[Ngo-sanrm] GMO Seeds Can Withstand 2, 4-D Weed Killer Used In Agent Orange

Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Working Group ngo-sanrm at ngocentre.org.vn
Sat Jan 4 05:41:33 GMT 2014


Scientists believe that dioxin, and not 2,4-D, is the cause of birth
defects, disease, and other medical problems resulting from Agent Orange.
However, widespread use of 2,4-D may pose other threats to agricultural
production and sustainability.  This application for USDA approval comes
from Dow Chemical -- which also produced Agent Orange during the war -- and
not Monsanto.  CS


 New GMO Seeds Approved By USDA Able To Withstand 2,4-D, Weed Killer Used
In Agent Orange

Jan 3, 2014 by GlobalPossibilities<http://www.globalpossibilities.org/author/globalpossibilities/>

By M.L. JOHNSON 01/03/14 11:39 AM ET EST

[image: AP]
   [image: GMO Seeds]




*Immature corn plants are surrounded by standing water in a field outside
Wyanet, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. Photographer: Daniel
Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Bloomberg via Getty Images*

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture opened the door Friday
to commercial sales of corn and soybean seeds genetically engineered to
resist the weed killer 2,4-D, which is best known as an ingredient in the
Vietnam War-era herbicide Agent Orange.

The U.S. military stopped using Agent Orange in 1971, and it has not been
produced since the 1970s. Scientists don’t believe 2,4-D, which is legal
and commonly used by gardeners and some farmers, was responsible for the
health problems linked to Agent Orange.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a draft
environmental impact statement Friday as part of the process for potential
deregulation of the seeds, which can now be used only in tightly controlled
field trials. Deregulation would allow commercial development of the seeds
and presumably lead to greater use of the herbicide.

The USDA has oversight over the seeds, not the herbicide.

The public has 45 days to comment on its report. The Environmental
Protection Agency is conducting a separate review of 2,4-D, although it
previously found it safe to use.

Some corn and soybean farmers have eagerly anticipated a next generation of
herbicide-resistant seeds as weeds immune to Monsanto’s Roundup, known
generically as glyphosate, become more common. Most corn and soybeans grown
in the U.S. are genetically engineered, usually with the Roundup resistant
trait.

But some scientists and environmentalists regard the development with
alarm, noting 2,4-D can easily drift beyond the area where it is sprayed,
threatening neighboring crops and wild plants.

The USDA’s plant inspection agency found the greatest risk from the seeds,
developed by Dow AgroSciences, was that increased use of the herbicide
could hasten the evolution of weeds resistant to it. But it said resistance
could happen anyway because 2,4-D, sold by Dow AgroSciences and other
companies, is the third most-used weed killer in the nation.

The herbicide has had limited use in corn and soybean farming because it
becomes toxic to the plants early in their growth. The new seeds would
allow farmers to use 2,4-D throughout the plants’ lives.

The EPA will look at the impact of expanded use of 2,4-D in a report
expected to be released for public comment in the coming months. The EPA
and APHIS are expected to make final decisions simultaneously on use of the
chemical and seeds. The timing on that is uncertain.

Dow AgroSciences has asked APHIS to deregulate one variety of corn and two
varieties of soybeans. Both soybean varieties resist 2,4-D, but they differ
in their immunities to other herbicides. All three seeds have immunity to
multiple weed killers.

APHIS said farmers could help deter the development of 2,4-D resistance by
using a variety of means to fight weeds and not relying solely on it.

Scientists do not believe 2,4-D was responsible for the health problems in
Vietnam veterans that have been linked to Agent Orange. Instead, they have
focused on dioxin, a cancer-causing contaminant found in another ingredient
known as 2,4,5-T. EPA banned 2,4,5-T in 1985.


*CHUCK SEARCY*

*71 Tran Quoc Toan, Hanoi*

*M    +8 490 342 0769*

*E     chuckusvn at gmail.com <chuckusvn at gmail.com>*

*Sk   chucksearcy*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ngocentre.org.vn/pipermail/ngo-sanrm/attachments/20140104/9f8f87cf/attachment-0008.html 


More information about the Ngo-sanrm mailing list