8 ms·

I remember a long time ago reading an article in Omni magazine about this very subject - plastic and how studies have shown that it is an endocrine disruptor wi

I remember a long time ago reading an article in Omni magazine about this very subject - plastic and how studies have shown that it is an endocrine disruptor with unpredictable consequences for people who will consume it by using plastic utensils, drinking cups, dishware, etc and especially by heating plastics in a microwave. They mentioned that many amphibians, considered canary species were being affected by the by-products accumulating in the environment and some were in danger of extinction as a result of them producing more female offspring than male due to the hormonal disruptions. That would've been back in the early 90's, before 1994, so this is not a new thing at all. I'm pretty sure they mentioned in the article that research had been done for decades prior to the article but that plastics manufacturers were pooh-poohing all the links. It could also have been Nature, National Geographic, Sierra Club magazine, Cousteau Society magazine, etc since I was a frequent reader of paper materials at the time.

aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
This is where the notorious Alex Jones quote comes from: "They're making the friggin' frogs gay!"
- yarg 4y ago
  Yeah, and it's even worse than that - full feminisation of male frogs. https://www.nature.com/articles/news021028-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/news021028-7 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107 It's not often that Alex Jones is any where near the right side of things, but he was treated somewhat unfairly in this instance.
  - Gigachad 4y ago
    I’m guessing we don’t have much research but I’m wondering if these chemicals are largely responsible for gender dysphora.
    - doodlebugging 4y ago
      After reading that article back in the 90's I lobbied the wife hard to get rid of the microwave, replace the tupperware with glass or ceramics, and to stop buying prepared foods in plastic bottles and containers. It took nearly 10 years to get rid of the microwave. The other things were easier since glass, stainless steel, and ceramics are easier to manage in a kitchen anyway. Finding prepared foods in glass bottles like tomato sauce, soups, etc is more difficult but we manage.
      - aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
        What does microwave do?
        doodlebugging 4y ago
        At the time, my wife was fond of heating food in the microwave and I could never get over the fact that the plastic would sometimes get hot enough to soften signalling to me that there were probably chemicals being released as it got hot. I didn't want those chemicals in my food and I was hoping to have kids later so I wanted to try to avoid the possibility that my kids would grow up eating food microwaved in plastic tubs, possibly poisoning them from infancy. And, most importantly from my own personal history, I hated microwaves since the first time I saw one in a convenience store. Popping a plastic-wrapped sandwich into one to have a hot lunch or heating some beanie-weenies or Dinty Moore Stew was just gross but I saw people do that all day long like it was great. When Mom finally convinced Dad to buy one back in the 70's she would use it because it supposedly saved time on things like baking potatoes or cooking meat. If you grew up back then you would have learned quickly that there is a huge textural difference between a potato baked in a microwave and one baked in an oven or in coals on a fire. Microwaved potatoes caused me to hate microwaves since the potato was not fluffy at all. It was very dense and chunky and hard to melt butter throughout the potato. Meat was an even worse indictment of the technology since it would come out red and uncooked looking even if it was scorching hot. It prefer steak medium well to well done or with a good smoke ring so I have to see that color difference for it to be edible. The microwave was a personal decision mostly because I knew that if we got rid of it we would use less plastic since no one would use a plastic container in a conventional oven. Eliminate the microwave and the incentive to keep other plastic kitchen things disappears. That's a win for me.
