Portside

Kimberly Roberson, speaking as a parent and an activist/organizer does not mince her words. They are heart, mind and soul piercing. She is in our faces about the horrific dangers of nuclear power - especially for our babies and children. Her purpose is to inform and rouse to action all those not already involved and aware. "Startling clear to me: radioactive fallout from nuclear power and food do not mix, and children are especially at risk".But as parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and caregivers we have a responsibility to our children. And remember, radiation from nuclear fallout is transgenerational, meaning that it has been proven to damage DNA for generations to come. The bigger picture after all is really about food safety and human health.

I marked every page in the book as I was reading. I am focusing on food in this review because that is a major issue for both Roberson and me. What are we doing to our babies and children when we give them milk? Alarmed, I read from Roberson that "strontium 90 has been detected in the U.S. milk supply, as well as other radioisotopes linked directly to Fukushima".Radioactive strontium is attracted to the body, much like calcium, only rather than nourishing bones it causes cancer. Children's cells divide and multiply at an accelerated pace which makes the youngest especially vulnerable to radiation."

Roberson tells us, "The late Dr. Rosalie Bertell, PhD and Gray Nun of the Sacred Heart was an accomplished scientist who warned in No Immediate Danger; Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth not only of the damage to the person coming in contact with radioactive fallout in their food and water, but also to their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren suffering mutations in their DNA as well."

Roberson continues, again alarmingly, "Probably the one question that perplexed so many of the people I was working with was how could the biggest industrial and nuclear accident in world history be allowed to continue to affect our food supply unchecked ." [emphasis mine]. That continues to this day.

Roberson puts it this way, "One thing I've realized in the past two years is to always consider the source"The list goes on and on. Grass fed beef, free range poultry, miso [see the paper I wrote about miso "Fukushima, Miso Soup and Me" ], nori, strawberries"pesky questions, but we all need to be asking them." Begin today, now, all the time, to ask this question about everything you eat and drink. This is urgent: what is the country of origin?

From my experience working on the many issues about food and drink safety since Fukushima, here are some questions we must understand and work to change since Fukushima: What food and drink does the USA import from Japan? How was and is our food here in the USA contaminated from Fukushima? Who tests the food in each country, including the USA? How do they test it? Is how the food is tested adequate? Who decides? How honest are our labelling laws? [Not honest at all; but that requires a whole other paper.] Thank goodness the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been defeated by the actions of we the people and as immoral and misleading as our food labeling laws are here in the USA, at least it willl still be mandatory to put counrty of origin on our food. What Trump will do, who is now talking about "binary arrangements" instead of the TTP, remains to be seen.

Be wary also, Roberson warns us, of "fish oil, carrageenan, and sea salt [which] all come from ocean waters." I say, please read all labels. Use pink salt from the Himalayas, not sea salt. This pink salt from the Himalayas sometimes is called sea salt - but from oceans millions of years ago. I eat nothing from the ocean. There is really only one ocean. Look at any map. You might want to read a paper I have written called "The Pacific Ocean Does Not Belong to Japan: It Belongs to All of Us."

Also pay attention to iodine and where it comes from, continues Roberson. Iodine often comes from kelp "but where is the kelp sourced? Much of the kelp spanning the California coastline has shown significantly increased levels of Iodine-131 since Fukushima began. Not exactly the kind of iodine I want in children's gummy vitamins."

While we are here talking about food and drink, note also that most non-mercury fillings that your dentist puts in your mouth come from Japan!!! As does most bonding material at your dentist's office. Instead, there is a company in Germany - Grandio - where dentists, not you, can get non-mercury fillings. Please ask your dentist to do so for you.

Since Fukushima, I myself do not knowingly eat or drink any food or beverages that come from Japan. My first question about anything that goes into my mouth always is - what is the country or countries of origin? I am an organic vegan now, since Fukushima, and before that was an organic vegetarian for 40 years. For those who eat organic, Roberson notes, "And trust me, radioactive fallout does not distinguish if it lands on conventional or organic items. You may be asking why is radioactive fallout alllowed in organic food but irradiation is not? The answer is because the regulations are not yet in place to test from nuclear accidents and nuclear power production. That clearly needs to change." She wrote Silence Deafening; Fukushima Fallout, A Mother's Response in 2013. It is now 2016. Nothing has changedI love this from Roberson, "Perhaps Dr. Seuss said it best in The Lorax, 'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not."

On my birthday two years ago, before I read Roberson's book, I went to the Dr. Zeuss museum in Springfield, MA and read that quote there for the first time and bought myself a Lorax then. Consider buying a Lorax for a constant reminder and keep her with you = in mind, heart, body, soul. You can buy a Lorax through The Manhattan Toy Store.

A final truth telling from prophet Roberson, "Another lesson learned. Much of what happens to protect our food and water or anything else for that matter starts with us."

LEASE SIGN FFAN'S [FUKUSHIMA FALLOUT AWARENESS NETWORK] URGENT PETITION No Olympics or Paralympics in Radioactive Fukushima "Children are our most beloved and cherished gift and they are also the most vulnerable to the generational damage of man-made radiation in air, food, soil and water. Around the world children who are currently adolescent and possibly younger are in training to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Japan. Their parents most likely have no idea that some of the venues are near the most devastating and ongoing nuclear and industrial disaster in world history, Fukushima Daiichi.

Sheila Parks, Ed.D., is a former college professor. She had a spiritual awakening many years ago and left her career to do peace and justice work full time. She is the founder of the grassroots group On Behalf of Planet Earth (found on FB).