Why are the pigs in Spain infertile?

And why might this be important? Unless you are a Spanish farmer raising swine, or unless you live in Spain and are in the market for pork or ham, it should not matter. But is you work in the fertility field or are trying to get pregnant, it may be an issue. The concern over what is going on with Spanish pigs, is really about why the pigs were having trouble reproducing. It turns out that back in 2010, there was a marked drop in fertility in pig farms across difference regions of Spain. Investigators at first had trouble figuring our where there problem was. The one common thread in each of these farms was that all of the farms used plastic bags from the same manufacturer to collect semen for insemination. A researcher at the University of Zarazoga, Cristina Nerín, then analyzed the bags and found that an ingredient in the plastic bags was the cause of infertile Spanish pigs. The scary part is that this chemical (and similar compounds) are found in plastic products that are used to package foods and beverages we eat every day. The good news is that the pigs of Spain and happily producing lots of piglets again. However, there is likely more to come on this topic in reproductive medicine and potentially in other areas of medicine as well.