Tag: Round-Up

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If You Thought Round-Up Was Bad….

We have until February 27th to stop 2,4-D Corn

Keep this GE genie in the bottleUrge USDA not to approave Dow’s   2,4-D-resistant GE corn.

Dear Concerned Citizen,

This one is pretty simple: Dow and USDA hope to quietly approve a new genetically engineered seed line that basically swaps RoundUp (glyphosate) out and an even worse weedkiller (2,4-D) in. Bad idea.

The pesticide treadmill is catching up with Monsanto, as glyphosate-resistant “superweeds” run rampant and their blockbuster product line nears the end of its life-cycle. Dow wants to drop in an even more toxic herbicide (2,4-D) to keep the treadmill running at high speed. We have until February 27th to stop this.

Tell USDA that you want off this ride» USDA opened a public comment period over the holiday break, as they tend to do for controversial decisions they want to bury. But we’re paying attention.

Dow aims to get 2,4-D-resistant corn to market this year, soy next year and cotton in 2015. These three crops dominate U.S. agriculture, blanketing over 100 million acres of mono-cropped countryside, driving the pesticide market.

As with Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready lines, so too will it be with Dow’s 2,4-D-resistant lines. The herbicide that these seeds are engineered to be used with (then glyphosate, now 2,4-D) will surge in use. Only this time, the fallout will be worse. Here’s why:

  • 2,4-D is a more toxic herbicide, both to humans and to plants. It is a reproductive toxicant, suspected endocrine disruptor and probable carcinogen. Children are particularly susceptible to its effects.
  • 2,4-D does and will drift off of target crops – both through spray drift and volatilization. This will devastate adjacent ecosystems and poses a very real threat to rural economies and farmers growing non-2,4-D-resistant crops. Conventional farmers will lose crops while organic farmers will lose both crops and certification, resulting in an economic unraveling of already-stressed rural communities.
  • 2,4-D-resistant “superweeds” will arise and spread just as RoundUp-resistant “superweeds” have taken over farms and countryside in the Midwest and Southeast.
  • Corn is wind-pollinated, which means that genetic material from 2,4-D corn will contaminate non-GE corn. You cannot put a GE genie back in the bottle.

The risks are far too great» This dangerous and antiquated herbicide shouldn’t be on the market, and we certainly should not be giving Dow license to profit from driving up use.

We’ll need to make a lot of noise on this one. Thanks so much for adding your voice!