Syngenta/ChemChina’s atrazine is the second most widely used herbicide in the United States, and the number-one most commonly detected pesticide in tap water. It’s been banned in the European Union since 2003.

Atrazine is best known for being the pesticide that turns male frogs into females. Atrazine disrupts the endocrine system, which regulates the development of the brain and the nervous system, as well as metabolism and blood sugar levels, along with reproduction. Real-world studies have definitively linked atrazine to:

• gastroschisis, a birth defect where the newborn’s intestines spill outside the body
• choanal atresia and stenosis, a birth defect of the nose that can cause life-threatening airway obstruction, requiring multiple corrective surgeries
• breast cancer
• low fertility, low sperm count, and poor semen quality
• early menarche
• irregular menstrual cycles and low estrogen levels
• missed periods and bleeding between periods
• gestational diabetes
• low birth weight
• preterm birth
• wheeze, a symptom of lung disease, asthma, congestive heart failure, or heart disease
• kidney failure
• Parkinson’s disease

Animal studies reveal atrazine’s capacity to cause a range of other ailments, including neurodegenerative disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and obesity.

We shouldn’t tolerate any more of the birth defects, infertility, and chronic health conditions this toxin is causing.

TAKE ACTION! Deadline April 4, 2025: Tell the EPA to Ban Atrazine!

U.S. Maps of Atrazine Use and Predicted Concentrations in Groundwater

IE University:

“EXAMINING THE NEUROSCIENCE OF COMPASSION

The human brain is remarkably responsive to acts of compassion, lighting up in areas associated with pleasure, empathy, and reward. When we experience or show kindness, the brain releases serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters that uplift mood and create a sense of calm. These neurochemical responses counteract stress hormones like cortisol, which is often elevated during tense or anxious moments.

According to mental health experts, compassionate behavior provides a buffer against stress, creating mental resilience that helps us manage everyday pressures. In fact, it produces effects similar to those of other well-being practices, such as mindfulness or meditation. Regularly engaging in acts of compassion essentially rewires the brain to promote relaxation and enhance our capacity for empathy and understanding, making kindness a simple, accessible way to improve our mental wellness over time.
Surprisingly, acts of compassion toward others can affect our physical health. Studies show that engaging in compassionate acts has a measurable impact on cardiovascular health.

Kindness can lower blood pressure and reduce chronic inflammation—both of which are linked to better heart health. This evidence suggests that when we are kind, we experience physiological responses that benefit our overall health.”

Learn how to build a habit of kindness

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola:

“STORY-AT-A-GLANCE

* Microplastics, particles smaller than 5 millimeters, have become a global environmental concern, with 460 million tons produced in 2019 and production expected to triple by 2060

* A recent study suggests microplastic exposure negatively impacts sperm quality, immune function, and causes chronic inflammation, with researchers believing actual health impacts are likely underestimated

* Airborne microplastics bypass lung defenses, causing inflammation and respiratory issues, while acting as carriers for other pollutants like persistent organic compounds and heavy metals

* Microplastics disrupt gut microbiota and cause leaky gut syndrome, leading to systemic inflammation and mental health issues through the gut-brain axis connection

* Studies have found microplastics in human placenta and newborn meconium, with animal studies showing exposure leads to long-term metabolic issues and liver problems in offspring”

Learn strategies to reduce your exposure to microplastics

Hannah Twiggs writes for The Independent:

“Last year, the UK government made headlines by granting £1.6m to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to investigate something straight out of science fiction: lab-grown meat.

The notion of beef that never chewed its cud or chicken that clucked feels like the fever dream of a Black Mirror writer.

Yet here we are, Pets at Home has now launched what it claims are the world’s first treats that combine plant-based ingredients with lab-grown chicken, eliminating the need for raising and slaughtering animals.

And experts say, it is only a matter of time that humans are sold meat produced in vats, not fields. But, before you start imagining petri-dish poultry and test-tube T-bones in Tesco, let’s tackle the big questions: is it safe? Is it healthy? And will it save the planet or is it just another ultra-processed foodstuff?”

Read why the real question is whether this high-tech meat offers meaningful improvements compared to the conventional stuff

At the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), we’re working on many pressing issues, but our core mission remains the ongoing fight against the poisoning of our country with agrochemicals.

This week we are focusing on atrazine, a widely used herbicide in the United States, which poses significant threats to human health and the environment. Exposure to atrazine has been linked to an increased risk of cancer, reproductive problems, and horrific birth defects. It’s also contaminating groundwater and surface water, putting aquatic ecosystems at risk and causing developmental and reproductive issues in wildlife.

Despite being banned in the EU since 2003, atrazine remains one of the most commonly used pesticides in the US, posing a persistent threat to American families.

Can you contribute to our efforts to ban atrazine and protect our communities’ waterways?

Your support will help us push for policy changes, raise awareness, and advocate for a future free from atrazine’s harmful effects.

Please take action, and if you can, make a donation today!

