As if there aren't enough reports on foods contaminated with a number of chemicals and bacteria, try swallowing this bit of information with your Thanksgiving dinner. It turns out, the antibiotics in poultry feed are laced with arsenic. That's right, arsenic — the same toxic chemical element that can cause hemorrhaging, organ failure and death — is very likely to be found in your bird this Thanksgiving.
According to Enviroblog:
"Poultry producers often feed their birds antibiotics to combat parasites and enhance the bird's pink color (for eye appeal to consumers), and one antibiotic contains arsenic.
Poultry waste is widely used as fertilizer, which of course wends its way right into nearby waterways — and eventually distant ones, too — contaminating them as well as the food grown on those fields."
Arsenic was classified as "toxic" and "dangerous for the environment" in the European Union and its use was banned there back in 1999, but our FDA claims that it's "safe" to consume up to 0.5 parts per million of arsenic in poultry muscle (though not taking into consideration its long term effects on the human body or its impact on the environment).
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2010.