Read 'n' Seed 3: Second Quarter of "Exposed"

As I have continued my reading of "Exposed" I am now 83 pages into the book and have completed two additional chapters, chapter 3 "Sex & Plastic" and chapter 4 "Two Houses of Risk."

For this portion of my reading the same trends appear to remain pretty constant, that being the U.S. always being the last to act and the first to question these policies that seem to be common sense to the outside eye. Chapter 3 discusses a chemical in plastics called phthalates. This is not an essential part of the chemical structure of plastic, but instead is an additive used to make hard plastics soft. Throughout an average home these phthalates are all over, including shower curtains, shampoo bottles, and raincoats. However it makes its greatest impact in those items used by children, such as chew toys and other items used by infants. The most widely used phthalates is called dis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP. This phthalate has been discovered to lead “feminism” in boys due to the way it lowers the levels of testosterone produced by infant boys. Once again the EU has banned this chemical and has done so based on the research completed primarily by scientists in the United States. Yet the U.S. has refused to pass this ban and remains one of the only countries to do so, although the research and promotion of this ban originated in our country. The major toy companies lobbied against the ban and argued the findings by the researchers that they themselves had haired. There are certain companies that are stationed in both the U.S. and Europe that make the same exact toys but with different ingredients in order to abide by these specific standards.

Chapter 4 went almost hand in hand with the “Future of Food” video we watched in class on Monday, only with different chemical additives. These chemicals are included on the POPS (Persistent Organic Pollutants) list and once again remain banned from certain countries throughout the world. Many conference and international negotiations have taken place regarding this POPS list as well, and once again the United States is last to act and last to become involved. A majority of this chapter coincides with the video we viewed so we all understand the scandalous nature that our government goes about dealing with issues of this matter.

These issues significantly impact us as citizens of this country because the facts and research are there, and they all suggest that these chemicals negatively impact humans. The thing that irritates me personally the most about all of this is that there are safe alternatives to all of these chemicals and even if they may not impact us significantly in the long run, why take the chance!!