile and New Zealand everyone including Michael is buying south of the border? Maybe in the process of making apple juice it’s worse? If you buy certified organic from chile I would hope no arsenic but man I am just another pawn in the governments world. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh! Is all I have to say. I am doing my best and praying like crazy!
Alert! Apple Juice from south of the border (other countries)have higher than EPA amounts of ‘arsenic’.
10 of 36 apple juices tested high. (double verified) 60 percent of the juice for apples in this country comes from overseas.
Even the famous Dr. Oz is having problems getting clarity from the EPA and FDA. Pleading for clarity!!! Issues communicating with EPA just like everybody else. He was told not to air the show about this. Amazing!
CNN interview with Dr. OZ:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2011/09/14/nr-dr-oz-apple-juice.cnn?iref=allsearch
These clips 1-5 are very informativ. Must see!
A Matter of Risk: Radiation, Drinking Water, and Deception
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMI-dcreRsc&feature=related
This is an old article from The Journal Of Food And Science. But I cant see why it shouldn’t still apply. I would say peel the potatoes before you cook them.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1979.tb06469.x/abstract
@IM355: To ensure your food is okay, the BEST way is to use an Inspector. I almost got to get one this month, but my car broke down… will continue to attempt to get one! Calling companies also has worked well for me. The individuals in these companies are usually very interested as they had not “thought of that” before your call! I tell them to come to this website…
Another tact to take, is to begin your own inside garden using hydroponics so that soil is not a problem, and you can control the water source. Even starting to sprout your own sprouts is a fast and easy way to start the process.
As I get my inspector… down the road… I will be posting on youtube the foods that I buy, or take it to the grocery stores if management does not throw me out! I am very thankful that Michael and Denise have opened up their receipts for us on Eatme….
Dole’s bananas are from Ecuador…and many foods are grown in the southern hemisphere,(the produce manager can help you with the coding) but in the coming days ahead it is most important to be as self sufficient as possible when it comes to food, and not just because of radiation.
And you are correct. The finding of pre-fukushima food is getting scarce. It’s been six months, almost 7.
Like Arnie Gunderson has reported; Hillary Clinton told the Japanese Govt we would not be measuring our food. So, why would the government measure its own food? Just take care of you and your family and try to get an Inspector or some other nuclear radiation monitoring device.
@enviroreporter; I second the motion on you giving a tutorial on how to use the Inspector… I can hardly wait to get one! Almost there!!
@Roundabout
Thanks for your comments. I am aware that the fallout has spread across the entire country, but realistically, the food produced before Fukushima will not last forever and many of us have limited access to products from South America. Hence, we are all eventually going to have to make judgments about which sources of food might be “less” contaminated than others. In this very imperfect situation, it seems like trying to get stuff from as far east and perhaps as far south as possible might be our only option as the pre-Fukushima supplies get used up. Most of us don’t have geiger counters to test our food directly, and it’s been nearly impossible to obtain one since March anyway. (i’ve also heard that geiger counters are not an ideal way to test food, but I have no expertise about that). My thinking is to try to avoid any food that was in the fields this spring and summer (and thus likely got rained on directly by Fukushima fallout) by sticking with pre-Fukushima frozen stuff and other food likely harvested before the disaster, but by next year it will be necessary to buy vegetables, etc. grown in this country again, and at that point eastern is likely better than western (and perhaps southern is better than northern?). If any body has a better long-term solution, I would be interested in hearing it.
Silk makes an organic soy milk option (it’s the unsweetened one, which I think tastes more similar to real milk anyway), and to the best of my knowledge organic cannot be genetically modified–though even if it were genetically modified, I’d rather take my chances with that than with almonds grown in California. Even beyond genetic modification, I have heard that one should only consume organic soy products because an inordinate amount of pesticides are used on non-organic soybeans.
This entire situation is pathetic because our government could test our farms to genuinely ensure they are safe, and there are even ways to decontaminate soil, but because most people aren’t paying ANY attention to the issue, there’s no pressure and no economic incentive for farmers or the government to do such testing. If enough people were concerned enough that they refused to buy stuff until such testing was done, it might get done. But what can we do? Even the small minority of us who are deeply concerned have to eat SOMETHING, so we can’t simply “vote with our pocketbooks” by not buying anything.
