Japan Scientist: We gave butterflies food from Fukushima… then, they died; Deformities get worse with each generation — TV: “Truly horrifying… it doesn’t really even look like a butterfly anymore” (PHOTOS & VIDEO)
Vice on HBO, Season 2 Episode 10, May 24, 2014 (at 5:30 in):
- Dr. Joji Otaki, lead researcher, University of Ryukyus: We collected houseplant leaves from Fukushima, and those leaves are given to [butterfly] larvae collected from Okinawa… Those larvae aresupposed to be healthy. But they ate contaminated food from Fukushima. Then we see what happens.
- Vikram Ghandi, Vice: What happened?
- Otaki: They died.
- Ghandi: Dr. Otaki’s experiments have shown the truly horrifying effects contaminated food can have on living organisms.
- Otaki: You can see wrinkled wings.
- Ghandi: It doesn’t really even look like a butterfly anymore.
- Otaki: We found that mortality rate and abnormality rate of the 2nd generation is much higher — even worse in the 3rd generation.
- Ghandi: The evidence contaminated food has increasingly worse effects over the course of generations is especially scary since one of Fukushima’s primary industries is agriculture.
- Kazuya Tarukawa, farmer in Sukagawa 50 miles from Fukushima Daiichi: We had been growing produce that measured 3,000 [Bq/kg] without even knowing it. Selling such produce to the markets made me feel severely guilty.
- Ghandi: His father was consumed with guilt.
- Tarukawa: He hung himself from the tree.
Published: May 29th, 2014 at 8:36 pm ET
|
Related Posts
- Former Japan Official: “Earth is in peril” from Fukushima reactors if current situation continues — Tepco Worker: “The buildings themselves have started to break down” at plant; Equipment has too, “even the cooling system ceasing to function is a possibility” (VIDEO) May 27, 2014
- Professor: Fukushima is absolutely horrifying — Radiation will be entering Pacific for decades, there’s no end in sight — Nobody has a solution, problems are unprecedented (VIDEO) November 27, 2013
- Cancer Expert in Fukushima: “There has undoubtedly been radiation poisoning, people shouldn’t be living here”; Officials only focus is covering up crisis — TV: On playground, we found radiation levels 2,000% higher than displayed by gov’t monitoring post (VIDEO) May 28, 2014
- Japan Times: Study finds ‘abnormalities’ in 52% of second generation offspring from butterflies collected May 2011 — Unusually small wings, premature death August 12, 2012
- More images of deformed butterflies after Fukushima — Wings folded over, rumpled, much different sizes (PHOTOS) September 21, 2012