Make a tax-deductible donation to Organic Consumers Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Make a tax-deductible donation to Regeneration International, our international sister organization

Make a lasting impact through monthly giving, stock donations, planned giving, and IRA charitable distributions

Katie Myers, Grist:

“On a freezing cold Wednesday afternoon in eastern Kentucky, Taysha DeVaughan joined a small gathering at the foot of a reclaimed strip mine to celebrate a homecoming. ‘It’s a return of an ancestor,’ DeVaughan said. ‘It’s a return of a relative.’

That relative was the land they stood on, part of a tract slated for a federal penitentiary that many in the crowd consider another injustice in a region riddled with them. The mine shut down years ago, but the site, near the town of Roxana, still bears the scars of extraction. DeVaughan, an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation, joined some two dozen people on January 22 to celebrate the Appalachian Rekindling Project buying 63 acres within the prison’s footprint.

‘What we’re here to do is to protect her and to give her a voice,’ DeVaughan said. ‘She’s been through mountaintop removal. She’s been blown up, she’s been scraped up, she’s been hurt.’

The Appalachian Rekindling Project, which she helped found last year, wants to rewild the site with bison and native flora and fauna, open it to intertribal gatherings, and, it hopes, stop the prison. The environmental justice organization worked with a coalition of local nonprofits, including Build Community Not Prisons and the Institute to End Mass Incarceration, to raise $160,000 to buy the plot from a family who owned the land generationally.”

Read how the work has a new vision of economic transition for coalfields, one that relies less on “dollars and numbers” and more on “healing and restoration” of the land

King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Blog:

“The Black Farmers Index
was created to increase the visibility of Black farmers that lack the exposure to sell or distribute their food.

Black farmers and growers across the country have long dealt with discrimination and exclusion from participating in the agricultural sector. The Black Farmers Index seeks to repair legacies of harm by providing consumers with a repository of Black farmers to connect with directly, boosting the exposure of Black food system participants within their local food economies.

What initially began as 150 farmers has now expanded to 1,300 farmers and growers, beekeepers, fisherfolk, ranchers, and others across the country that are committed to giving back to their communities and carving spaces for themselves in agribusiness.”



Learn more about the Black Farmers Index

One way to contribute to countering these legacies of harm is to seek out BIPOC farmers and growers in your area and buy their products

By Kristen Rogers, CNN:

“Now that the US Food and Drug Administration has banned red dye No. 3, many people are criticizing or questioning the safety and the FDA’s allowance of red dye No. 40 and five other color additives commonly used in the United States.

Governments, researchers and nonprofit groups have raised concerns about other dyes for years.

‘In 2021, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment completed the most rigorous and comprehensive assessment to date of the evidence linking synthetic food dyes to neurobehavioral problems in some kids,’ said Dr. Thomas Galligan, principal scientist of food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. That assessment included all the artificial food dyes — not just red dye No. 3.

In September, California banned red No. 40 from foods and drinks sold in public schools, citing these concerns. Another study found a potential link between red dye No. 40 and accelerated immune system tumor growth in mice, and other sources say the dye contains benzene, a known carcinogen.”

Learn more

1 Down, 6 To Go: Tell the FDA to Ban Neurotoxic Food Dyes!

It is with great sadness that we share the news about the passing of Francis Boyle, a distinguished international law professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, who died on January 30, 2025, at the age of 74. Renowned for his expertise in international law, Boyle made significant contributions to the Biological Weapons Convention. His legacy as a devoted advocate for international law and human rights remains an inspiration to us, and we are deeply grateful for his leadership and wisdom in the fight against genocide and biological weapons.

Throughout his career, Boyle served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International, as a consultant to the American Friends Service Committee, and on the Advisory Board for the Council for Responsible Genetics. He also represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the International Court of Justice and served as Legal Advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations from 1991 to 1993.

He drafted the U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Biological Weapons Convention, known as the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, that was approved unanimously by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

“I had enormous respect for Francis. He was a fearless fighter against the corrupt biowarfare complex. He was amongst the first to call out COVID-19 as a GMO virus that escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and was viciously attacked for this. He has been proved right.” -André Leu, International Director, Regeneration International

Read the tributes to Francis

His books are available at Clarity Press

Carey Gillam, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre report for The Guardian:

“A US company that was secretly profiling hundreds of food and environmental health advocates in a private web portal has said it has halted the operations in the face of widespread backlash, after its actions were revealed by the Guardian and other reporting partners.

The St Louis, Missouri-based company, v-Fluence, said it is shuttering the service, which it called a “stakeholder wiki”, that featured personal details about more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.

Among those profiled was Robert F Kennedy Jr, President Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of health and human services.

The profiles – part of an effort that was financed, in part, by US taxpayer dollars – often provided derogatory information about the industry opponents and included home addresses and phone numbers and details about family members, including children.”

Read about how there’s little good reason to maintain such a database other than to use it for harassing opponents

The Growing Consolidation of Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Industries and Its Impact on Health

Is Atrazine Aging Your Brain?


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