Japan farm ministry ready to set no-grazing zone for cows, cattle
BY SATOSHI OTANI, STAFF WRITER
3 May 2011 Concerns over consumption of milk and meat contaminated with radioactivity have prompted the farm ministry to plan a zone where cattle and dairy cows will be prohibited from grazing and feeding on the grass, sources said. Radioactive materials at levels far higher than safety standards for grazing have been detected in checks of grass in some parts of Fukushima and Chiba prefectures. Farmers in the envisaged zone will be required to give imported feed or grass cut and stored before the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami. “Emergency imports of grass may become necessary” following the establishment of the no-grazing zone, said an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. … Radioactive iodine does not pose a serious problem because it has a short half life. But radioactive cesium is deposited in the animals’ muscles and has a half life of 30 years. Farmers in several prefectures, including Fukushima, Ibaraki and Chiba, have refrained from putting out cows and cattle to graze since it was reported last month that radioactive materials were detected in raw milk kept in Fukushima Prefecture. So far, no checks, however, have detected radioactive cesium exceeding the safety limits in beef. …
You have an excellent and very informative site. Sometimes all we can do is witness and report the truth to those who will listen.
Thank you.
Thank you, Susan. Bearing witness is one of the central motivations for Des.