Just as with genetic engineering, the US will pressure other countries to accept unlabeled irradiated food even if they have labeling laws. These laws will be overturned by the Codex Alimentarius, the WTO's food overseers. In order to meet US import standards, Third World countries will irradiate using nuclear materials happily supplied by a revitalized US and Canadian nuclear industry. Food irradiation is very easy to understand from a holistic point of view. It is a smoke screen behind which the environmentally unsustainable, cruel, and politically powerful factory farming system continues to turn out cheap meat.
Food irradiation is a means to keep meat cheap, and producers free of legal liability.
There are many other reasons to be concerned about food irradiation. No human studies longer than 15 weeks, and almost no studies on children, have been conducted. Many animal studies showed health effects. Without labels, scientists will not be able to compare people who avoided irradiated foods with people who ate them. Once irradiation is established, the FDA may try again to allow 'organic' to include irradiated food.