Regarding the truth of these news and the link of broiler chicken with cancer, Independent Urdu has spoken to some research papers and experts and tried to know whether eating broiler chicken can really increase the risk of cancer.
For the last 100 years, scientists have been researching how to increase the weight of chickens , commonly called farm chickens , by selecting for breeding chickens capable of gaining weight quickly in 35 days.
However, the general perception is that broiler chickens are injected with hormones to grow and fed a diet that increases the risk of developing cancer.
Initially, broiler chickens were also bred like domestic chickens and at that time, broiler chickens had the same growth potential as domestic chickens.
However, according to the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore: 'In 1920, with the continuous research of scientists and the process of selecting the best breed, the weight of a 120-day-old chicken is one kilogram, while by the year 2020 (with the help of research), a 35-day-old chicken will weigh one kilogram. The weight reached more than two kilos.
Now the question is what steps were taken to bring the weight of the chicken to two kg in 35 days.
According to the University researchers, in this case, the scientists chose a type of bread that has the ability to grow quickly. Similar messages have been circulating on social media for the past few days, claiming that Shaukat Khatam. Hospital Peshawar has conducted a research in which it is said that the use of broiler chicken in food has the risk of cancer.
Regarding the truth of these news and the link of broiler chicken with cancer, Independent Urdu has spoken to some research papers and experts and tried to know whether eating broiler chicken can really increase the risk of cancer.
Dr. Yasir Inam is the Clinical Oncology Registrar at Shaukat Khatam Cancer Hospital, Peshawar and interacts with various patients at the hospital.
He told Independent Urdu that there are various factors involved in the causes of cancer, but it is not true to say that broiler chicken can cause cancer, and no such research has been published by Shaukat Khanum.
Dr. Yasir said, 'There can be various causes of cancer which can be caused by elements called carcinogens and carcinogens are smoking, chemicals (arsenic etc.), some foods in food and also genetic.
According to the Cleveland Clinic of the United States, you cannot cut off all the carcinogenic products in the world and protect yourself completely.
'Just like ultraviolet rays from the sun also contain carcinogens and water contains small amounts of arsenic, it's not necessarily the carcinogens that give you cancer.'
But certain carcinogens such as carcinogens present in alcohol or smoking can be avoided, while sometimes there is a family history of cancer and over time this carcinogen becomes the cause of cancer.
Similarly, according to the Cleveland Clinic, any meat cooked at high temperatures over a fire, such as a barbeque, naturally produces carcinogenic substances.
However, Dr. Yasir said that so far no such research has come out that the use of carcinogen in such and such thing is the only cause of cancer, but these different factors together become the cause of cancer.
The same detail has been provided by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore on its website. According to the same university, it is only a hypothesis that arsenic is used in Pakistan's poultry industry, which increases the risk of cancer.
According to the research of the university, arsenic is not used in the Pakistan poultry industry, but in the international market since 1940, chemicals called 'three-nitro' and 'roxarazone' were used, which left the arsenic content in the chicken, but Now it is banned in the global market and this material is not imported in Pakistan.
According to the university, some people also say that a special hormone or injection is used to make broiler chickens grow faster, but this is also just a hypothesis and there is no truth in it.
According to the same study, the best bread is used in Pakistan to increase the weight of chickens, which has the ability to grow in 35 days, while a balanced diet containing protein is given to increase the weight.
The University of Veterinary Sciences, citing a report by the US Federal Drug Authority (FDA), wrote that this news was reported in Pakistan, but it was false information, i.e. it was presented out of context.
According to the same university, the FDA report was on the use of arsenic, but the study did not take samples from any poultry farms where arsenic was used, but added arsenic to a diet as a trial. It was then researched and concluded that the use of arsenic may increase the risk of cancer.
Asad Ali is the Assistant Director at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority and his organization is responsible for making food safe and hygienic in the province.
He told Independent Urdu: 'One of the common perceptions is that any injection or hormone is given to breed chickens, which is completely a hypothesis because chickens do not grow with injections or hormones.'
According to Asad Ali, regarding the news that is currently circulating on social media, we have also discussed this topic with the Livestock Department and we have also released an awareness poster in this regard.
Regarding the use of arsenic (which can cause cancer) in chicken feed or feed, Asad Ali said: 'If heavy metals (arsenic etc.) are used in chicken feed, the mortality rate of chickens is 90%. percent and no poultry farm will do it. '
According to Asad Ali, 'Poultry industry and the feed imported here is registered from Pakistan and it is not possible to mix any prohibited material in the chicken feed against hygiene norms.'
Regarding injecting chickens, Asad Ali said that chickens are only vaccinated for various diseases and there is no justification for injecting any other hormones.
Asad Ali said, 'So far we sometimes catch dead chickens and during testing, we have not seen anything dangerous in the chicken meat apart from common chicken diseases.'
Study: Cats are “indiscriminate killers” of animal species, some of which are threatened with extinction
A study found that cats, despite being friendly to humans, are “deadly,” as they eat more than 2,000 species worldwide, including hundreds that are threatened with extinction.
Since their domestication 9,000 years ago, domestic cats have spread to all continents except Antarctica. In the study published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists described it as "among the world's most problematic invasive species."
According to the team, led by Christopher Lipchick of Auburn University in the US, an estimated 1.5 billion domestic animals are killed by domestic cats every year in Australia alone. But the collective toll of these pets' adventures around the world may be much greater than anyone imagined.
The list includes birds, mammals, insects and reptiles, 17% of which are important for environmental conservation, according to the study.
In total, cats eat 981 species of birds, 463 species of reptiles, and 431 species of mammals. It was also found to feed on 119 species of insects and 57 species of amphibians.
Cats are particularly harmful on islands, where they eat three times as many species of conservation concern as they do on the continents. For example, in Australia alone, it is estimated that cats kill more than 300 million animals every year.
“We don't really know of any other mammal that eats this many different types of animals,” Lipchick said. “It's almost like an indiscriminate eater, they eat whatever is available.”
Conservation groups advocate keeping cats indoors. Some places have implemented cat lockdowns. For example, in the southwestern German city of Walldorf, residents were ordered to keep their cats indoors for three months in the spring to protect the endangered crested lark, which is breeding at that time.
The study found that about 9% of known birds, 6% of known mammals, and 4% of known reptile species are eaten by cats.
Scientists arrived at these numbers by searching hundreds of existing studies. They believe their final estimates are somewhat conservative, underestimating the true extent of cat predation, and the numbers will increase as more research is conducted. This is because studies struggle to clearly identify prey species and many species are classified as “unknown.”
Cats are also opportunistic predators that hunt and kill animals but do not necessarily eat them, so those killed prey will not appear in cat litter.
Moreover, science knows only a small portion of insects, and identifying insect remains in cat stomachs and droppings is very difficult.
In addition, most studies on cat diet have been conducted in Australia and North America, leaving the tropics and biodiversity hotspots of Asia, Africa and South America largely missing.
“The lack of sampling at many of the most biodiverse sites on the planet suggests that we are likely missing important sites for assessing cat predation and hunting,” the scientists concluded.
Attempts to control "deadly" cats have failed in several areas so far, but scientists are looking for effective strategies. Meanwhile, cat owners are being urged to keep their pets indoors, for their own safety as well as to protect surrounding wildlife.
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