Earlier this month, USDA welcomed in the new year by presenting Dow AgroSciences with a bountiful gift: A virtual green light for the pesticide company’s new genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean seeds. These crops are designed specifically to be used with Dow’s infamous herbicide, 2,4-D.
Dow has been waiting two years for the go-ahead from USDA to start marketing its 2,4-D-resistant corn and soy. And it now appears the corporation will get what it wants, despite strong opposition from farmers, healthcare professionals, and concerned communities across the country.
Agricultural scientists warn that introduction of 2,4-D resistant crops is a very bad idea, and could lead to as much as a 25-fold surge in 2,4-D use across the country over the next six years. This would result in severe damage to vulnerable crops, loss of farm businesses, and harm to rural communities’ health.
The lesson here? USDA’s determined head-in-the-sand approach when it comes to making important decisions about regulating GE crops is really messed up. There’s just no other way to say it.
Read the full, original article: USDA Greenlights Dow’s 2,4-D Seeds
Additional Resources:
- Activists play Agent Orange scare card in hopes of derailing USDA approval of 2,4-D resistant corn and soybeans, Genetic Literacy Project
- Why I’m still skeptical of GMOs, Mother Jones
