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It’s not a trick question. Let me explain. U.S. Geological Survey scientists found 1 in 5 male black bass in America’s waterways are producing female eggs in their testes. In the Shenandoah River, those scientists report 80-100% of the male black bass are now “intersexed” or…well feminized. Dr. Sandra Steingraber’s report The Falling Age of Puberty notes girls today begin developing breasts one to two years earlier than they did a few decades ago. And a study by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation showed 17 of 27 plastic shoes from seven countries contained phthalates, and other endocrine disrupting chemicals linked to reproductive disorders.

But why fish with developmental reproductive disorders? They don’t wear plastic shoes, you say? True, however, endocrine disrupting chemicals are ubiquitous in our environment; found in our water, our food and in a variety of consumer products including pesticides, personal care products, and plastics.

It seems the same chemicals that are affecting male fish with female eggs and male alligators with teeny genitals, may be affecting low sperm count, testicular cancer, and breast growth in humans - and I don’t mean only in females. Male breast reduction surgery increased by more than 1,000 percent in five years according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. Development, including human development, can be feminized through exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals with known estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity.

What can you do? Reduce your exposure, and your children’s, to synthetic, man-made chemicals. Those that are known endocrine disruptors include pesticides, plasticizers, and some pharmaceutical drugs. Here are some of the best ways to avoid them:

• Drink filtered water from your home, not bottled water which may not have been filtered.
• Eat organic food, whenever possible, to reduce ingesting pesticides and other synthetic chemicals. Chemicals are stored in fat cells in both humans and in animals. So if you eat meat, cut off the excess fat. And if you eat cheese, chose a less fatty type.
• Seek out personal care products made without chemicals. Or better yet, make your own (it’s cheaper).
• Avoid using pesticides, inside or outside, except in very rare and extreme pest emergencies. Don’t give pests food, water, or access to your shelter. Clean up crumbs, fix leaks, and repair cracks.
• Ask your child’s daycare, school, and college if they use modern non-toxic methods of pest control.
• Avoid using plastic containers, especially for food and water. Use glass or stainless instead.
• Do not let children play with soft plastic teethers, toys, or wear plastic shoes since we now know these contain, and may leach, potential endocrine disrupting chemicals. The shoe with the highest content of phthalates (23.2%), in the study above was found in a pair of flip-flops.
• Ask your government officials exactly what they are doing about endocrine disrupting chemicals in our consumer products, our water, our wildlife and our bodies.

Learn more:

Male Bass in Many US Rivers Feminized, Study Finds
Associated Press, 15 September 2009
Government scientists figure that one out of five male black bass in American river basins have egg cells growing inside their sexual organs, a sign of how widespread fish feminizing has become.

Falling Age of Puberty
Dr. Sandra Steingraber
Breast Cancer Fund, September 2009
The shift towards early puberty in girls is a public-health problem. Early puberty opens the window of exposure to estrogen in girls and increases the risk of breast cancer, which strikes one in eight U.S. women.

Sandals, Flip-flops Found with Harmful Chemicals
15 September 2009
Some flip-flops, sandals, clogs, and rubber shoes recently tested in the Philippines have shown high concentrations of chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment, an investigation by a Swedish environmental group revealed.

It’s Time to Learn From Frogs
By Nicholas D. Kristof
Some of the first eerie signs of a potential health catastrophe came as bizarre deformities in water animals, often in their sexual organs.

Divining the Secret of Deformed Roadkill
Judy Hoy has tracked genital malformations among Montana's roadkill for years. She's been reporting disturbing trends for years, but few are paying her heed.

The New Normal in Puberty
Toronto Mark, Ontario; 21 August 2009
Most endocrinologists in North America agree that girls begin to menstruate at a younger age than in decades past. What is not as clear - and the subject of much debate - is why this is happening, and what - if anything - needs to be done about it.

Jackie Lombardo is a member of the Sierra Club's National Toxics Committee and on the Board of Directors for Safeminds.org. She is also founder of Non-toxic Childhood and involved in national projects stressing education, precaution and strong legislation protecting public health through comprehensive chemical policy reform.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.

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