After years of dodging the question, back in 2014 the FDA admitted and confirmed what many had suspected for quite some time: chicken meat sold in the USA contains arsenic.
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And this is the kicker. Arsenic, which is a cancer-causing toxic chemical that’s fatal in high doses, is only there because it’s added to the chicken feed on purpose! In fact, it was estimated that likely since 2006, more than 70 percent of all U.S. chickens raised for meat were fed arsenic. “It is added to induce faster weight gain on less feed, and creating the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys, and hogs.” 1 December Disgusting and irresponsible.
And about half of the chickens tested had absorbed the most toxic form of arsenic, inorganic arsenic, in their liver. Based on that finding, the FDA asked Pfizer to stop manufacturing Roxarsone, the arsenic-containing drug added to feed.
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However, although the products were pulled off the shelves, the FDA continued to claim that the arsenic in chickens was at such a low level that it was safe to eat (even though with the other side of its mouth the FDA reported arsenic as a carcinogen).
The truth is that arsenic is extremely toxic to human health:
“The University of South Carolina Department of Environmental Health Sciences warns that arsenic, along with lead and mercury, are known to produce horrible neurological effects on developing fetuses and young children. Arsenic, in general, is said to be about four times as poisonous as Mercury. The trivalent Arsenic As+3 is considered 60 times more toxic than the pentavalent As +5.” note]Living Traditionally, June 7, 2014.[/note]
And a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association did find that people who ate large quantities of arsenic-tinged rice (with no other known arsenic exposure) showed significant cellular changes that could be linked to cancer development.
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The takeaway? The FDA is getting ready to crack down on homeopathy because they deem it a “dangerous snake oil” and yet, they would have us consume a known carcinogen. At the end of the day, this issue is about control and money. While no one can argue they have done some good they shouldn’t be blindly trusted either. Do your homework. Be smart.
XO- Erin
