For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page and our Millions Against Monsanto page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2014
   
CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090

FINLAND, Minn. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final approval today, over the objections of more than a half-million citizens, of Dow AgroSciences Enlist Duo, an herbicide made from a combination of 2,4-D (one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange) and glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide). The herbicide is approved for use on the Dow Enlist-brand genetically engineered corn and soy crops, recently approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) issued the following statement:

“The EPA’s approval of this highly toxic herbicide flies in the face of scientific evidence that not only are these chemicals toxic to humans and the environment, but that the escalation of their use will only lead to the evolution of a whole new crop of herbicide-resistant superweeds,” said Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica.

“The EPA has failed in its mission to protect the environment, just as the biotech industry’s toxic, chemical-intensive industrial agriculture has failed to deliver on its promises of higher yields and higher profits for farmers, and fewer poisons for the environment.

“Absent any promise of real protection, much less common-sense governing policies by government agencies like the EPA and USDA, it’s now clearly up to consumers to shut down this treadmill of higher doses of increasingly toxic poisons. OCA will ramp up our campaigns to pass mandatory GMO labeling laws, and our campaigns to connect the dots between GMO crops, like Dow’s Enlist corn and soy, and meat, egg and dairy products produced on factory farms which are huge consumers of GMO crops.

“We will also continue to push for farm bill policies that promote organic, regenerative agriculture over an industrial model that is destroying our health, polluting our environment, and has been identified as one of the leading causes of global warming.”

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.