Any point to getting a radiation meter?

I'm writing to ask those who are expert in measuring radiation in the environment and in food - is there any point to a technical person (i.e. me for example) buying a good meter, and contributing hopefully some useful data?

Immense thanks to Berkeley Radiological Air and Water Monitoring. To many of us who are numbers-people (I'm an engineer), it's such a relief to find this source of actual measurements that might be useful in deciding how to conduct our lives after the onset of Fukushima (I wish I could say "aftermath of Fukushima", but we're so far from that). Hugely appreciated in BRAWM also is the fantastic public/community attitude - from the people at the top who have a clear idea what a university contributes to the community, throughout all the scientists and expert students.

What better-informed members of the public want the most, I believe, are contamination rates for water, milk and food. We want to know the rates for the kind of things that we have to consume to live, those things that the most harm may come from. I am aware that there could be some danger from airborne particulates as well, but ingestion may well be the most important factor in danger. We don't want our food to be our poison. BRAWM is giving us the data, real-life data. Thanks!!!

It is criminal that there aren't better sources of government information, and that there is little other data from universities. We have to eat food and drink liquids. We shouldn't be assumed to be stupid, and just get a pat on the head without real numbers.

So, is there any point in technically-trained members of the public having our own sensitive, modern meters? For example, I can still obtain a meter capable down to 0.01 or 0.1 microSieverts/hour. Gamma, beta, and possibly alpha measurements. Can we construct our own means to convert those microSieverts/hour measurements to Becquerels/kg of food, water or milk, if we create our own test vessel?

I do realize that geiger counters and meters do not separate out isotope information - test equipment that gives us a spectrum in electron volts would be necessary, and those are nearly impossible to purchase right now. However, if we have other isotope-separated readings from e.g. BRAWM to compare with, then one could make a reasonable estimate based on a total-emissions measurement, assuming that a comparable set of radioisotope species is being measured.

In North America and Europe, air and ground contamination levels are very low, so I estimate that a meter wouldn't tell us much of any use. But I'd love to measure my own water, milk, vegetables and other food. I live in Vancouver, Canada, where the government is providing no data in terms of quantitative numbers, but we know that we are getting big dumps of contamination loaded in the nearly-continual rainfall here, and our water supply is rainwater. We have no useful data up here, and that is particularly frustrating with respect to food. (We're also having an election up here, and it's a crime that the refusal of the government to release radiation readings isn't an election issue. All the politicians seem to agree that the message is that Canadians are just dumb bunnies).

Any nuclear measurement experts out there? Anhone that could explain to the scientists and engineers among us whether we could contribute to the general sense of what's wise to do, what choice do we make in feeding ourselves and our children - can we obtain any useful data with our own meters and test vessels?

Thanks again to BRAWM! / Jo