You assume far to much, Anne from Westport; tant pis pour vous.

Why not produce a data reference with all that clever satire? Then cross-reference for inate/spontaneous/ fertility versus "aided fertility." If the U.S. still "wins" for the inate sort (doubtful), consider the fact that the ability to conceive is irrelevant when the overall health of the infant and mother is so threatened by those indocrine-disrupting chemicals the program is discussing.

I heard a comment on the show about a USDA website that lists phytoestrogen containing products and their effects. I can't find it online. Can we possibly get a link for that please?

thatgirl, I am referring to FERTILITY rate. I was being VERY satirical in suggesting that the poor American eating habits had any link with its high fertility rate. We are still a young country with a large immigrant presence.
Since you are (presumably) a young woman in Manhattan, I will spare you further since you probably know little about birth or fertility...

Thank you for taking my call.

I HAD been hearing about the onset of early puberty and just a passing glance at today's elementary schoolchildren attests to the changes.

Here's hoping that our food decisions -- both at the macro and micro level -- are motivated by health and not by money.

Excellent segment, comme toujours.

http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert

I don't buy anything from any big multinational but that's no guarantee

Cancer is endemic

Link? Causal association? I would avoid as much as possible!

We need to stand up for ourselves! How do these people sleep at night?

Male Breast Reduction surgeries up 2000 percent

Oh, yeah, & the "phth" combination in "phthalate" is from Greek (the letters phi & theta).

Please answer that caller who asked about MILK CARTONS -- they only answered her question about cans!!

Anne in Westport - Seriously? You're talking about BIRTHrate, not FERTILITY rate--there's a huge difference! Ugh. Reading is fundamental.

Cat food lady - don't feed from cans. Buy dry cat food and wet to proper consistency if your cat can't chew the dry kibbles. PS dry kibbles are good for keeping pets teeth in good condition. You don't need to always feed from a can.

Can they discuss the link between hypospadias and endocrine disrupters.

Cancer takes 20 years to grow -- aren't a lot of pet animals totally exempt from many substances which cause cancer in humans -- and isn't that factored into the making of pet products?

How ironic! The industrialised nation with the highest fertility rate (the US) allows chemicals that are harmful to reproduction. Meanwhile the industrialised nationas with the lowest fertility rate (the Eurozone) have banned those substances. If I were an alien visiting the world, it would be hard to look at the taller, haler, younger American population and not think 'Huh, they must be doing something right!' Even though Europe is the one following the right path. Btw, I am writing from Bordeaux, France.

Are the same chemicals more easily transmitted into human (& other animal) systems from some objects or substances (the guests mentioned backpacks, bottles, cosmetics, & furniture) than others?

Nydia - Why?? Because the petroleum and chemicals lobby have million$ more than, say the Environmental Working Group (whose database of endocrine-disrupting products is excellent, btw).

Kathryn - No. It never leaves the body completely, which is why tested mothers milk has been found to be incredibly high in plastic content.

Fermented, organic-source soy products are safe, but in moderation. Most baby formulas and soy milk products in the U.S. are being made from GMO-source soybeans.

Where do these folks shop and how do they personally avoid endocrine disrupters, esp. in personal care products, supermarket foods and meat, etc.?

Also, do we eat pesticides when we eat meat, since the cows ate the treated grain? If so, is this a factor not to be overlooked, and is it in organic meats as well?

Finally -- how do we try to encourage our legislators to switch the rule to "prove safe before it hits the market"?

Just another example of how corporations are destroying and poisoning everything and everyone on earth. Maybee since they discovered bpa in the 30s, its just part of their marketing plan with planned obsolescence use estrogyne to make people anxious, and obese, with self loathing and depression, shopping can remedy.
They are dictatorships this is treason

The reason that the "1" is included in phone numbers is so that everyone who hears can reach you - "1" is the country code for the USA. It seems we remain No1 in at least one way.

Number of synthetic chemicals registered with the American Chemical Society: over 50,000,000.

Number regulated by the US government: less than 50,000

Chemical manufacturers are allowed to self-certify safety.

Any chemical that is not intentionally included in the ingredients of food (e.g., one used in the cleaning of machines used in manufacture) need not be listed as an ingredient. So we really don't know the complete list of ingredients of a processed food even when we are given the list of ingredients.

Are they saying the BPA causes homosexuality in fetuses?

Until consumers take a stand against the so-called "convenience" of plastic-wrapped, prepared and fast foods, P&G-grade personal care products, and making the car king, their systems will be ever more loaded with endocrine-disrupting petroleum products.

Same question as above---my daughter is allergic to milk and so drinks 14-16oz soy/day, per her pediatrician's instruction. Should I be concerned about soy milk as an endrogen disupter?

2 quick questions.

Does BPA leave the body eventually if not consumed through food?

WHY DOES THIS INFO TAKE SO LONG TO BECOME PUBLIC?? In 1997 Theo Colborn, author of OUR STOLEN FUTURE, warned of these chemicals. She told me I should make sure my granddaughter - then an infant - should drink milk only from glass bottles. My daughter followed her advice although glass bottles for infants were disappearing from the market and it wasn't easy to follow Dr. Colborn's advice.

What takes so long???
Thank you!

Would be interesting to hear about differing policy approaches on these chemicals. The US has long taken the line chemicals are assumed safe until proven otherwise. Europe, by contrast, has required that manufacturers demonstrate safety. So BPA has been banned in Europe for some time. The US got around to addressing BPA only last year, when the FDA banned it in baby bottles and sippy cups, but not elsewhere.

What about feeding soy products to children? I've heard soy is a hormone disruptor.

What about soy?

Humans will continue to BELCH poisons every which way we can, because we have not assigned a value to all these poisons - "Nature will just clean up after us, (I guess) is the notion."

Until we put a real negative $$ value on poisonous emissions, we will live in our own s**t.