Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the US and the world. It has been banned in the E.U. because it easily contaminates groundwater, and has been connected to cancer, low sperm counts, and the de-masculinization of males. It has been shown in labs to cause male frogs to grow ovaries and to lay viable eggs.... and all at concentrations that are commonly found in our drinking water. Yikes! This ted.com talk discusses atrazine, as well as the myriad soup of other toxic that we are exposed to on a daily basis. Our environment and our bodies have become so contaminated that when a woman becomes pregnant, these chemicals circulate throughout the amniotic fluid, keeping the fetus awash in a toxic soup. How terrible. Yet, as mothers, there really isn't a whole lot that we can do to change our body burden of chemicals. What we can do is to raise awareness of the chemicals that are being put in our environment, and work to get these toxins out of our environment, out of our bodies and out of our children. If the E.U. has banned atrazine, why can't we?
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I really cannot comprehend how our governments - both Canada and the US have such a hard time banning these toxic substances. Our governments on this side of the ocean really need to step up and we as people need to make more noise, we must be heard.
ReplyDeleteI watched this video a few weeks ago, a very worthwhile viewing, thanks for sharing.
A friend of mine did his capstone research project as an undergrad on the effects of atrazine on amphibians. Freaky stuff. It may be tied to early menstruation in females, too.
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