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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."

5 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 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.