M6.7 Obesogens

Among the many vegetables and fruits that are in season in California, I saw apples, artichokes, and avocados. It makes sense that we should only eat what is in season in our environment. Biologically and physically, our bodies are not designed to travel great distances by our own means, so humans should only be able to consume what is around them at any given time.

I had never heard of obesogens, but I am not surprised at the fact that there exist chemicals that influence our bodies' weight. I picked the obesogen Atrazine. This chemical is used as a pesticide in agriculture as a plant growth regulator and weed-control agent in corn, cane sugar, pineapples, macadamia nuts, among others. This means that if you've ever eaten any of these products grown in the US, you've most likely been exposed to this chemical. Atrazine is less widely used in Europe. Maybe we should look into banning or more strictly regulating chemicals like these.



Comments

  1. Sandy TanOctober 5, 2018 at 11:38 AM

    Hi Hugo,
    I have definitely eaten corn, sugar can, pineapples, and macadamia nuts grown in the US, so you you stated, I most definitely been exposed to atrazine. It is scary to know this and makes me want to avoid these foods.

    ReplyDelete
  2. USF MPH ClassOctober 18, 2018 at 2:11 PM

    What are we supposed to eat and trust anymore? It is becoming more and more difficult, if you want to think about it, about what we ingest. eating organic is one thing but just going out for dinner you are bound to ingest a ton of residue you've been good about avoiding.

    ReplyDelete

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