CBS Morning Show Spotlights “Agent Orange Corn,” The Toxic Corn That Our Government Might Be Approving
Written by Max Goldberg
In case you are new to this specific genetically-engineered corn, here is a quick recap of what it is and why you should be very, very alarmed that our government is close to approving it.
Genetically-modified food not only poses very serious health risks, pollutes our water supply, and presents an existential threat to organic food, but it has created a monster called superweeds.
Advocacy groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, have cited numerous studies linking 2,4-D exposure to serious illnesses and cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.Superweeds, as profiled in the New York Times, are weeds that have become resistant to the ubiquitous herbicide RoundUp, grow uncontrollably, and now infect 13 million acres of land throughout the U.S.
How to deal with this?
The chemical and biotech industries say that the only solution to kill the superweeds is to throw more toxic chemicals at the problem. So, what they have proposed is a genetically-engineered corn that is resistant to 2,4-D. (They’ll plant this genetically-engineered corn and spray it with 2,4-D, with the goal of killing the weeds that grow around the corn but not kill the corn itself.)
2,4-D was the primary ingredient in Agent Orange, the herbicide warfare program in Vietnam that killed an estimated 400,000 people and caused 500,000 kids to be born with birth defects.
Advocacy groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, have cited numerous studies linking 2,4-D exposure to serious illnesses and cancers, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
I have written in previous posts about the absolute insanity of this proposed GE-corn, and the Obama administration is close to approving it.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1) Tell the EPA that we do not want this very toxic chemical sprayed on our precious land. While the USDA directly controls the fate of 2,4-D, the EPA also assesses whether and how 2,4-D should be sprayed if these new crops are approved by USDA.
Click HERE and tell the EPA that we do not want 2,4-D.
2) Get involved, donate money, and spread the word about the California ballot initiative to label GMOs.
Why?
Right now, we are the only developed country in the world not to label GMOs. If we can make the labeling of GMOs mandatory:
- the demand for GM-food will drop.
- the demand for organic will surge.
- toxic pesticide use will decrease, thus making our water supply cleaner.
In California, citizens – instead of politicians and bureaucrats – will be voting on this issue later this fall and if California approves this measure, other states will most likely do the same.
Please read this post about the California ballot initiative and consider donating money.
I have read that the major chemical and seed companies have committed to spend $60 million to kill this proposed measure.
3) Sign up for Just Label It, the federal campaign headed by Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg, and tell the FDA to make GMO-labeling mandatory.
