Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 138 posts

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#101

Post by blahblah1234567 »

fleddr wrote: post #94
Der_Einzige wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real story is the massive increase in LGBT identification across the youth. I strongly believe that a large component of this is biological due to hormonal changes.

I don't know about the hormonal changes, you'd have to back that one up. But regardless, we can't ignore some major cultural shifts. LGBT is an example where you have real LGBT and what seems to be a cultural version of it. People honestly probably not belonging to that group in a lasting way, but joining in regardless. It's fits a larger pattern of creating a persona with as many victim labels as possible. These lab…

>"about the hormonal changes, you'd have to back that one up."

Endocrine disruptors [0] are widely distributed by humans within our environment, for use directly or indirectly within food & water resource streams, such as:

- Polymers within plastics, used in food, water, and other human-consumed product containers (and other lifestyle commodities, such as clothing, toiletries, etc.). Example: Phthalates [1]

For more examples google "Plastic polymer endocrine disruptors"

- Herbicides. Example: Atrazine [2] (As well as Pesticides and Fungicides)

For more examples google "Herbicide endocrine disruptors", "Pesticide endocrine disruptors", and/or "Fungicide endocrine disruptors" (Many chemicals in each of the three categories are endocrine disruptors)

You can thank the EPA & FDA for being revolving doors for chemical industry lobbyists, for companies such as Bayer (which purchased Monsanto), Syngenta (which produces Atrazine), and Dow Chemical.

[0] "Many chemicals, both natural and man-made, may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones, known as the endocrine system. Called endocrine disruptors, these chemicals are linked with developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems."

National Institute of Health Environmental Services. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ind...

[1] "Some types of phthalates have affected the reproductive system in animals. Human health effects from exposure to low levels of phthalates are not as clear. More research is needed to assess the human health effects of exposure to phthalates." "CDC researchers found measurable levels of many phthalate metabolites in the general population. This finding indicates that phthalate exposure is widespread in the U.S. population."

CDC. National Biomonitoring Program. https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html

[2] "Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs". Tyrone B. Hayes tyrone@berkeley.edu, Vicky Khoury, Anne Narayan, +7, and Sherrie Gallipeau. University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved January 15, 201 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0909519107

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#102

Post by blahblah1234567 »

userbinator wrote: post #78
Eisenstein wrote: post #35

Plastics are inert. This is why they don't biodegrade easily. It is the additives in the plastics (to make them softer, or color them, or whatever) that are terrible for you. By the time these things are 'microplastics' I am having a hard time feeling scared that they are harmful. I'm not saying they aren't, but until someone can tie them to an actual problem, I don't see an issue -- especially since there is nothing…

It is the additives in the plastics (to make them softer, or color them, or whatever) that are terrible for you. That said, one-time-use plastics are absolutely obscene and need to be removed from society as soon as humanly possible. Those seem to be somewhat conflicting viewpoints. The overwhelming majority of single-use plastics are PE or PP, which also don't really have much in the way of additives. PVC, ABS, and…

Googled: list of additives in PE plastic

Found:

"Stabilizers are the most widely used additives in the PE industry.

Other additives commonly added to polyethylene are stearates (e.g., calcium and zinc stearates to neutralize acidic catalyst residues and to impart lubricity),

pigments (e.g., carbon black, cadmium yellow, and titanium dioxide),

metal deactivators (e.g., oxalyl bishydrazide for PE cable insulation),

processing aids (e.g., Dynamar, Ucarsil, Viton-A, to improve flow of the molten polymer),

optical brightners (e.g., Uvitex OB to enhance appearance).

Additives commonly added to polyethylene include antioxidants (hindered phenolics and phosphites for process stabilization),

antiblock compounds (e.g., silica, talc, and kaolin to reduce sticking of adjacent film layers),

and slip agents (e.g., erucamide and oleamide to reduce friction)."

"POLYETHYLENE (Stabilization and Compounding)" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/polyethylene-stabilization-co...

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#103

Post by Originami »

csmeder wrote: post #4

Something I don’t understand: Patagonia's stated mission is to save the earth and microplastics entering the oceans is a major environmental concern. However, it is also true that many of Patagonia's clothes are made from synthetic materials such as plastic. The use of synthetic materials in clothing (and each washing) greatly contribute to the problem of microplastics in the oceans. I’m I missing something? Is the a…

Regulatory action is needed - specifically, to ban polyesters from Clothing.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#104

Post by rcme »

xvilka wrote: post #98
fleddr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do think there's a limit to how much doom and gloom an individual can productively handle and I suppose this also applies to society as a whole. People seem to accept that it's all downhill from here, and sometimes even cynically applaud it. Like with the male sperm story. It's catastrophic and accelerating, yet got near-zero attention. The few responses to it seem to celebrate it. Humanity lacks a story for the fu…

> People seem to accept that it's all downhill Not everything will go downhill. Some things surely, but not everything - some things will go uphill. For example, suppose climate change eliminates half of Earth biosphere, including half of humans. Chances are, their medicine, technology, education, social structure will still be better.

