On Monday March 24th, Ohio University Kennedy
Lecture Series hosted American biologist Tyrone Hayes. He graduated from
Harvard University, and is a professor at University of California- Berkeley.
He spoke about his experiences with an agribusiness called Syngenta, and how
his life completely changed after he performed research for them.
Syngenta, which is considered to be one of the largest
agribusinesses in the world, specialized chemicals company that markets seeds
and pesticides. The company is based out of Switzerland. They approached Hayes
to conduct research on a chemical called Atrazine. Atrazine is a pesticide that
is used on over half of the corn crops in the United States, but is outlawed in
Europe. Hayes found that the chemical caused sexual abnormalities in frogs, and
could potentially cause the same abnormalities in humans. Unfortunately, these
were not the results that Syngenta was looking for, and they refused to allow
him to publish his research.
While he did part ways with the company, he continued to
research the health effects of atrazine in frogs. His research is extensive,
but some of the most prominent results are that male frogs exposed to atrazine had
inhibited growth of voice boxes, testes as well as ovaries, and lower fertility
rates.
He has also explored the possible effects that this chemical
has on humans. Atrazine can be found in low levels in the drinking water,
because of natural water run off from crop production. Many agricultural
workers are also exposed to atrazine through working on the crops. A great
number of these workers are male Latinos. Hayes is interested in the link
between prostate cancer and mammary tumors to those who are exposed to
atrazine. It has also been found that there is an increased rate of birth
defects when pregnant women are exposed to atrazine.
Hayes briefly covered the link between atrazine and
aromatase. Aromatase is responsible for the synthesis of estrogen. Atrazine
increases the level of aromatase that can be found in the body. While Letrozole
is a drug given to breast cancer patients to lower the amount of estrogen found
in the body. It is concerning how atrazine can affect the levels of estrogen
found in the body, and how it may be the cause of some of the issues related to
estrogen levels in the body.
One of the things that Hayes spoke about that stood out to
me was how atrazine cannot only affect a species, but the future generations
that aren’t even exposed to atrazine. It brings light to the question about
genetics. Our genetics play a key role in what diseases we may develop in our
lives, but how much of that can be attributed to true genetics or substances in
our environments that we are exposed to or even what our grandparents were
exposed to.
The most concerning aspect of Hayes’s talk was the measures
Syngenta was taking to cover up his results. They were plotting to discredit
him and his work, listening in on his phone calls, reading his emails, and
threatening his family. It is scary that we live in a world where the dangers
of a chemical are hidden solely for monetary purposes. If atrazine were not applied
to corn crops, there would be a 6% decline in production, which would cause
roughly a two billion dollar loss. Hopefully in the coming years, more research
will be completed, and major agribusinesses like Syngenta and Monsanto will be
forced to shut down. Until then, humans and animals alike will continue to be
exposed to the harmful affects of these chemicals in our environment.
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