A Pesticide You Probably Never Heard of Could Be Affecting Your Fertility

Posted By The White Rose UK On

A pesticide you probably never heard of could be affecting your fertility.

Introducing chlormequat, a potentially toxic chemical “linked to reproductive issues,” which is found in several wheat and oat products, like Cheerios and Quaker Oats.

The worst part: it turns out that 4 out of 5 of you, or 80% of Americans, have been exposed to this substance.

A recent peer-reviewed study published in the JESEE journal discovered that four in five Americans had detectable levels of chlormequat chloride, a plant growth chemical, in their urine. And even more concerning, the urine levels are rising.

The Epoch Times reported:

In an interview with Newsweek, Alexis M. Temkin, lead author of the EWG [Environmental Working Group] study, said that the prevalence of chlormequat in people’s food and urine “raises alarm bells.”

He called for further investigation into the matter and said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “should be testing grains for chlormequat as part of annual pesticide monitoring.”

The EPA “needs to fully consider the potential risks to children’s health from chlormequat exposure and reconsider their recent decisions to allow chlormequat to be present in children’s foods.”

EPA announced the proposal to use chlormequat in domestic crop agriculture last April. Since then, several organizations like EWG have opposed the move.

In May 2023, Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) said that it collected over 10,000 signatures calling on the agency to reject the proposal.

“All this chemical is used for is to make the stems of small grains a little bit stronger, so fewer of them bend or break. A slightly bigger harvest isn’t worth the risk to our health,” it said in comments to the EPA.

“Research shows that chlormequat chloride disrupts fetal growth and harms the reproductive system. We shouldn’t allow its use on food crops unless and until it’s proven completely safe—especially since we know we can farm without it.” ( Vigilant News Network/Rumble)