Arsenic in Chicken: Another Reason to Go Organic or Vegetarian

So like many people you have cut down on the red meat and increased your chicken consumption. "consumption of chicken has exploded. In 1960, each American ate 28 pounds of chicken a year. For 2005, the figure is estimated at about 87 pounds per person." Unfortunately there is a government approved additive to kill parasites and promote growth in chicken: arsenic. And even though we are eating 3 times as much, the allowable tolerance level has not been revised. "Those at greatest risk from arsenic are small children and people who consume chicken at a higher rate than what is considered average: two ounces per day for a 154-pound person." Fortunately there are alternatives: Tyson Foods, the biggest industrial chicken producer and not a TreeHugger favourite, stopped using arsenic. Organic chicken is arsenic free. It is a cumulative poison- if your crazy old aunts or significant other starts feeding you chicken every night, watch out. ::New York Times