Deadline Extended: Comment before midnight Tuesday, March 11 (11:59 p.m. Eastern)
 Action Alert – Quick Links |
Submit Comments on 2,4-D Herbicide Resistant Crops
Remember Agent Orange, the chemical from the Vietnam War that caused so many health problems and birth defects? If Dow AgroSiences has its way, one of the main ingredients of Agent Orange will be sprayed in massive amounts all over the U.S.
Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to refuse approval of the GMO “Agent Orange” corn and soy!
Herbicide Resistant Crops Mean Use of More Herbicides, Health and Environmental Problems
Dow has genetically engineered corn and soybeans so that the plants can withstand the application of 2,4-D, half of the notorious Agent Orange chemical cocktail. Studies show that 2,4-D messes with your hormones, damages your nervous system, lowers your immunity to illnesses, and causes reproductive problems.
Unfortunately, this chemical is already being used in industrial agriculture. But its use is limited because it kills so many plants—farmers have to be careful about how and when they spray it. If Dow’s GMO crops are approved, however, farmers will be able to spray 2,4-D throughout the growing season to kill weeds without damaging the GMO crops. This means a lot more 2,4-D in the environment and as residue on your food!
“Agent Orange” corn and soy are making their way through the approval process, and this is the last chance the public has to submit comments to the USDA. We need to submit more comments than ever before to stop these crops from unleashing a new toxic assault on our health, our communities, and the environment.
Take a moment to tell USDA to refuse approval of these new GMO corn and soy crops!
ACTION #1 – SUBMIT COMMENTS TO FDA
Submit comments to USDA for Docket ID APHIS-2013-0042. The deadline for comments has been extended to midnight Tuesday, March 11, 2014 (11:59 p.m. Eastern).
Click here to Submit Comments Online or go to
http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=APHIS-2013-0042-0050
Please be sure to personalize your comments. Explain why this issue is important to you. Are you a farmer whose crops would be put at risk by 2,4-D drift? A consumer who is concerned about 2,4-D residues on your food? See Talking Points and the Sample Comment below. Even a few sentences make a difference!
To Submit Comments to FDA Online:
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TIPS:
- Write your comment ahead of time and save it on your computer. Because there is a time limit when using the Federal Register System, you may get timed out if you write your comment from scratch.
- If your comment is less than one page (5000 characters including spaces), you can copy and paste it directly into the “Comment” box.
- If your comment is longer, write “see attached” instead and UPLOAD a separate document with your comments, such as a Word or PDF file.
- The “Comment” box counts the characters and spaces so you’ll know if your comment is more than 5000
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Help spread the word!
If you have a booth at a farmers market or are going to a conference this month, you can distribute the Statement of Opposition and have folks sign the hardcopy petition. These documents include the request also for USDA to reject Monsanto’s GMO soybean and cotton, genetically engineered to resist the herbicide dicamba. Share the Talking Points in conversation.
Read and Download:
Statement of Opposition Handout
Please return hardcopy petition forms to:
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, PO Box 809, Cameron, TX 76520
TALKING POINTS
Approval of these seeds will drive a massive increase in use of the toxic and drift-prone 2,4-D herbicide, causing severe damage to vulnerable crops, driving farms out of business, harming rural families’ health, and contributing to even more herbicide-resistant superweeds. USDA should NOT approve Dow AgroScience’s GMO corn and soybean seeds. Share the Health Facts sheet on 2,4-D: “Lurking in the Weeds”
- More herbicide-resistant “superweeds” are expected if Dow’s new GE seeds are introduced due to the surge in use of 2,4-D. We’ve already seen that widespread planting of Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready seeds has resulted in the development of “superweeds”—now covering more than 60 million acres of U.S. farmland.
- The 2,4-D herbicide is a threat to non-target plants, particularly specialty crops (like grapes, tomatoes, beans and sweet corn) and non-resistant corn and soy.
- The 2,4-D herbicide is likely to drift. Both spray drift and volatilization drift can devastate crops, adjacent ecosystems and landscapes. This poses a serious threat to rural economies and farmers growing vulnerable 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.
- Herbicide 2,4-D drift threatens the health of rural communities. Numerous health studies have established links between 2,4-D exposure and birth defects, hormone disruption and cancers like non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Children are particularly susceptible to its effects.
SAMPLE COMMENT
Once you’ve personalized this comment, you may copy and paste it into the “Comment” box. [NOTE: This sample is about 1800 characters, so you could double the content and still be within the 5000-character limit.]
- I am writing to urge the USDA to deny Dow AgroScience’s petition for non-regulated status for its 2,4-D-tolerant corn and soybean varieties.
[INSERT YOUR COMMENTS HERE]
Throughout its analysis, the USDA has failed to give proper attention to the many risks of 2,4-D tolerant crops and the elevated levels of 2,4-D and other herbicide use that will be triggered with an approval.
The USDA, while recognizing the 2,4-D has numerous health and environmental impacts, has failed to address the inevitable increase in its use that will occur if these crops are approved for commercial planting. The approval of 2,4-D corn is likely to trigger up to a 25-fold increase in the amount of 2,4-D being sprayed in fields across the country.
This increase in 2,4-D use will endanger agricultural workers and the general public with health risks such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Additional 2,4-D in the environment would lead to elevated surface water pollution, which will not only affect water quality but also plants and animals, including endangered species.
The increased use of 2,4-D also poses a threat to specialty crop and organic farmers, including grape growers and tomato producers. Increased drift from 2,4-D applications could destroy their crops.
For agriculture in general, the cumulative effects of 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans stacked with other herbicide tolerances is unknown, but it could lead to weeds that are more difficult to manage because of resistance to multiple herbicides.
I urge the USDA to deny Dow’s petition and maintain regulation on the 2,4-D tolerant crops in order to protect both farmers and consumers.