With EPA Lawsuit, Environmental Groups Step Up Fight Against 'Super-Toxic Chemical Cocktail'

'Our federal regulators have again unlawfully bowed to the chemical industry,' says Center for Food Safety

A new lawsuit is challenging the EPA's approval of herbicides, with key ingredients found
in Agent Orange and Monsanto's Roundup, on farms in 15 states nationwide. (Photo: Mike
Mozart/flickr/cc)

By Nadia Prupis
A coalition of health and environmental organizations on Monday challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to expand the use of a new herbicide in nine states, which the groups say could endanger wildlife and public health.

The lawsuit (pdf) is the most recent step in a fight to push back against the use of the weed killer, Dow's Enlist Duo, which combines glyphosate, found in Monsanto's Roundup, and 2,4-D, the key ingredient in the infamous warfare herbicide Agent Orange.

As the coalition points out in a press release following its lawsuit, 2,4-D "has been linked to serious illnesses like Parkinson's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and reproductive problems. It also threatens endangered species that reside in the approved states, like the whooping crane, the Louisiana black bear, and the Indiana bat."

In March, the research arm of the World Health Organization declared that glyphosate was a "probable" source of cancer in humans and should be considered a carcinogen.

The EPA first approved use of Enlist Duo in six states in October, but recently widened that list to include an additional nine. The 15 total states where Enlist Duo may now be used are Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

"Our federal regulators have again unlawfully bowed to the chemical industry, rather than protect our communities, land, and farms," said George Kimbrell, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety, one of the groups challenging the EPA's decision. "We will continue to defend them vigorously."

Also in the coalition are Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Pesticide Action Network North America. The groups initially sued the EPA in October in response to its first approval, charging that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing the use of those chemicals, but the case was dismissed.

"In expanding its approval for this super-toxic chemical cocktail, EPA has shown an utter disregard for human health, our drinking water, and endangered species like the iconic whooping crane," said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity, on Monday. "EPA has left us with no choice but to go to court."

As the coalition points out, the EPA approved Enlist Duo to address the rash of glyphosate-resistant "super weeds" infesting tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmland. But using 2,4-D to kill the weeds is nothing more than a "quick fix," the coalition said.

"Independent and USDA scientists... predict that the Enlist Duo 'crop system' will only foster resistance to 2,4-D in addition to glyphosate, continuing the GE crop pesticide treadmill," the Center for Food Safety said in a statement.

Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist at the Pesticide Action Network North America, added, "Rural communities rely on EPA to take its job seriously... Communities across the Midwest are furious, knowing that they now face unprecedented levels of 2,4-D drift each summer."

Reprinted with permission from Common Dreams.

Agent Orange — As Food: Chemical Similar To Toxic Vietnam Era Defoliant To Be Spread On America's Agricultural Products

What a surprise – the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to make a decision to fully deregulate Dow Chemical’s Enlist corn and soybeans, genetically engineered to be repeatedly sprayed with the herbicide 2,4-D and glyphosate.

By Christina Sarich
When does this agency ever choose to protect our food supply? Now, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) is condemning this action, though it isn’t much different from all the other ridiculous actions the USDA and FDA usually make.

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of CFS, says:

“2,4-D resistant crops pose a monumental threat to our nation’s agricultural, environmental and human health. With this approval comes millions of more pounds of toxic herbicides dumped onto our land; it’s an unacceptable outcome. . .Center for Food Safety will pursue all available legal options to stop the commercialization of these dangerous crops.”

2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), produced by Dow Chemical, was once a chemical combination used in Agent Orange, which was heavily sprayed in Vietnam. Unfortuantely, 2,4-D and other herbicides are in a class of toxins which cause deadly immune system cancers, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption, and reproductive problems.

The only reason to use this group of chemicals as at all is because Monsanto’s RoundUp is basically ineffective on its own. It is no longer controlling weeds, and farmers who once counted on RoundUp are now growing more weeds than edible crops. Instead of first generation GE crops becoming immune to RoundUp, the weeds have.

Experts already agree that way too much glyphosate has been sprayed around the world on every conceivable crop – GMO and non-GMO. And though Dow claims 2,4-D crops are the solution to weed resistance, a recent peer-reviewed study published in the prestigious journal Bioscience concludes that these new GE crops will instead pour oil on the fire by triggering still more intractable weeds resistant to both glyphosate and 2,4-D.

Dow says one thing, food experts like kimbrell say another:

“This is not the solution to our superweed problem and will only spur the evolution of yet more herbicide-resistant weeds. We need a new direction for our agricultural system, not increased reliance on chemicals.”

Even the USDA reports without any seeming concern that the approval of 2,4-D resistant corn and soybeans will lead to an unprecedented 7 fold increase in spraying of 2,4-D chemicals by 2020, and this will be compounded with the glyphosate and RoundUp chemicals already heavily in use. As much as 176 millions lbs of 2,4-D will be in use per year. That doesn’t sound very safe, for anyone or anything.

Are they trying to grow crops, or freakish plants and poison people?

Reprinted with permission from Center for Research in Globalization.