Perhaps if food manufacturers got enough letters from concerned consumers asking what they are doing to ensure their products are not contaminated that might lead them to decide to test, but I’m not optimistic because I think they would only respond if their bottom line began to hurt, and that won’t happen since most people are completely oblivious to the fact that cesium, etc., is likely inside many of the items they are thoughtlessly putting into their shopping carts.
(Sadly, I suspect even if one company did such testing and tried to advertise that its products were contamination-free, their competitors would sue them to stop them from making the claim on the grounds that it implied that the competitors’ products were not radiation-free. These are pathetic times that we are living in, and I am thoroughly disillusioned/disgusted with our entire political system and the “ignorance is bliss” crowd who constitute the majority of the American citizenry).
By the way, I’ve had some luck with emailing/calling companies and inquiring about how long before the expiration date the product was made. Sometimes they can tell you the exact date of production.
@iam335; I just want to jump in here to remind that the east coast, and midwest still have spots of high counts, look at potrblog in St. Louis’s readings… due to the fact that when it rains, we then have “nuclear fallout” from the high altitude radiation. The Tornadoes and hurricanes have swept nuclear fallout all over our nation. Not to be too discouraging, but please be aware that though they are farther away from Fukushima, they do not remain untouched from the fallout.
Please also remember that soy (referring to your soy milk) is largely Genetically modified which can also make you ill in the long run.
On a brighter note, it has been scientifically proven that prayer works. Perhaps, coupled with good sense, we can start to return to our forefathers good habit before meals! 🙂
Thank you for providing this information. Your point about most corn being from the previous season was helpful. I have several questions, if you don’t mind:
Do you know if the peanut butter being sold now is still being made from the previous year’s harvests, or have newer peanuts been harvested since March. I tried to find this out from Jif, with no success.
What do you think about buying more recent stuff if it is from the east coast? (i.e., I can’t find any pre-FUK peanut butter, but Smart Balance’s person told me they get their peanuts from “Georgia, Virginia and surrounding states”). Similarly, since bread is perishable, one can’t get pre-FUK bread, Arnold bread is apparently made in eastern Pennsylvania. How dangerous do you think these sources are?
When you test food rich in potassium (like peanut butter or beans or nuts) with a geiger counter, how can you tell whether the clicks represent natural K-40 or Fukushima fallout?
Also, do you think “refined” breads/pastas, etc. (i.e., white bread) would be lower in contamination than whole wheat/whole grain varieties?
Finally, I noticed that your receipts list Silk almond milk, but not soy milk. I had inquired after Fukushima and the Silk people told me that their almonds come from California so I have steered clear of that (whereas, according to their website, their soybeans appear to come from the midwest and eastward). Is there a reason other than taste preference why you are avoiding soymilk and opting for almond?
I am sorry to trouble you with so many questions, but this concerns me very much. I also have been stocking up on pre-FUK food, but I just don’t know what I will do once all of that is gone. I wish there were a way we could all organize and formally develop a petition, or letter writing campaign, or something to demand that the EPA test our farmlands or food for fallout contamination. Surely they could do something to at least diminish the contamination of our country’s farmlands if only they would acknowledge that there is a problem.
Thank you again for your time and for the information you provide.
Regarding the bread, how about making your own from scratch using one of the machines out there? All it takes is putting the ingredients in the pan and le pain est fait! You chose the water & flour, etc., unlike store-bought breads whereby someone else used ingredients you would not use yourself if you were the one deciding.
Wholewheat, multi-grain, raisin, sourdough, french…it’s all easy and fresh bread is — well, yummy.
FWIW, the following webpage gives timely advice during these trying times to avoid excessive radiation from other sources besides food — your doctor, in fact:
http://www.whale.to/a/mammography_h.html
Tray,
With the bread it has been a tough one.
I have been using the Michael cornbread advice ..also buying a local bread that just has a few ingredients and no water so hopefully its last years flour?!
I also like those boxes of Indian food at TJ’s for pretty cheap – goes great with cornbread.
Thanks to Michael for all the food info.
Thanks Chad. I was just at Trader Joes and bought that. I also noticed juice boxes that used apples from Chile. Low sugar and southern hemisphere makes me a happy girl. Now if I can just find a bread for pb and j sandwiches.