Usually people will treat the deaths of their loved ones as going downhill, even if the death improves society as a whole.

I believe the GPs point was that there needs to be a positive story about the future to inspire people to realize that future. Like if all that the future holds is the death of your loved ones, why would you care about issues facing society?

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#105

Post by hinkley »

Der_Einzige wrote: post #61
fleddr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do think there's a limit to how much doom and gloom an individual can productively handle and I suppose this also applies to society as a whole. People seem to accept that it's all downhill from here, and sometimes even cynically applaud it. Like with the male sperm story. It's catastrophic and accelerating, yet got near-zero attention. The few responses to it seem to celebrate it. Humanity lacks a story for the fu…

The real story is the massive increase in LGBT identification across the youth. I strongly believe that a large component of this is biological due to hormonal changes.

Don’t we have 4 times the rate of obesity as identifying LGBT right now?

But you went for gender politics.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#106

Post by hinkley »

suyash wrote: post #13

Wow, so no even vegetarian diet is safe from micro plastics anymore. Anyone know if organic food soil is treated with this nasty 'sewage sludge' ?

Also organic farms use “row covers” to solarize soil and kill weeds by smothering them instead of using herbicide. Those are mostly just sheets of plastic. Sometimes they break down. Plastic hates UV.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#107

Post by WillDaSilva »

mlindner wrote: post #72
garbanz0 wrote: post #32

Microplastics are so pervasive that they're even found in human breastmilk now. Maybe it's fatalistic, but what is the point of worrying about this on an individual level beyond limiting use of certain plastic products? And it's not just microplastics - we're seeing other news about "forever chemicals," hormones in our food, the global drop of average male sperm production by 50% (!!!), etc. At a certain point, apath…

The male sperm issue isn’t from environmental issues, it’s psychological/societal. When you repeatedly tell men that their natural state is “toxic masculinity” you’ll of course drive down sperm counts through depression and self hatred.

What evidence do you have to support this claim?

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#108

Post by maeil »

lnsru wrote: post #33
garbanz0 wrote: post #32

Microplastics are so pervasive that they're even found in human breastmilk now. Maybe it's fatalistic, but what is the point of worrying about this on an individual level beyond limiting use of certain plastic products? And it's not just microplastics - we're seeing other news about "forever chemicals," hormones in our food, the global drop of average male sperm production by 50% (!!!), etc. At a certain point, apath…

I am absolutely with you. Total apathy. I can’t do anything. My 100% waste goes to local recycling system. I pick up thrash when I am in the nature and bring home. Even left by others. I avoid synthetic clothing and wear only when I really need it. And still micro plastic in the air everywhere. How is this happening!?

Youre probably already aware but unless you live in a very unique locality with an extremely expensive recycling system, very little of the plastic you put in the system actually gets recycled.

Current consumption and wealth levels are not sustainable but reducing consumption is completely antithetical to the capitalist and consumerist society of present day.

Buying less stuff, going on fewer vacations, driving less, eating less varied food. Unthinkable to almost everyone, including the overwhelming majority of those who actually recognize the problems and what's at stake, let alone those simply claiming that they do for social brownie points.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#109

Post by maeil »

shrimp_emoji wrote: post #84
Empact wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Congratulations on being the first person in human history to call the end times correctly. Again and again we’ve shown we can make these transitions, including surviving a major ice age. While there’s good reason to worry, as lack of worry denotes foolhardiness, despair is both self-defeating and counterfactual to the whole of human history. This time it may well be different, but if it is, then your attitude is gua…

> Incidentally, I think the hysteria on the left is also counterproductive The left is definitely more vocal about it, but it seems like it's a state of mind created by tough personal circumstances which act as a base of projection + poor education which doesn't throttle the projection, and those two things affect many people across the political spectrum. Right-wingers have the steam valves of denial and religion th…

>engineered pandemics escaping labs (not COVID; I mean an actual engineered pandemic sometime in the future)

This kind of adlib really works against getting people to care. Given the immediate (and intentional) destruction of all evidence that could point either way, such definite claims are ill-advised.

Re: Microplastics are finding their way into fruit and vegetables as they grow

#110

Post by Auracle »

mlindner wrote: post #72
garbanz0 wrote: post #32

Microplastics are so pervasive that they're even found in human breastmilk now. Maybe it's fatalistic, but what is the point of worrying about this on an individual level beyond limiting use of certain plastic products? And it's not just microplastics - we're seeing other news about "forever chemicals," hormones in our food, the global drop of average male sperm production by 50% (!!!), etc. At a certain point, apath…

The male sperm issue isn’t from environmental issues, it’s psychological/societal. When you repeatedly tell men that their natural state is “toxic masculinity” you’ll of course drive down sperm counts through depression and self hatred.

It’s also happening to dogs. I guess we need to stop telling them about their toxic masculinity too.
Post reply on HN