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April 13 2007

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Is the Chicken You Eat Poisoned With Arsenic?

Roxarsone, an arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, could pose health risks to humans.

Roxarsone is the most common arsenic-based additive used in chicken feed, used to promote growth, kill parasites and improve the color of chicken meat. It is normally benign, but under certain conditions that can occur within live chickens or on farm land, the compound converts into more toxic forms of inorganic arsenic.

Arsenic has been linked to bladder, lung, skin, kidney and colon cancers, and low-level exposure can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes.

A number of food suppliers have stopped using roxarsone, including Tyson Foods, which is the largest poultry producer in the United States. But even so, 70 percent of the 9 billion broiler chickens produced annually in the United States are fed roxarsone.

Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 85, No. 15, April 9, 2007: 34-35 (Free Full-Text Article)

Science Daily April 10, 2007


Dr. Mercola's Comment:

You were probably as surprised as I was to find out that nearly three-fourths of commercially raised chickens will be contaminated with arsenic because they were fed contaminated food.

Seems like it would be wise to avoid most conventionally raised chicken altogether now that you know about roxarsone. Neither the USDA or FDA have a clue as to how much arsenic you may be consuming in the chicken you eat.

In the only testing that has measured arsenic in chicken so far, nearly 75 percent of the raw meat sampled from conventional sources in Minnesota and California contain detectable levels of arsenic along with one-third of the samples taken from organic and "premium" sources.

Still, organic chicken -- preferably those raised on farms near you -- is the best choice for your health. Organic chickens are better fed, exposed to fewer pesticides and harmful chemicals, and get more sunlight, all of which makes them healthier for you.

This is one of the reasons you will want to consume organic foods whenever possible. Just makes no sense to load your body up with toxic substances that will clearly harm you in the long run.

If you are concerned that organic chicken is too expensive, please be sure to read Colleen Huber's excellent article on finding organic foods for the same price as processed, conventional foods.

Related Articles:

Arsenic Triggers Flood of Free Radicals

Spirulina for Arsenic Poisoning

Arsenic Linked To Bladder Cancer





 
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Posted On Apr 13, 2007
Chickens should eat bugs.  Lots of bugs.  Caterpillars... I go to Whole Foods - vegetarian fed chickens.  Wild Oats - vegetarian fed chickens!  The Co-op - vegetarian fed chickens!! God I'm surrounded by freaks of nature!  And they claim to be nature people.

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Dr. David Spitz
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Posted On Apr 14, 2007
Good job Duane.

I've been talking about Free range meats for years. The 'gated/caged livestock' paradigm is breaking down as we know it. The problem is, even Wild Oats and Whole Foods only has grass-raised beef. Their beef (check it out) is "topped off" with grain the last few months.

These past few years has shown that our current food supply chain can't continue the way it is without enormous health consequences. Even the spinach debacle tainted with e Coli can be traced back to cattle being raised on a feed lot. It just doesn't work.

Free range cattle, chicken, turkey etc. IS the only way.

Thanks all on this site for continuing to push the envelope on thought and discussion. It's very refreshing. We can all be proud that we are part of the impetus to change the health paradigm in this country.

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Posted On Apr 16, 2007
Just to clarify… The Whole Foods store I shop at also offers beef that was not fed grain in the final weeks.

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
What about the eggs from chickens?  Are they now considered to be toxic as well or does the arsenic not pass thru to their eggs? 

Lisa

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Posted On Apr 29, 2007
It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant the average American seems to be - "vegetarian fed" chickens, "vegetarian fed" eggs - for God's sake, chickens AREN'T VEGETARIANS!!!! Humans aren't, either, except by choice, as illustrated by the fact that unless a supplement is used, a vegan will suffer B12 deficiency, which, left untreated, is eventually fatal - after making the person horribly sick for a really long time:-(.  I have nothing against healthy vegetarians and vegans (I know a few), but not all of us can eat that way and stay healthy. Those of us with Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome (the precursor to Type 2 diabetes), Celiac disease or gluten-sensitivity, soy-sensitive thyroid disease, food allergies, and any number of other health conditions that limit the types of vegetable proteins, grains, and starchy vegetables we can eat must eat animal products or suffer malnutrition., it's that simple.      

