A herbicide is used in forming to kill weeds. It’s apparently banned in the UK, Good. However, the UK are the second biggest exporter of atrazine in Europe, sending 13,760 Tonnes to lower-income countries. Atrazine is in imported foods and 44% of foods tested in the UK for pesticides are contaminated. It’s not a problem in developing countries. It’s here. It’s affecting you. You probably consumed some today!
Atrazine is a Globally Used Herbicide
Professor Tyrone Hayes ran a 2002 study on the relationship between atrazine and male frogs. The evidence is damning. It decreases testosterone levels by ten times in male frogs, changing the entire reproductive system so that they lay eggs! I’ll put it simply - male frogs turn into female frogs. This tells us one thing. Atrazine is a powerful endocrine disruptor.
The Chemical Castration of Frogs
The Attack on Atrazine Research from Major Corporations
Hayes’ work nearly destroyed his life. Despite his research, the largest money-devouring provider of atrazine, Syngenta, attempted to traumatise and discredit Professor Hayes. Syngenta initially hired Hayes to study atrazine, but when it didn’t get the results they wanted, he was told to erase the evidence and shut up. When Hayes refused, Syngenta conspired against him, attacking his reputation and family. These are not people who mess around. When they say something - they mean it.
Syngenta’s Smear Campaign on Professor Hayes
Syngenta began producing ‘studies’ that disproved atrazine and sex dysmorphia in amphibians. They tailed Hayes, appearing at every lecture. The world saw Hayes as paranoid, but his fears were confirmed. A notebook from Syngenta was uncovered - it mentioned discrediting Hayes, researching his vulnerabilities, and investigating his wife. If this all sounds like a theatrical conspiracy theory, then you’re deeply mistaken. Although the melodrama is to rival a soap opera, the unfortunate truth is deeply disturbing. Major corporations like Syngenta know that atrazine harms males, and they’ll do anything to silence it. The first person to observe this and write about it was Marine Biologist Rachel Carson in her classic book Silent Spring, written over nearly sixty years ago. She made the shocking discovery that many frogs, newts fish and small retiles were androgynous. Possessing both male and female sex organs. The cause; chemicals leaching into waterways from factory run off chemicals and chemical residues from pesticides and herbicides from farms.
Malfunction at the Junction
By some awful quirk, most man-made chemicals have a molecular structure so similar to oestrogen it attaches to oestrogen receptors. In short, those deodorants, shower gels, and your food and even tap water are feeding your body excess oestrogen and decreasing testosterone in males. There’s a claim that in comparison to 20 years ago, men have 50% less testosterone - but that’s not entirely accurate. In 1999 - 2000 average testosterone levels were 605.39 ng/dL, but just fifteen years later (2015 - 2016), these figures decreased to 451.22 ng/dL. Looking at the figures, it’s more likely a drop around the 15-20% mark every ten years on average. In the UK, 50% of men in their thirties struggle with erectile dysfunction, and 43% of them are impotent. They are the largest age group to have problems in the bedroom. Prescriptions for erectile dysfunction are double in comparison to 10 years ago. After lockdown eased, Viagra sales increased by over 70%, and all ED medications followed suit, with an overall 36% increase. The erectile dysfunction market is worth millions, men with ED blame drinking too much, stress, tiredness and anxiety, but no one recognizes that toxic biochemicals such as Atrazine may be the leading cause.
Hayes has devoted the past fifteen years to studying atrazine, a widely used herbicide made by Syngenta. The company’s notes reveal that it struggled to make sense of him, and plotted ways to discredit him.
Professor Tyrone Hayes University of California, Berkeley