Tray,
We recently found broccoli frozen at trader joes, it is organic and from the S. Hemisphere.
They also have noni bread from India frozen.
@ Tray: The astronomical amounts of radiation that has spewed into the air and water is still not quantified. But go to our Resources page and see Tepco’s live feed of the four destroyed reactors and realize this is Chernobyl on steroids. I’m not going to repeat all the incredibly high readings found in all sorts of mediums in Canada and the U.S., but clearly things will never be the same. It takes ten half-lives to play out radionuclides which, for Cesium-137 alone, means 300 years. That’s the long setup to my answer: NO. However, knowing that we are still in the flower of this never-ending disaster, we do take informed chances and then test at home which is what Eat Me is all about.
I am also not for keeping foods a long time hoping that the radionuclides will play out. For example, the high Iodine-131 found in California milk is now being replaced by high Cs-137.
It would be wise to review these comments to figure out what to stay away from but you already know the basics. Use the Internet to answer your simple questions like about New Zealand butter.
Can you buy New Zealand butter here? Like in Whole Foods? If so is there a specific name to look for? Sorry forgot to write that in my post.
Thanks Michael. Okay sorry I realize I didn’t clarify the Lakewood juice right. They do have a 2 yr shelf life and all the juices we are drinking were made before March 11th. So any juice with an expiration date after March 2013 would not be good. All of our juices are before then some dates I have are Nov 10 2012 which means it was made in Nov 2010 and the latest one I purchased was Feb 02, 2013 which was made Feb 2011. I am going today to stock up because it will be soon enough I will not be able to buy these anymore.
Okay so pineapple not good. I will pull off my list. Thanks for the info. Loved your radio show and so fortunate to have you and your wife helping my and all our families!
Will you ever go back to eating stuff from this hemisphere once they enclose those reactors? When they finally shut down those reactors and they are no longer leaking radiation. Will you ever go back to eating our fruits and veggies in the northern hemisphere?
Also everything that was packaged during the month of March and April (like mac and cheese for example) if it is radioactive right now will it dissipate in a years time and then will it be good to eat? or would you avoid those items like the plague? I don’t have a great understanding of how this all works, I just know what you all tell me to stay away from.
@ Tray: Thank you. We’ve made Eat Me Receipts easier to read and use now because, since we don’t go shopping much but did today, we’ve typed out some of the harder to read receipt items. We’re not de-coding the older , but generally readable, receipts because the newer stuff’s rad levels were more recently tested.
When you say the juices have a two year life, that doesn’t mean they were made two years ago. You need to be sure of when it was made, not how long it lasts. Maybe you got lucky but I would think twice before drinking this without knowing for sure.
Here’s our bread suggestion: corn bread. Almost all of the corn meal out there is from last year’s harvest and CB can not be beat for taste and ease of baking. Marie Calendar’s has the best mix that we’ve found but I bet there are some wicked good corn bread mixes out there. Go nuts with the stuff and eat it hot with New Zealand butter melted on top.
Remember that Asia is almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere as is Costa Rica.
Tray, note that we don’t shop for any veggies except potatoes and onions. We grow all our own greens in a controlled environment with rad-free water and air.
Here’s my contribution to this wonderful site. Lakewood juices (I buy at Whole Foods) have a 2 yr shelf life. The are packed with leafy greens and other great fruits and veggies you should not be eating since March 11th. It’s a way to get all our veggies especially for our kid (who surprisingly loves it) Right now we are drinking fruit garden summer gold and red dragon as well as some others.
On to turkey meat.. I called Jennie O and all their turkeys are in a barn they do not see the light of day. I have been very creative with this turkey meat. Meatballs, tacos, burgers, chili. We need protein and this is a safe way to go.
Cheese: Tillamook makes aged cheese 15 months and 2 years. They don’t shoot the cows up with that milk hormone. So this is a good cheese option.
If anyone has a good bread option please let me know. I need to find one because we love our peanut butter and jelly in this house.
More fruits from Chile: Trader Joes pomegranates, whole foods apples (green and fuji), kiwi, and asian pears. Pineapple too.(not from chile but i needed to expand a bit. Pineapple form costa rica.)
