Hormone Mimics and their Promise of Significant Otherness

Some scientists argue that we face a worldwide reproductive crisis known as ‘endocrine disruption’, a term used to encompass the effects of hormonally active chemicals in our environment. Everyday chemicals such as plastics, pesticides and flame retardants can mimic hormones and thereby disrupt the reproductive, neurological and immunological development of humans and other animals. This surprising discovery is causing consternation in scientific, policy, academic and corporate arenas as they attempt to define, assess and control for this understudied phenomenon. How can the social sciences participate in understanding and solving the problem generated by endocrine disruption? First, there is an early history of endocrine disruption; the development of insect hormone mimics as pesticides, that has yet to be brought to bear in contemporary discussions of endocrine disruption. Second a social science analysis of the mishaps resulting from the 1970s' development of insect hormone mimics as pesticides offers a new way of thinking scientifically about mimesis. Employing the social science insight that mimesis is productive of social change sheds light on how insect hormone mimicking pesticides produced a number of scientific surprises. By analyzing the outcome of using mimesis in the laboratory, this paper participates in the discussion of endocrine disruption by arguing for a re-evaluation of the predominance of laboratory based sciences when dealing with epigenetic phenomena. Keywords: Endocrine disruptionepigeneticsmimesiscompanion speciespesticides Notes Footnote1 For an excellent review of the policy and scientific controversies in regulating endocrine disrupters see the special issue of Environmental History edited by Roberts and Langston entitled: ‘Toxic Bodies/Toxic Environments: An Interdisciplinary Forum’ (Citation2008). In particular the articles by Linda Nash, Barbara Allan, Sarah Vogel, Frederick Rowe Davis and Arthur Daemmrich speak to the regulatory and scientific issues related to endocrine disruption. For more in history of science on the field of endocrine disruption see Krimsky Citation(2000) and Langston (Citation2003, Citation2010). For a general introduction into the study of endocrine disrupters see Colborn et al. Citation(1997). For a general review and history of science perspective on the development and regulation of BPA see Vogel Citation(2008). Footnote2 Landecker, unpublished manuscript. Footnote3 Other important works in social studies of field sciences are those by Kohler Citation(2002), Allen Citation(2003) and Mitman et al. Citation(2004). Footnote4 See ‘mimesis, n.’, OED Online, June 2004, Oxford University Press [online] (10 December 2004). For general overviews of theories of mimesis see: Spariosu Citation(1984) and Kelly Citation(1998). Footnote5 Stefan Helmreich makes a similar argument about the use of mimesis in order to create second nature in artificial life communities (Helmreich, Citation1998, pp. 132–134, 242–244). There is a long academic history to the use of the term ‘second nature’; for a review see Helmreich (Citation1998, pp. 11–12). Footnote6 See ‘parasite, n.’, OED Online, June 2005, Oxford University Press [online] (10 December 2004). Available at: http://dictionary.oed.com.libproxy.mit.edu/cgi/entry/50171334. Footnote7 For more on the relationship between the human war on pests and inter-human warfare see Jansen Citation(2000), Rasmussen Citation(2001) and Russell Citation(2001). Footnote8 For more on the industrialization of agriculture see: Cronon Citation(1991), Fitzgerald Citation(2003) and Schrepfer and Philips (Citation2004). For further reading on the relationship between entomology and agribusiness, see: Hightower Citation(1978), Busch and Lacy Citation(1983), Pallodino (1986), Kloppenburg Citation(1988), Sawyer Citation(1996) and Pollen Citation(2001). Footnote9 The company name ‘life control’ connects the story to the larger theme of life control present in the twentieth century's turn toward experimentally based biological research. For more on this see: Pauly Citation(1987), Maienschein Citation(1991), Oudshoorn Citation(1994) and Clarke (Citation1998). Footnote10 Altosid Feed Through System, http://www.altosidigr.com/hf_life_cycle_b.html (accessed 30 May 2006).