This is part nine of a 10-part series on how changing ones eating habits may be the most accessible and impactful way to improve the world.

Over the past several decades, a rope comprised of various food regulations has been formed and subjected to a continuous game of tug-of-war between money-hungry corporations and green-guided activists. Three regulated issues currently experiencing nausea from the persistent side-to-side motion include: genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food irradiation, and an international code called “Codex Alimentarius.” Because most are now familiar with the dangers of GMOs, I will briefly concentrate on the latter subjects.

If irradiation’s a word you’re familiar with, it’s likely due to the process’s recent portrayal as a “cure” for the e-coli contamination appearing within our food supply.  Less publicized, however, are its potential side-effects on our (and the environment’s) health, as well as the underlying vectors that have guided the dangerous bacteria to so many of our plates in the first place – the unsanitary conditions through which animals are raised and processed.

What one should know, however, is that once a piece of food has been irradiated, it loses some 20-80% of its vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and enzymes – the very components which give eating a genuine purpose. The process also introduces “free radicals” into the food that combine with one-another to form toxins such as benzene and formaldehyde. Another obvious side effect is that of contamination from radioactive particles produced (and occasionally leaked) by irradiation plants. To learn more, visit the Organic Consumer Association’s food irradiation Web page.

The last regulatory issue is Codex Alimentarius – an international organization seeking to control all nutrients (food and water) due to their ability to manipulate our internal biology. All member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be subjected to its code which seeks to eliminate therapeutic grade vitamins, minerals, and amino acids from the marketplace. This is only the beginning, however, as it also seeks to govern every aspect of food production from soil to mouth. A useful page composed of various excerpts on the hotly debated and seldom-acknowledged topic can be found on livingnutrition.com. If you prefer videos to words, you can watch an informed woman’s speech on the subject by visiting healthfreedomusa.org. Whether or not it turns out to be as dangerous as projected, it’s a regulation that will have worldwide implementation beginning at that end of this year (Dec-09), and a topic about which we should all be fully aware.