Activists Mobilize to Ban Arsenic in Maryland Poultry Production

As part of a movement to ban the use of arsenic in poultry production
in Maryland, the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch today
partnered with community leaders throughout the state to educate the
public about the environmental and public health problems associated
with the chemical.

A known poison, arsenic is often added to chicken feed in the form of
the compound roxarsone to control the common intestinal disease
coccidiosis, to promote growth and as a cosmetic additive. Chronic
exposure to arsenic has also been shown to increase the risk of cancer,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological deficits and other health
problems.

"The FDA approved this drug in 1944 when FDR was president. Since
then, science has shown it's a dangerous, unnecessary contaminant in our
food supply," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food &
Water Watch. "Maryland has an opportunity to demonstrate true leadership
on this issue by banning the use of arsenic in its poultry facilities."

The seventh largest broiler-producing state in the U.S., according
the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, Maryland sold nearly 300 million
broiler chickens that year. On the Delmarva Peninsula alone, 1,700
chicken operations raise 11 million chickens per week. Researchers
estimate that between 20 and 50 metric tons of roxarsone are applied to
crops there every year via poultry waste. Groundwater tests on both
sides of the Chesapeake Bay's Coastal Plains found arsenic in some
household wells reaching up to 13 times the Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) tolerance limit. Arsenic in chicken litter can convert to
more dangerous forms of arsenic than those originally used in feed.
This is why a bill to ban arsenic in chicken feed was introduced earlier
this year in the Maryland House of Delegates.

"A week ago today, Maryland's conservation-minded voters turned out
in force to send a message that protecting the health of our air, land,
water, and residents is an important priority," said Jen
Brock-Cancellieri, deputy director of the Maryland League of
Conservation Voters. "We hope that after reading this report, Maryland's
legislators will continue to speak up for their constituents and
support legislation to ban the unnecessary use of arsenic by the poultry
industry."

These concerns are reinforced by a new report on the poultry
industry's use of arsenic also released today by Food & Water Watch.
Poison-Free Poultry: Why Arsenic Doesn't Belong in Chicken Feed
exposes the dangerous, widespread use of arsenic in the poultry
industry and calls on Congress and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) to take action to update antiquated rules and protect consumers.

"We should be able to eat chicken without consuming harmful
additives, but Marylanders are inadvertently exposing themselves and
their loved ones to a known carcinogen hidden in a seemingly nutritious
meal," said Jenny Levin, an advocate for Maryland PIRG. "As a proud
poultry production state, Maryland should ban the use of arsenic in
chicken feed immediately, thereby protecting a valuable industry and the
health and trust of its citizens."

Dr. Keeve Nachman, director of farming for the Future Program at the
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future notes that "approval of
roxarsone for use in poultry and swine production is based on sorely
outdated science that ignores both our present-day understanding of
arsenic's toxicity and the potential for arsenic to contaminate soils,
water and crops where animal waste is spread."

Although approved for use in the chicken industry by the FDA over six
decades ago, the average American's annual chicken consumption has
since tripled from less than 20 pounds in the 1940s to nearly 60 pounds
in 2008. Yet the FDA hasn't revised its allowed levels for arsenic
residues in poultry since 1951.

Additionally, new studies show that arsenic residues may be higher in
chicken meat than previously known. USDA data suggests that the typical
American is eating between 2.13 and 8.07 micrograms of total arsenic
per day through consumption of chicken meat.

"The science shows the use of arsenic in chicken feed is dangerous
and that viable alternatives to arsenic exist," said Hauter. "The FDA
needs to stand up to the big chicken companies and make public health
its priority."

The report outlines the shared responsibility by the FDA, USDA and
EPA for fixing a fragmented, antiquated system to regulate arsenic. It
concludes with recommendations to these agencies to mitigate the damage
already caused by arsenic in livestock feed and calls for a ban on
future use of arsenic for livestock production.

"One of the main reasons why we have found such strong demand for the
chickens grown on our pasture is that we don't use arsenic to raise
them," said Ted Wycall, owner of Greenbranch Farm, located on the
Eastern Shore. "Consumers are smart; they don't want to eat food
containing arsenic. Pasture-raised poultry is in big demand locally and
nationally. Farmers should consider this a tremendous business
opportunity; we need more of us doing this."

The full report can be downloaded here.