Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Fujitsu Is Growing Radiation-Free Lettuce In Japan's Fukushima Prefecture

Posted by samzenpus on from the just-eat-it dept.

Taffykay (2047384) writes "Tech giant Fujitsu has opened an organic lettuce farm in Japan's Fukushima prefecture. Blending agriculture, technology, and medicine in a former microchip factory, the company has developed a new variety of organic lettuce that is not only lower in potassium and nitrates than standard varieties, but is also radiation-free."

8 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Sure! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They'll be saying something different when a 300 foot radioactive lettuce monster is attacking Tokyo....

  2. Yeah... by HideyoshiJP · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fukushima's a pretty big prefecture (13,782.54 km2/5,321.47 sq mi). It's ranked third by area. I'm sure there's plenty of safe land there.

    1. Re:Yeah... by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's a little over 50 miles away if you just Google the address. It's just outside the exclusion zone set by the US government for US citizens.

      It's INSIDE what was once the companies clean room. So it's distance from the reactor is irrelevant. The point of what they're doing is that they can grow food irrelevant of the conditions outside. Year round. The plants they are growing are specialized for people who have kidney diseases. The lower potassium makes them easier on the liver and the lower nitrates make them for palatable to children and likely people undergoing chemo. i.e. It costs a lot to grow food this way, so they picked a food people were more willing to pay a premium for.

    2. Re:Yeah... by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to a peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic. Further, recent research suggests that nitrates and nitrites may not only be harmless, they may be beneficial, especially for immunity and heart health.

      Amusing stuff. More nitrate from vegetables than from like 500 hotdogs. 90% of your nitrite exposure comes from internal manufacture.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    3. Re:Yeah... by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The study that originally connected nitrates with cancer risk and caused the scare in the first place has since been discredited after being subjected to a peer review. There have been major reviews of the scientific literature that found no link between nitrates or nitrites and human cancers, or even evidence to suggest that they may be carcinogenic.

      That's because those studies were of nitrates, not the high-temperature products of cooking nitrate-laden organics like beef: as nitrosamines.

      As I posted in another link above: nitrates themselves are known to be pretty benign. But there is plenty of good evidence over a period of decades that cooking nitrate-cured food (like hot dogs) produces nitrosamines that are well-known (and long studied) carcinogens.

      Nitrates themselves are probably not much concern. In fact nitrates are known, often-prescribed vasodilators. (Know anybody who takes nitroglycerine for heart problems?)

      As with so many other things, nitrates are not necessarily evil. It is what you do with them that counts.

  3. NOTHING is radiation free by Akaihiryuu · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nothing in existence is "radiation free". There is no such thing. There are MANY MANY MANY naturally occuring radioisotopes. A major one is Carbon-14, which ALL organic materials contain to some degree. I can't determine if the people making this "radiation free" lettuce are either very stupid, or very smart and cleverly marketing to stupid people.

    1. Re:NOTHING is radiation free by sconeu · · Score: 4, Funny

      Reminds me of back in '81, when I was at WUSTL.edu, during the height of the "No Nukes" movement. Some idiot had been quoted in the student newspaper as saying, "any amount of radiation is dangerous".

      So I and a bunch of friends started the SOTS movement. "Stamp Out The Sun... Because ANY Amount of Radiation is Dangerous".

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  4. Re:New improved formula! Radiation Free! by boaworm · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here is a good summary of many excellent products with Radium added for extra marketability.

    http://io9.com/seriously-scary...

    --
    Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities.
    Aristotele