Maryland considers ban on arsenic in chicken feed additives

Maryland congressional committees are considering a proposed ban on arsenic in chicken feed, according to Capital News Service. Industry members oppose the move, saying it would sicken poultry and put growers on an unlevel playing field with producers in other states.
Maryland’s attorney general, Douglas Gansler, told a senate committee that a ban would be beneficial to the poultry industry and the environment.
But Bill Satterfield, executive director of Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc., said that the feed additive Roxarsone, which contains arsenic, prevents intestinal illness in birds and that a prohibition on its use would cause "a lot more sick birds, a lot more dead birds." Perdue Farms, which says it no longer uses arsenic in its feed, also opposes the ban, saying that it is not supported by science.