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Posted On Apr 30, 2007

People who try to push vegetarianism and claim there's something wrong with us for eating meat should be prosecuted for hate crimes against Inuits (coastal and landlocked) and American Indians and modern hunter gatherer societies, because of insensitivity, offensive remarks and offending the spirits of their ancestors.


Then after we got them put away, abolish all hate crime laws.

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Posted On Apr 30, 2007
Chickens eat grains and grass, seeds, berries, roots, etc.  Not just bugs.  They are scavengers, and will eat just about anything if it looks like it might be tasty.   They even eat rocks.  Really--they do.  What do you think is in the gizzard??  (Don't freak out--the rocks grind up what they eat so they can digest it.)  ;-)

A purely vegetarian diet is not the healthiest for a chicken--you need to look for free range--they then have access to everything they need. "Vegetarian fed" is an attempt to fool the "sort of" health conscious public. Just look at the vegetarian fed beef ads all over the  supermarket--what a  joke.  Corn fed passes for a vegetarian diet, so that expensive "Angus Rancher's Reserve" that's being pushed at Safeway supermarkets as "vegetarian fed" are still corn finished--if not completely corn fed, but they tout it as a big deal.  In the meantime, you're now paying $1.00 more a pound for meat, when they've done nothing but change their advertsing and jacked the price.

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Posted On Apr 30, 2007
Marnie - I put on my chicken head and concluded they eat all that other stufff while they're looking for bugs!  Well, anyway, watch a chicken slurp up a big juicy caterpillar.  I think calves start off on grass and are finished on grain.  But no difference - after feedlotting on grain for awhile most their fat is "corn-fed" anyway - right? 

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Posted On Aug 30, 2007
I wholeheartedly agree witchdoctor, when I eat chicken in Africa it tastes like chicken and man is it good! You can even eat the bones and cartilidge on it because it is the way it is supposed to be. They eat everything, worms, bugs and the chicken do not have lots of fat on them, just good meat...

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Posted On Apr 13, 2007
So  70 Million chickens are laced with arsenic.  Not a very good idea to eat it.  But what do you do about the organic ones that have arsenic in them?  How do you counteract  the effects of the arsenic?

Mary

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Posted On Apr 13, 2007
Do not consume things with it, Arsenic is a base element, it does not break down. 

How do you think exhumed bodies trigger homicide charges on poisoning, for motive, or profit?   Arsenic looks like a cardiac arrest to most corners not looking for foul play.

Also avoid any thing that is WHITE (like sugar, titanium dioxide a food/confectionery whitener, etc., that have arsenic in them). 

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
How about not eating animals all together?

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
 Kimberly - they would sure eat us if they could.  Probably wouldn't even care about the phthalates.

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Posted On Apr 29, 2007
Kimberly, see my comment under Raw Materials above. And just so you know, I tried the vegan route to lower my cholesterol - it worked, but I stopped losing weight (which just falls off of me on a low-starch diet), I promptly developed a vicious, systemic yeast infection that did not respond to any kind of treatment, including probiotic supplements, my blood sugar levels began a wild, relentless roller coaster ride, I caught one cold after another after another, the PMDD I'd finally rid myself of after decades of suffering returned with a vengeance, and every muscle and joint in my body was weak and ached, especially my spine and the muscles of my right upper arm. 

All of these problems had completely disappeared on the low-starch/no grain diet, and I had felt and looked better than I ever did in my entire life, so I am now back on the low-starch diet (I am experimenting with a very small amount of gluten-free baked goods and pasta after reading a recent article about gluten sensitivity in individuals who test negative for Celiac's disease, and I fit the profile almost down to the last symptom). I'll take my chances on the cholesterol - at least I feel and look great, and I can keep trying natural methods to reduce my cholesterol safely.

