Chicken Fried Arsenic

[jebbypal]

Think Chicken is healthier than beef? turns out not (NYTimes, reg req).

The long and the short of it is that chickens have been fed feed containing arsenic for years to combat illness and promote growth...which wasn't a problem until chicken consumption raised in the 80s.

The good news: anti-biotic free and organic chicken brands are arsenic free. in 2004, Tyson stopped using arsenic as well.

However, any fast food chicken is almost certainly contaminated with detectable amounts of arsenic. Removing the skin reduces the levels somewhat. But arsenic is a heavy metal and exposure is cumulative. Added to the problem is Chickens are not the only environmental source of arsenic. In addition to drinking water, for which the Environmental Protection Agencynow sets a level of 10 parts per billion, other poultry, rice, fish anda number of foods also contain the poison. Soils are contaminated witharsenical pesticides from chicken manure; chicken litter containingarsenic is fed to other animals; and until 2003, arsenic was used inpressure-treated wood for decks and playground equipment.

Weighing the risks of potentially problems from mad-cow versus known risks of arsenic. I'll take the non-spinal cuts of beef, thank you very much.

Comments

[kurukami.livejournal.com]

Well, nuts. There goes my fetish for KFC popcorn chicken. : )

[inalasahl]

Oh, that's just great. Chicken is my main source of dietary meat (because I like it best, not because of health reasons).

I should just accept that I'm going to go crazy and then die of cancer. It's unavoidable.

[jebbypal]

well, at least now you can find brands that don't have it in them.

[inalasahl]

I generally buy Foster Farms because it's grown locally. I've e-mailed it to ask about the arsenic.