Michael, please let me know of any safe fresh veggies if you find any. Especially carrots and broccoli. Thanks for all of this! I have said this before but my appreciation and respect for you and your wife is huge. Thanks!!!
I was at Sears yesterday buying a “Honeywell” Hepa filter, I noticed that GE makes them also. I find this highly Ironic they make the Fuke plant that spills the pollution and then sell us the filtering systems to attempt to clean some of it up.
I am not sending receipts to Michael yet because my shopping yesterday was focused on buying prefuke foods. I will be sending money and a receipt soon, Thank you!!!
EAT ME
Bravo!! A 5*****star Winner
I’m sharing it with everyone on my address book.
“… there’s no need to worry about eating cesium-tainted meat several times during a certain period”
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110717002565.htm
Unbelievable!
————————————————
What do you think of this?
Natural Radiation:
Why Your Bananas Are Radioactive And You Shouldn’t Care
http://tinyurl.com/6b7d9de
How can you tell the difference between Fukushima and “natural” radiation when you messure it?
@ roundabout: To be sure, we are not seeking your list or donation to cover testing it. We are simply showing you what we bought. Adapt your tastes to our lowbrow fare and save yourself the hassle and expense. That said, we will be happy to test your customized list via the method described earlier.
Remember, buying pre-Fukushima and south of the Equator are the real ways to go. Our stockpiling of essential grains, beans, rice and other staples that were pre-Fukushima impacted and/or not hot make up the majority of our consumption. Eat Me is just to show you what we went for and tested.
Potrblog correctly points out how water interferes with detection hence why our two hot peaches may have been hotter than we spot-checked. That is why you don’t see us buying liquids other than almond milk which we closely test or fruits that aren’t from south of the Equator. We advise the same for you.
Thank you for your generosity Michael and Denise. Your time, skill, efforts and thoughtfulness are priceless. I will be sending my list and money via paypal in a few short weeks. I am dying to find out about eggs! I eat them daily without fail, because my body needs them. I don’t do well without them, but think that they are now full of cesium!!
I am wondering when the USA government is going to have regrets like the undeniable mishaps over the Japanese beef. I really wonder what the Japanese citizens are dealing with this. It seems as though they are waking up and more apt to take precautions. The reality will soon be hitting the west coast, it is just a matter of time. Please everyone, don’t give up on being vigilant just because society as a whole is pretending there is not a problem… swim against the current, and you will be stronger.
Today clicking on the receipt worked. Last night, nothing happened. Think I need to get my mouse pad on the computer checked.
Trader Joe’s is looking good. Thank God.
Thanks!
@ Angusmerlin: Click on the receipts and they’ll enlarge.
Cool, Michael. Thanks.
Anyway you can make the size of the receipts a little larger on the web page? Are hard for me to read.
Could not make out the TJ stuff at all.
Thanks!
Signed,
Need New Glasses
@ Lana Ganz: Your welcome, Lana. You will not see foods marked higher in radiation because of the many ramifications legally and otherwise. For example, we have found high readings in powdered milk, chocolate, fruit, etc. but IF we were to report the exact product and store, we could expect a strong reaction from the manufacturer and/or the store and we don’t want to deal with that. Also, to point at one (or more) products as being elevated in a store and not going to other stores to test the same item is irresponsible. But to do that is beyond our capabilities. This should be the job of our government. So we stick to what we know is okay (made pre 3/11 and/or south of the Equator) which we can see is still the majority of products we’ve tested. The check marks mean we’ve tested the product and it’s probably okay. The circles are around the country south of the Equator where the product was made. (Fallout from Fukushima is expected to stay north of the Equator for at least one to two years as I understand it). Writing on the receipt (like “Aged 18 months”) delineates why the purchase was rad-free.
@ JT: I expect to be reporting on this very thing next week. Activists are preparing a new campaign that sounds like you would approve of and become involved in.
@ roundabout: As noted above, they mean the products have been tested by me using the Inspector and do not have any overt radiation that I can detect.
Do the little check marks next to the price that you checked on the receipt mean anything?
Hi MC and DA,
Thank you SO much for your “eat me” blog- what a gift to concerned parents on the Westside! How will you mark or highlight foods that appear to have higher than background radiation content? Do the check marks mean those foods seem to be fine? What do the circles mean?