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Posted On Apr 29, 2007
Kimberly - "How about not eating animals all together?"

Gamma girl may have answered your question, but I'll help cover the bases:

We could try eating animals at separate times.
We could try splitting up into smaller groups when we eat them.
We could take the animals apart before we eat them.
Or, like GammaGirl says, we could eat one animal at a time.

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Posted On Apr 14, 2007
This news is so depressing.  Greed, Greed, Greed and more Greed run the animal and agriculture industries.  Thanks to the various Chemical Companies offering farmers and growers these toxic poisons to increase their profits at human health expense.  When is this going to stop?  When there are nothing but sick people everywhere?  No wonder so many Americans are falling ill!  No wonder Europe does not want USDA meat !

The USDA and FDA is a mockery.

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Posted On Apr 16, 2007
A sick idea, however, the U.S. government and the United Nations is and has been concerned with population control. If everyone consumed good, healthy food people may live as much as 20 years longer, or more. This could disrupt the entire economy, especially over the next decade or so as the baby boomers retire and there are not enough workers to replace their jobs. Many topics we complain and debate about seem to have common sense solutions. How is it that educated officials do not recognize these obvious solutions? Is it possible that the government allows such ridiculous moves because these decisions support the economy? Perhaps economic health is more important than personal citizen health and lifespan. We have to lookout for ourselves and our families.

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
Just one more poison to add to the cocktail. When are we going to learn. When are we going to let the producers who use these crazy tactics know that we, the consumers are not going to accept it any more. Even growing our own food is no guarantee of safety. One of my patients was growing her own "organic" vegetables 20 years ago and went into immune system failure. When her breast milk was analyzed it was full of arsenic, deildrin and DDT. A toxic legacy of termite spray many years beforehand. She was still suffering 20 years and many detoxes later when she came to see me. Fortunately there is a way to rid yourself of these chemicals, if not a way to avoid them. Please write to me if you would like a report.

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Posted On Apr 13, 2007
OK, tell me if you think this is a coincidence. My recovering autistic grandson tested for high levels of arsenic in all of his initial labs. Of course we knew where the mercury, lead and other heavy metals came from, but arsenic???? After researching possible sources, I found out that arsenic was present in water, air and soil, with concentrations varying by geographic locations. Arsenic treated playsets and wood decks were also a source. I then found out that arsenic added to chicken feed resulted in 70 % of raw chicken tested, being contaminated. Supposedly, arsenic in smaller concentrations  leaves the body quickly. However, a subset of the population including many autistic individuals, cannot excrete such  toxins. This often results in neurological and immune system damage. In my grandson's case, his body does not produce proper levels of glutathione.  Some medications, tylenol being the biggest offender, also block the body from natural glutathione production. 
High levels of arsenic ingestion (60,000 ppb) can result in death. Of course, this is rare, but smaller levels (300-30,000 ppb) can result in stomach and intestinal irritation. Symptoms can include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. He often suffered from these symptoms, which could have been related to arsenic ingestion.
Chelation has been key to removing arsenic and other toxins from his body. Reduced consumption of conventional chicken and purer organic brands have  helped to keep his levels down, completely. 
Arsenic has not showed up in blood and urine labs for over a year, and hopefully, with a healthier lifestyle, he will continue on this course.
Coincidence? Not in this case!!!!

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
Yes I most certainly agree. Those birds should be eating bugs. they should also be eating seeds while playing in the grass. Why do these people feed those birds arsenic contaminated food? surely they know that cramming them into filthy sheds all day and feeding them arsenic contaminated foods certainly will not serve the well being of the birds and us. 

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Posted On Apr 28, 2007
The problem is the organic people are not sufficiently evolved, yet.  Well, I guess I mean they've devolved.  Hence, all the organic feed formularies supply vegetarian food to chickens!  (Yes - explanation point - I don't have to explain do I?).  So we have a problem in organic land.  Should "organic" have any attachment to "nature", or is it religious?

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