Gender Dysphoria: Why Isn’t Big Government Talking About Atrazine?

Updated

By Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, with approximately 80 million pounds applied annually in the United States alone to selectively control annual grasses and broadleaf weeds on staple crops like field corn, sweet corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. Initially, atrazine was deemed relatively nontoxic to humans and animals related to these wildly profitable crops that aren’t necessarily healthy. However, in the past decade, new toxicity studies and atrazine’s persistence in groundwater forced the chemical to be banned in the European Union. Unfortunately, the known endocrine disruptor is still used in the United States and numerous other countries, despite knowing that in 2010, biologists established that atrazine causes sex changes in frogs. Specifically, the PNAS headline stated, “Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis).” Curiously, as the deep state promotes gender dysphoria in our nation’s youth, it’s as if the jaw-dropping discovery of a popular pesticide changing the sex of an amphibian doesn’t exist.

It’s important to note that atrazine is the most common pesticide contaminant of ground and surface water and can be transported more than 1,000 km from the point of application via rainfall. As a result, it contaminates otherwise pristine habitats, even in isolated areas where it is not used. In fact, according to the National Academy of Science (PNAS), more than half a million pounds of atrazine are precipitated in rainfall each year in the United States. Several studies have shown that atrazine is a potent endocrine disruptor in the parts per billion (ppb) range in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and human cell lines. Studies also indicate that atrazine reduces testicular volume, induces hermaphroditism, reduces testosterone, and induces testicular oogenesis. The PNAS authors remarked that despite the “wealth of data from larvae and newly metamorphosed amphibians,” the “ultimate impact of atrazine’s developmental effects on reproductive function and fitness at sexual maturity” has not been explored. Why not? Speaking of the need for further study, they emphasized:

“Atrazine contamination is associated with demasculinization and feminization of amphibians in agricultural areas where atrazine is used and directly correlated with atrazine contamination in the wild.”

In a September 2003 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) study shared by the CDC detailing the “Toxicological Profile for Atrazine,” the agency confirmed that the pesticide is dangerous. The 262-page study referenced the word “hormone” 67 times, definitively stating, “Atrazine has been shown to cause changes in blood hormone levels in animals that affected the ability to reproduce.” The study noted that “some of the specific effects observed in animals are “not likely to occur in humans” because of biological differences between the two. Yet, the HHS immediately added, “However, atrazine may affect the reproductive system in humans by a different mechanism.” Conveniently, that mechanism has not been examined. Sound familiar? Referencing the developmental effects of atrazine exposure, the CDC stated:

“Atrazine exposure has been associated with developmental effects in both humans and animals. An association was found between Iowa communities exposed to an average of 2.2 μg/L atrazine in the drinking water in 1984–1990 and an increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation and cardiac, urogenital, and limb reduction defects. Developmental effects in response to oral exposure to atrazine have been demonstrated in laboratory animals. Studies have shown that gestational and peripubertal exposure to atrazine has an effect on reproductive development in rats and rabbits.

The effects of gestational exposure to atrazine in rats and rabbits include increased post-implantation losses, full-litter resorptions, decreased live fetuses/litters, increased prenatal loss, decreased litter size, and reduced pup weights, which could be attributed to severe maternal toxicity. Atrazine exposure in rats is also associated with delayed vaginal opening, first estrus cycle, and uterine growth for female rats and decreased prostate weight, increased incidence and severity of inflammation of the lateral prostate, increased myeloperoxidase levels in the prostate, and increased total DNA in the prostate for male rats.”

Screenshot / HHS Toxicological Profile for Atrazine

Importantly, when taking notice of the massive corruption in U.S. government agencies exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is logical to assume when looking at safety around atrazine (and other toxic substances deemed safe, like glyphosate) that the most consequential dangers are likely hidden. For example, in 2016, the Center for Biological Diversity referenced a new EPA assessment that found atrazine caused harm to mammals and birds in real-world scenarios, with EPA “levels of concern” surpassed nearly 200-fold. Likewise, water monitoring revealed that atrazine was present at levels much higher than are needed to kill an amphibian. The report added, “The assessment was posted on the EPA’s website on Friday but has since been removed. A copy is available here.” Really? The 520-page EPA study affirmed the 2010 PNAS findings concluding that atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in frogs (which was found to be consistent across vertebrate classes), stating:

“The review by Hayes et al. (2011) evaluated atrazine effects on demasculinization and feminization of male gonads across vertebrate classes, including amphibians. This review examines the effects of atrazine on sexual development for different vertebrate classes using the nine ‘Hill criteria‘.” The authors identify studies that they believe support each of the nine criteria. The study authors state that the situation of atrazine as an endocrine disruptor which demasculinizes and feminizes male vertebrates meets all nine of the “Hill criteria.”

Long against the use of dangerous pesticides, environmental crusader and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently spoke about atrazine and its potential to influence the sexual healthiness of humans. Why aren’t agencies like the CDC and FDA talking about it? Despite the EPA currently proposing label changes for atrazine products (most likely because they’re under fire), their prevailing silence is yet another example of the corrupt influence big corporations have over the government agencies tasked to protect the health of Americans. Indeed, that list most definitely includes the EPA. The removed agency study noted more than once atrazine’s adverse effects on sexual development, stating:

“The study authors conclude that low-dose atrazine adversely affects sexual differentiation.”

 

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Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

Tracy Beanz is an investigative journalist with a focus on corruption. She is known for her unbiased, in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. She hosts the Dark to Light podcast, found on all major video and podcasting platforms. She is a bi-weekly guest on the Joe Pags Radio Show, has been on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom and is a frequent guest on Emerald Robinson’s show. Tracy is Editor-in-chief at UncoverDC.com