@ JT & Tray:
Eat Me offers you the free opportunity to mirror our purchases using your best common sense and fully aware of our Eat Me Disclaimer. We understand folks’ desires to have us test other foodstuffs and appreciate your understanding that we cannot pay for this ourselves. Our labor and expertise for Eat Me are free. We will not charge anything over the cost of the food to sample, plus the appropriate tax and PayPal commission.
We will not be able to give or send you this food however but it will not go to waste. We haven’t considered testing folks’ own food purchases (after the fact) yet but that is not out of the question.
We will check individual foods you request when possible but you will have to pay the cost for the foodstuffs we buy, do the research on what you want tested, what amount, how much it costs and then send us your list to contact [[at]] enviroreporter.com. This will mean a trip for you to one (or more) of the three stores shopped already (OR other stores in our area which include Ralphs, Vons, Whole Foods, Pavilions and Costco). Figure out the cost including the 8.75% tax in the city of Los Angeles, or the 9.25% tax in Santa Monica, and the 6% commission PayPal takes out of donations to us.
Then send your list to us and we’ll let you know when we can go shopping for these items (which will be totaled separately in its own receipt) before you’ve made a donation to our PayPal account which is linked to on our “Donate” button on this web page. Once that’s arranged, and you’ve made your donation covering cost, tax and PayPal’s commission, we’ll go shopping.
We’ll buy the items and test them upon returning to Radiation Station and then send you a j-peg of the receipt with the results. We also will post this receipt on Eat Me to share with all unless you request otherwise. For items that test higher than normal radioactivity, we may also videotape the testing to post on our Radiation Station Videos at our own discretion.
Truly, it is outrageous that the EPA has abandoned Americans in their right to consume food and drink that is radiation free. In our own small way, we remedy that with Eat Me.
from NRC Dedication: “…their efforts that have resulted in “no fatalities and the expectation of no significant radiological health effects” from the disaster.”
The problem is they just haven’t read the BEIR VII report. Once they do that, then I am certain they will retract their statement. 🙂
…or will they say years from now “our dedication statement was regrettable and uninformed.”? 🙁
As far as the EPA decisions go, I would have to say, I’m completely baffled. Makes no sense to me, none, zero! Criminal by omission, or whatever. Will their defensive pleas be ‘stupidity’ or ‘insanity’ or both? Perhaps they don’t deserve the right to make a plea, the untold number of victims, because of the EPA’s negligence, will not get to make a plea.
Michael and Denise you rock!!! I am with JT on the testing of the more riskier foods. As you know I am in Santa Monica from time to time with my husband and would be willing to flip the bill to get some strawberries, blueberries, brocolli, carrots, red peppers, cantalope and watermelon tested. Also turkey meat.
JT:
I am a mom as well and have been making the same smoothie for my kid everyday with the whey protein. I use whey factors from Whole Foods lot638452 exp N02013 this is pre fuk. protein. Also we have been buying those little cutties tangerines they are from Chile. I like what you said about the almond thing we eat those like crazy. So glad to see parents that are doing something everyone looks at me like I am nuts out here. Nice to have a support system.
Thank you for your hard work. I began my shopping of pre-Fukushima foods almost immediately. The shock and disbelief had to wear off first. I constantly look for “cold” food.
Thank you!!!!!! I am so disappointed with our government. I am frankly willing to take some risks with my own health (I have been since I was 12) but I have two kids (7 & 9) and I am sickened by the thought that I might have already “fuked” them. If we send some money will you buy some food which may be more “risky” that you do not need because of your “pre fuke” supplies? I would love to know about Valencia Oranges, Peanut butter, organic jam, whole wheat bread, chicken, tomato sauce (organic), trader joes refrigerated almond milk, honey.
By the way we have been making Almond Milk smooothies for breakfast since before fuke. Here is my current recipe:
Almond Milk
Frozen Strawberries (whole foods from Argentina)
Bananas (south of the border, I hope that is good enough)
Whey Protein Powder (Vanilla, from Whole Foods, Fuked???)
Valenica Oranges (Organic, we may as well keep avoiding pesticides)
Some famous dietician said that five almonds a day will keep you from getting cancer, I sure hope he is right because my almond milk smoothie will then be a lifesaver!
Peace
JT