Since we launched this website last year, I've learned quite a bit about the use of nanotechnology in the food system, but until recently, I didn't have a clear understanding of how nanotech is being used, and what potential risks it poses.

Big food manufacturers are quitely concocting new food packaging with nanotechnology that could extend the shelf life of vegetables up to a month, nano delivery systems that could enhance the flavor and color of food, and nano-sensors that could prevent the next E. Coli outbreak. Although food safety advocates are sounding the alarm about the possible hazards of nanotechnology, government officials haven't taken any steps to regulate nanotech.

Last month, I did some research on the use of nanotechnology by food manufacturers and wrote an article for Mindful Metropolis. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Critics warn that nanoparticles have greater access to our bodies than larger particles, because they're small enough to slip through cell walls, and once they're inside they could potentially compromise the immune system's ability to respond. Nanoparticles have also successfully crossed the blood-brain barrier, a barrier that protects the brain from infection and that was previously thought to be nearly impenetrable. That discovery could revolutionize brain cancer treatment, but it raises red flags for other nanotechnology applications.

[...]

Beyond the health and safety concerns, organic food advocates warn that the use of nanotechnology in the food industry will only serve to further the interests of industrial farming. While organic farmers employ natural techniques and discourage the use of synthetic chemicals, nanotechnology presents an opposite, almost pharmaceutical approach to food production. "If you look at this technology, it's a converging technology that's going to further entrench us into an industrial agricultural system," George Kimbrell from the Center for Food Safety in San Francisco.

Read the whole story at Mindful Metropolis.

-Mark