Food Bans- Arsenic

Arsenic

The edible item I’ve chosen to evaluate is arsenic. In America chickens are fed small steroid portions of arsenic to increase over weight of the poultry and also to keep it looking healthy. The problem with feeding the chickens is that people consume the chickens. It’s fascinating to me that people always wonder how they get cancer, yet we’re eating a known carcinogen any time we consume most chicken from commercialized farms. Other countries have banned the use of arsenic in chicken feed to keep it from getting into human food supply. A study done by John Hopkins has shown, “Chronic inorganic arsenic exposure has been shown to cause lung, bladder and skin cancers and has been associated with other conditions, as well, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive deficits, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, at least 75% of Americans regularly eat chicken.” Overall, I find that the problem is tied to both consumer ignorance and company power. The companies selling chicken from commercialized farms don’t want to stop using the arsenic because their chickens wouldn’t look as healthy and their sales may go down. Still, the evidence in the Hopkins research makes it clear that arsenic in chicken feed is dangerous to consumer health.