Almost like a bad Halloween movie, data (re-)emerged in the press recently that both chicken and rice may be contaminated with arsenic.
Why? Well, turns out that arsenic is used in chickenfeed in the US to prevent certain diseases and make the chickens’ flesh pink. Arsenic finds its way into rice that is grown in soil where crops like cotton were grown before with arsenical pesticides.
Arsenic-based pesticides are also used in potato and tobacco farming, so groundwater and wells near those farming areas may also be contaminated by arsenic. Arsenic is a cumulative poison that builds up in the body, and has been linked to formation of skin cancers as well as cancers inside the body. Wouldn’t you think that a government so conscious about health and health costs would figure out how to get the arsenic out of such basic foods?
Ok, enough worrying, it’s making me sick… would you please pass the organic chicken soup? See this Mother Jones article for more information.
To your health,
Dr. Alan M. Dattner, MD
Holistic Dermatology & Integrative Medicine
New York, NY