I went to San Francisco this past weekend. I hadn’t flown for awhile, so had forgotten what a gauntlet you have to run before even getting to the gate in the name of our safety. The security experts don’t seem to have factored in our health however, especially when it comes to food. Many airports come up short in terms of healthy food options, although San Fran and Van are actually quite good. But the area of food security that concerns me most when travelling is the X-raying of our food and drink. Perhaps fortunately, liquids can only come with you in hundred millilitre containers, enough to quench the thirst of your pet flea. Babies are permitted a whole bottle of milk or juice, but the bottles still have to go through the X-ray machine. If mom is your source, then there’s an endless supply, but mom may also have to pass through the full body scanner. Of course the experts say the levels are safe. But have they studied how the cells might be altered by going through the machine? I wonder how a mother’s milk might be affected. And what if the food was already irradiated and then goes through the X-ray, what happens to the already irradiated cells?
On the return trip, my beautiful, healthy lunch slid through the X-ray machine. I couldn’t help thinking it might be transformed into a weapon of mass destruction inside my body. After I sent my sandwich through, it was my turn to be exposed to the radiation, my first full body scan. I was not given the pat down option, there were no signs saying I had a choice, and the tone of commands told me it was best not to protest.
When scientists determine the safe, allowable residuals of pesticides on food, they only calculate the levels for that specific fruit or vegetable. They do not take into account the “cocktail” effect; what if you eat a whole salad of toxic residuals for example? Or what happens when all those different chemicals combine inside your body? I suspect it is the same with radiation exposure. On a daily basis, we are exposed to radiation from cell phones, microwaves, TV, at the dentist, the doctor, to name just a few sources. So while the homeland security experts are imposing all these extreme measures to save lives, they may be killing us softly with radiation cocktails.