General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsArsenic in Our Chicken? Cipro? Benadryl? Prozac?
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Thats because my topic today is a pair of new scientific studies suggesting that poultry on factory farms are routinely fed caffeine, active ingredients of Tylenol and Benadryl, banned antibiotics and even arsenic. He said that the researchers had intended to test only for antibiotics. But assays for other chemicals and pharmaceuticals didnt cost extra, so researchers asked for those results as well.
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Big Ag doesnt advertise the chemicals it stuffs into animals, so the scientists conducting these studies figured out a clever way to detect them. Bird feathers, like human fingernails, accumulate chemicals and drugs that an animal is exposed to. So scientists from Johns Hopkins University and Arizona State University examined feather meal a poultry byproduct made of feathers.
One study, just published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Environmental Science & Technology, found that feather meal routinely contained a banned class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. These antibiotics (such as Cipro), are illegal in poultry production because they can breed antibiotic-resistant superbugs that harm humans. Already, antibiotic-resistant infections kill more Americans annually than AIDS, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The same study also found that one-third of feather-meal samples contained an antihistamine that is the active ingredient of Benadryl. The great majority of feather meal contained acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. And feather-meal samples from China contained an antidepressant that is the active ingredient in Prozac.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/opinion/kristof-arsenic-in-our-chicken.html?_r=1
Good on the scientists for figuring out a way to get around Big Ag.
And a big WTF! Yes, I knew they were feeding animals antibiotics and other things. This is scarey.
Gibby
(96 posts)in so many revolting ways...
madokie
(51,076 posts)And if I don't want to live like that I don't think the chickens should have to either.
GoCubsGo
(32,098 posts)That stuff winds up in our water supply, too. So do all the drugs prescribed to us by our doctors. We and the livestock pee those out, and they wind up at the local water treatement plant, where they are not removed with sewage treatment. That drug-laden water winds up back in rivers and reservoirs.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)I don't touch the stuff.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)For most they work well, but for some people, like myself, they can cause a great deal of long term harm. Just one more reason to try and get as much of your food as possible locally.
Spring is coming, farmers markets will be opening up. Just make sure to talk to the people at each vendor to find out where they are from and how they grow their products.
Gibby
(96 posts)The USDA officially wants the Foxes (Inc.) to watch the Hen Houses. How screwed is that?
Plan to Let Poultry Plants Inspect Birds Is Criticized
WASHINGTON Federal food safety inspectors said a proposal by the Agriculture Department to expand a pilot program that allows private companies to take over the inspections at poultry plants could pose a health risk by allowing contaminated meat to reach customers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/us/usda-poultry-inspection-plan-sets-off-dispute.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120405
Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)a la izquierda
(11,802 posts)I can't wait to buy property so I can grow my own veggies. For now, the farmers' market will do.
Javaman
(62,534 posts)"Can I get a side of heavy metals to go with my mcnugget slime meat meal, please?"