Toxic Bodies

Hormone Disruptors and the Legacy of DES

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Specialties, Toxicology, Science & Nature, Science, Chemistry, Organic, Biological Sciences, Biochemistry
Cover of the book Toxic Bodies by Nancy Langston, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nancy Langston ISBN: 9780300162998
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: March 2, 2010
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Nancy Langston
ISBN: 9780300162998
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: March 2, 2010
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English

In 1941 the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of diethylstilbestrol (DES), the first synthetic chemical to be marketed as an estrogen and one of the first to be identified as a hormone disruptor—a chemical that mimics hormones. Although researchers knew that DES caused cancer and disrupted sexual development, doctors prescribed it for millions of women, initially for menopause and then for miscarriage, while farmers gave cattle the hormone to promote rapid weight gain. Its residues, and those of other chemicals, in the American food supply are changing the internal ecosystems of human, livestock, and wildlife bodies in increasingly troubling ways.

In this gripping exploration, Nancy Langston shows how these chemicals have penetrated into every aspect of our bodies and ecosystems, yet the U.S. government has largely failed to regulate them and has skillfully manipulated scientific uncertainty to delay regulation. Personally affected by endocrine disruptors, Langston argues that the FDA needs to institute proper regulation of these commonly produced synthetic chemicals.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1941 the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of diethylstilbestrol (DES), the first synthetic chemical to be marketed as an estrogen and one of the first to be identified as a hormone disruptor—a chemical that mimics hormones. Although researchers knew that DES caused cancer and disrupted sexual development, doctors prescribed it for millions of women, initially for menopause and then for miscarriage, while farmers gave cattle the hormone to promote rapid weight gain. Its residues, and those of other chemicals, in the American food supply are changing the internal ecosystems of human, livestock, and wildlife bodies in increasingly troubling ways.

In this gripping exploration, Nancy Langston shows how these chemicals have penetrated into every aspect of our bodies and ecosystems, yet the U.S. government has largely failed to regulate them and has skillfully manipulated scientific uncertainty to delay regulation. Personally affected by endocrine disruptors, Langston argues that the FDA needs to institute proper regulation of these commonly produced synthetic chemicals.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book The Winchester by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book The Jewish Political Tradition by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book A Golden Weed by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Warner Bros by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Hospitality and Islam by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Iphigenia in Forest Hills: Anatomy of a Murder Trial by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book After the Circus by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book The Quest for Drug Control by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book The Event of Literature by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Leviathan: Or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Red Lines, Black Spaces by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book Diary, 1901-1969 by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book The Library at Night by Nancy Langston
Cover of the book The Lonely Crowd by Nancy Langston
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy