Arsenic. Banned Antibiotics. Tylenol. Benadryl. Caffeine. That’s the list of things that are being fed to your chickens. Seriously.

Wednesday, the New York Times ran this excellent editorial regarding Arsenic in conventionally raised chicken. The article sites a study that you can read about here. While the first link leads with the fact that 9 out of 10 conventionally raised broiler chickens had evidence of arsenic in their feathers, that might not be the most disturbing part.

Evidence showed that the chickens were also fed Tylenol, Benadryl, caffeine and even Prozac. More concerning is the fact that the farmers raising these chickens had, in many cases, no idea they what they were feeding their chickens!  You read that right. It turns out that mass-producers of chicken feed have a “proprietary” formula that doesn’t mention the drug/chemical cocktail contained in the feed.

Oh, and let’s not forget that researchers also found evidence of antibiotics that have been banned for fear of creating “superbugs,” bacteria that have developed a resistance to antibiotics.

The American public just took down Pink Slime. Hopefully they will do the same with Big Chicken.