There are conservatives in America who decry the feminization of today's young men, and the loss of traditional masculinity. Yet many of these conservatives also care little for investing in or promoting protections for the environment against toxic activities. Which is too bad. Because according to scientific research, it is more and more likely that the thousands of toxic chemicals we put into our food and products are literally causing men to become less masculine. There are several studies which show that sperm and testosterone counts are on the decline.
Scientists today believe that men are suffering a sharp decline in their sperm counts because of the prevalence of every-day plastics.
An article in International Business Times discusses the findings of Niels Jørgensen, an associate professor at Rigshospital, Copenhagen. He has told the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology's conference in Lisbon that only one in four men have "good" sperm. According to The Times, phthalates, chemicals that are found in shower curtains, car dashboards and cleaning materials, "can be breathed in, consumed or absorbed through the skin of pregnant women, inhibiting testosterone production in male foetuses, leading to sons with low sperm counts". Niels Jørgensen also said that 15% of men had very poor sperm counts, and probably will require some form of fertility treatment to become fathers.
The Telegraph discusses a French study that found a substantial decline in sperm between 1989 to 2005, from 73.6 million to 49.9 million per millilitre. However, it should be mentioned that Italian researchers have found sperm counts going up, so not all studies are finding the same results. But there are studies from several European nations with large databases and the ability to track records that have found that over the past 15 years or so, the sperm counts of healthy men ages 18-25 have significantly declined.
There is some skepticism since the results have varied widely by region, and some regions of the world haven't even been studied at all. The American Society of Andrology also points out that a man's sperm count can vary widely depending upon the day and environmental conditions.
However, there are some 5,000 chemicals that inhabit our food, fertilizers, and industrial cleaners are not dissimilar to the female sex hormone, oestrogen. This may contribute to infertility and testicular cancer in men, as well as breast and womb cancer in women, along with fetal abnormalities.
SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND STUDIES
Is there a decline in Sperm Counts in men? (American Society of Andrology)
Decline in semen concentration and morphology in a sample of 26,609 men close to general population between 1989 and 2005 in France (Oxford Journals)
World Health Organization reference values for human semen characteristics (Oxford Journals)
Declining sperm count. Semen quality has declined among men born in France since 1950 (NCBI)
Declining semen quality among south Indian infertile men: A retrospective study (Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences)
Declining sperm quality in New Zealand over 20 years (NCBI)
NEWS ARTICLES
Sperm count: Fertility in men on the decline due to everyday plastics say scientists (International Business Times, 6-18-15)
Everyday plastics plunge men into fertility crisis (The Times, 6-18-15)
Evidence mounts that sunscreen could weaken sperm (CNN, 4-14-16)
Why are men's sperm rates falling? (Telegraph, 3-17-14)
The Decline in Male Fertility (The Wall Street Journal, 7-15-13)
Scientists warn of sperm count crisis (Independent, 12-4-12)
Are Sperm Counts Really Dropping Worldwide? (BBC, 5-15-12)