Drugs Containing Arsenic Sold to Meat Producers

The John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has published an analysis of documents belonging to the Food and Drug Administration, which reveal that more than 1.5 million pounds of drugs containing arsenic were sold for animal consumption in 2010. The drugs, known as “arsenicals,” are fed to animals to regulate intestinal parasites, promote animal growth, and up the visual appeal of meat products, despite the fact that the consumption of arsenic via animals is toxic to humans, and arsenic released through animal waste is hazardous to the environment.