Despite objections from several consumer groups and thousands of parents, teachers and children, the Department of Agriculture approved the use of irradiated ground beef in the national school lunch program.

Local school districts will now have the option of ordering hamburgers and meat loaf treated with low doses of bacteria-destroying radiation to be served in school cafeterias.

Some 27 million school children receive free or low-cost meals daily under the USDA's national school lunch program.

While there is not a lot of evidence showing that irradiation is harmful, the effects of long-term consumption of irradiated food products remain to be seen.

Those in favor of irradiation, which includes the federal government and meat industry, say that the process is useful for killing potentially harmful microbes such as salmonella and E. coli.

Irradiation was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 and irradiated meat was approved by the USDA for sale in grocery stores in 1999.

Currently, irradiated meat makes up less than five percent of overall meat sales. By offering the option of irradiated meat for school lunches, the USDA could become the largest distributor of irradiated food in the world, as the USDA buys meat and distributes it to local schools.

However, some analysts believe that school systems will have little incentive to order irradiated ground beef, not only because of safety concerns but also because irradiated meat costs as much as 16 percent more than regular ground beef.

According to the USDA, irradiated ground beef will cost schools an additional 13 cents to 20 cents per pound.

While the boxes of irradiated meat arriving at schools will be labeled, labeling in the cafeteria or parental notification is not required, though the USDA stated it will "encourage" schools using irradiated meat to let parents know.

The controversy over the safety of meat irradiation is far from over. Some studies have linked the process to increased cancer rates, and it remains to be seen how the process might affect developing children.

Nevertheless, local school districts will be given the option of ordering irradiated meat, and USDA officials said they would provide information about the process to school districts.

Washington Post May 30, 2003; Page A11

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

I don’t have any children, but this process still angers me greatly. U.S. government officials have taken it upon themselves to ignore the warnings of many well-respected scientists and purchase irradiated beef for school children. Thus, the government bypasses the normal markets where the vast majority of all consumers would not purchase this garbage meat. Some of you may wonder why irradiated beef is a problem. You can review the links below for the answer to that question. This issue is virtually the same issue as with milk. Once milk is pasteurized to "protect" us, it is seriously damaged and actually causes more harm than good for most who drink it. However, if milk is consumed in its real raw form, then it is typically an amazing health-producing food for most who consume it. USDA's announcement still leaves a way to protect schoolchildren. Since the choice is up to local school boards and district food service directors whether or not to purchase irradiated meat, you can work with your school district to discourage the use of irradiated foods. The following Web site can be used to obtain more information on how to work with your school district to stop the purchase of irradiated foods: www.safelunch.org. You can also contact your representative and senators today to urge them not to support irradiated food in school lunches. Related Articles: More Reasons Why You Don’t Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk Why You Don’t Want to Drink Pasteurized Milk Stores May Sell More Irradiated Meat Starting February No More Testing for Salmonella in School Beef If Irradiated??? Bush Administration Proposal to Serve Irradiated Beef to School