  - doodlebugging 4y ago
    Probably true to some extent though from what I have read of his trials and his programs he evidently has no problem just telling a story that is not based on facts at all just to see how much of a rise he can get from his audience. He just apparently used facts in this case.
  - concinds 4y ago
    The more discerning question to ask is: In that video, Alex Jones was quoting (in his own, 'passionate' way) a study that linked Atrazine (a widely used herbicide) to hormonal disturbances[0]. Mainstream media had access to the same study. Why was he the only one (besides niche, specialized publications) talking about it, or the numerous studies like it, including some in humans? Why were the media, governments, and celebrities, who often promote issues ranging from important to frivolous[1], silent on this? Where were the reproductive rights groups, on this issue that relates directly to people's rights not to have their fertility attacked by Big Agro lobby groups? Why was Alex Jones directly attacked, quite aggressively, and even denounced as "anti-LGBT" [2] for his video? One can argue it's because of his "style", but why did the media universally denounce it as a "dangerous conspiracy theory" instead of simply covering the issue more dispassionately? Was the US National Academy of Sciences targeted with these same labels when it published[3] the original study? No need to; there was no way a scientific paper itself would go viral. But coverage of it was suppressed. Why? Cue 2021: "Reproductive Problems in Both Men and Women Are Rising at an Alarming Rate", Scientific American[4]. Oh, really? Note: do not mistake this commment for a plaudit of Alex Jones. It is a study in narrative control. -- [0]: Study: Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ [1]: just today, the White House released a memorandum highlighting the issue of "women and LGBTQI+ political leaders, public figures, activists, and journalists" who are "survivors" of online harassment https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/06/16/memorandum-on-the-establishment-of-the-white-house-task-force-to-address-online-harassment-and-abuse/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-action... [2]: Find in Page -> "frog" https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-releases-background-information-conspiracy-theorist-alex-jones-record-anti-lgbtq-activism https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-releases-background-informa... [3]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ [4]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-problems-in-both-men-and-women-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-prob...
    - Terry_Roll 4y ago
      But is it permanent? I'm sure some chemicals can undo the fear & anxiety. As our knowledge increases we invent new ways to decrease the population. Knowledge is power.
  - krageon 4y ago
    > he was treated somewhat unfairly It could be the toddler-like way he beat his hands on the table shortly after. I get that belief shouldn't entirely be founded on reputation, but here we have a man that tries as hard as possible to be an absolute character. Everything about him screams "satire" on the level that Borat also does.
  - tremon 4y ago
    It's not often that Alex Jones is any where near the right side of things I apologize in advance, but I laughed hard at that statement. It's not often that Alex Jones is anywhere near the left side of things either ;)
- doodlebugging 4y ago
  I knew someone would mention this and almost didn't make that post, but it definitely is true that this is not a new area of study. He is basing some of his wild bullshit on reality. I don't listen to him so I don't know how much but when I first heard the gay frogs stuff I just thought that this was a known issue and couldn't figure why anyone would be highlighting it. I guess if your audience is that group of people who have never picked up a magazine or cared about science then it is pretty easy to find things to excite them about.
- CommanderData 4y ago
  Sadly his comments didn't help, he's talking about a serious issue with science backed evidence. Comments like his cause the issue to be taken less lightly.
- samhyde69 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago

This is where the notorious Alex Jones quote comes from: "They're making the friggin' frogs gay!"

yarg 4y ago
Yeah, and it's even worse than that - full feminisation of male frogs. https://www.nature.com/articles/news021028-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/news021028-7 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107 It's not often that Alex Jones is any where near the right side of things, but he was treated somewhat unfairly in this instance.
- Gigachad 4y ago
  I’m guessing we don’t have much research but I’m wondering if these chemicals are largely responsible for gender dysphora.
  - doodlebugging 4y ago
    After reading that article back in the 90's I lobbied the wife hard to get rid of the microwave, replace the tupperware with glass or ceramics, and to stop buying prepared foods in plastic bottles and containers. It took nearly 10 years to get rid of the microwave. The other things were easier since glass, stainless steel, and ceramics are easier to manage in a kitchen anyway. Finding prepared foods in glass bottles like tomato sauce, soups, etc is more difficult but we manage.
    - aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
      What does microwave do?
      - doodlebugging 4y ago
        At the time, my wife was fond of heating food in the microwave and I could never get over the fact that the plastic would sometimes get hot enough to soften signalling to me that there were probably chemicals being released as it got hot. I didn't want those chemicals in my food and I was hoping to have kids later so I wanted to try to avoid the possibility that my kids would grow up eating food microwaved in plastic tubs, possibly poisoning them from infancy. And, most importantly from my own personal history, I hated microwaves since the first time I saw one in a convenience store. Popping a plastic-wrapped sandwich into one to have a hot lunch or heating some beanie-weenies or Dinty Moore Stew was just gross but I saw people do that all day long like it was great. When Mom finally convinced Dad to buy one back in the 70's she would use it because it supposedly saved time on things like baking potatoes or cooking meat. If you grew up back then you would have learned quickly that there is a huge textural difference between a potato baked in a microwave and one baked in an oven or in coals on a fire. Microwaved potatoes caused me to hate microwaves since the potato was not fluffy at all. It was very dense and chunky and hard to melt butter throughout the potato. Meat was an even worse indictment of the technology since it would come out red and uncooked looking even if it was scorching hot. It prefer steak medium well to well done or with a good smoke ring so I have to see that color difference for it to be edible. The microwave was a personal decision mostly because I knew that if we got rid of it we would use less plastic since no one would use a plastic container in a conventional oven. Eliminate the microwave and the incentive to keep other plastic kitchen things disappears. That's a win for me.
- doodlebugging 4y ago
  Probably true to some extent though from what I have read of his trials and his programs he evidently has no problem just telling a story that is not based on facts at all just to see how much of a rise he can get from his audience. He just apparently used facts in this case.
- concinds 4y ago
  The more discerning question to ask is: In that video, Alex Jones was quoting (in his own, 'passionate' way) a study that linked Atrazine (a widely used herbicide) to hormonal disturbances[0]. Mainstream media had access to the same study. Why was he the only one (besides niche, specialized publications) talking about it, or the numerous studies like it, including some in humans? Why were the media, governments, and celebrities, who often promote issues ranging from important to frivolous[1], silent on this? Where were the reproductive rights groups, on this issue that relates directly to people's rights not to have their fertility attacked by Big Agro lobby groups? Why was Alex Jones directly attacked, quite aggressively, and even denounced as "anti-LGBT" [2] for his video? One can argue it's because of his "style", but why did the media universally denounce it as a "dangerous conspiracy theory" instead of simply covering the issue more dispassionately? Was the US National Academy of Sciences targeted with these same labels when it published[3] the original study? No need to; there was no way a scientific paper itself would go viral. But coverage of it was suppressed. Why? Cue 2021: "Reproductive Problems in Both Men and Women Are Rising at an Alarming Rate", Scientific American[4]. Oh, really? Note: do not mistake this commment for a plaudit of Alex Jones. It is a study in narrative control. -- [0]: Study: Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ [1]: just today, the White House released a memorandum highlighting the issue of "women and LGBTQI+ political leaders, public figures, activists, and journalists" who are "survivors" of online harassment https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/06/16/memorandum-on-the-establishment-of-the-white-house-task-force-to-address-online-harassment-and-abuse/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-action... [2]: Find in Page -> "frog" https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-releases-background-information-conspiracy-theorist-alex-jones-record-anti-lgbtq-activism https://www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-releases-background-informa... [3]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2842049/ [4]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-problems-in-both-men-and-women-are-rising-at-an-alarming-rate/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reproductive-prob...
  - Terry_Roll 4y ago
    But is it permanent? I'm sure some chemicals can undo the fear & anxiety. As our knowledge increases we invent new ways to decrease the population. Knowledge is power.
- krageon 4y ago
  > he was treated somewhat unfairly It could be the toddler-like way he beat his hands on the table shortly after. I get that belief shouldn't entirely be founded on reputation, but here we have a man that tries as hard as possible to be an absolute character. Everything about him screams "satire" on the level that Borat also does.
- tremon 4y ago
  It's not often that Alex Jones is any where near the right side of things I apologize in advance, but I laughed hard at that statement. It's not often that Alex Jones is anywhere near the left side of things either ;)
doodlebugging 4y ago
I knew someone would mention this and almost didn't make that post, but it definitely is true that this is not a new area of study. He is basing some of his wild bullshit on reality. I don't listen to him so I don't know how much but when I first heard the gay frogs stuff I just thought that this was a known issue and couldn't figure why anyone would be highlighting it. I guess if your audience is that group of people who have never picked up a magazine or cared about science then it is pretty easy to find things to excite them about.
CommanderData 4y ago
Sadly his comments didn't help, he's talking about a serious issue with science backed evidence. Comments like his cause the issue to be taken less lightly.
samhyde69 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]