Would you ever believe that you could get arsenic poisoning from chickens? I did not think so either. But new evidence suggests that its happening. And even if you do not eat chicken, this information is vital for your health.
Apparently, chicken-feed manufacturers have been adding arsenic-based additives to their feed for years. Europe banned these additives in 1999. But they are still legal in this country.
The chemical is Roxarsone, an organic arsenic acid. The manufacturers mix a whopping 2.2 million pounds of it into the food of about 70% of commercial chicken in the U.S. This compound itself is relatively non-toxic. However, the chickens body converts substantial amounts of Roxarsone into inorganic (highly toxic) arsenic. They release the rest in their excrement.
Partha Basu is an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Duquesne University. He and his colleagues recently reported that certain intestinal germs in chicken feces rapidly transform Roxarsone into inorganic arsenate under low-oxygen conditions. We see (inorganic) Arsenic created in less than 10 days, Basu says.
As a home farmer, this news is absolutely frightening to me. I used to use some chicken manure as fertilizer in my garden. I have friends who still use substantial amounts. We have been unwittingly contaminating our soil and ground water.
Chicken manure is spread far and wide on farming fields. Donald L. Sparks is professor of marine studies at the University of Delaware. He says that poultry feces is spread on land at the rate of 9 to 20 metric tons per hectare. Each year, he estimates, farmers spread 20 to 50 metric tons of Roxarsone in chicken feces on fields on the Delmarva Peninsula alone. That is where I grew up. And our family ate lots of vegetables from those fields.
How widespread is the problem? One study found that 55% of the 151 samples of raw chicken in these tests contained detectable arsenic ranging from 1.6 to 21.2 ppb. Nearly three-quarters of the samples from conventional producers had detectable levels of arsenic. Only one-third of samples from certified organic and other premium chicken suppliers had detectable levels.
The good news is that they did not find any arsenic in samples from Tyson and Foster Farms. Both have stopped using Roxarsone.
Arsenic is highly toxic. It poisons DNA and can cause cancer and organ, neurological, endocrine, diabetes, and immune dysfunction.
I cannot emphasize enough the need to buy nothing but organic. The quality of the products will be much higher and with far less chemicals. Organic chickens do not contain arsenic. Organic farms must use only organic fertilizers. I do not think that commercial chicken manure would be allowed on organic farms due to chemical use in commercial chickens.
And now you have to be careful what you put on your vegetable gardens. Make sure the manure comes from animals that do not receive any chemicals whatsoever.
If you eat a lot of chicken, you might want to do a heavy metal challenge test with a physician skilled in chelation. The best-qualified doctors will be those certified by the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology. If you do have arsenic, do not worry, there are many effective ways to detoxify, including the suppositories I mentioned earlier. Your ABCMT physician will be able to offer you other ways that can fit your needs and budget.
Ref: Chemical & Engineering News, April 9, 2007, Volume 85, Number 15 pp. 34-35; Environ. Sci. Technol., 2007, 41, 818.