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Will Dow Chemical’s GMO “Agent Orange” seeds be the next crop in a field near your home?
According to the Center for Food Safety, which is the group circulating the petition to be presented to the USDA, Dow Chemical is pushing the federal government into an era of “unprecedented” genetically modified corn and soybean production. The GE corn and soybeans have been designed to survive multiple dousing with 2,4-D, which is half of the highly toxic chemical recipe used to create Agent Orange.
The agency will stop accepting comments after today (Monday), although the Center for Food Safety has asked for an extension.
During the Vietnam War, the United States used Agent Orange as a chemical defoliant. It caused both lasting environmental damage in the Southeast Asia nation, and medical problems for veterans on both sides.
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The physical damage caused by Agent Orange may very well not be limited to the men and women who fought and lived in areas of Vietnam. My cousin, the daughter of a Vietnam War veteran, has the same type of constantly reoccurring skin irritation and bumps as her patriotic father. The doctors are stumped as to the cause, and have come to believe the condition is a result of second generation exposure to Agent Orange.
The Center for Food Safety noted that Agent Orange is linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption and reproductive problems.
“Dow’s ‘Agent Orange’ corn will trigger a large increase in 2,4-D use — and our exposure to this toxic herbicide — yet USDA has failed to investigate the potential harms caused by such an increase,” the group said. “This is part of a growing problem, an escalating chemical arms race going on across America’s heartland. Dow Chemical is hyping GE 2,4-D corn and soy as the solution to glyphosate-resistant weeds, but GE crop systems caused the ‘superweeds’ in the first place. Like Roundup before it, 2,4-D is only a temporary solution that will require more and more toxic chemicals leaching into our environment and food supply.”
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The glyphosate resistant weeds is one of the reasons why more pesticides are believed to be needed, as previously reported by Off The Grid News and as confirmed in a major study. The study said:
Herbicide-tolerant crops worked extremely well in the first few years of use, but over-reliance led to shifts in weed communities and the emergence of resistant weeds that have, together, forced farmers to incrementally: increase herbicide application rates (especially glyphosate); spray more often, and; add new herbicides that work through an alternate mode-of-action into their spray programs.
Dow Chemical scientist John Jachetta does not appear alarmed about the growth of super weeds. Jachetta described the issue as a “very significant opportunity” for biotech giants, according to the Center for Food Safety. While the “new era” in agriculture may offer yet another way for Dow Chemical and its peers to deepen their pockets, American consumers may be paying the bill with their health.
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