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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 7, 2012 16:14:30 GMT -5
Gets on soapbox
Remember Agent Orange? The 2,4-D chemical concoction commissioned by the U.S. Army to defoliate jungles and destroy food crops during the Vietnam War? It could soon be coming to a grocery store near you.
Within a week, the USDA could approve Dow's new "Enlist" brand corn, genetically engineered to resist massive doses of the herbicide 2,4-D. Unless we stop it. Petitions will be delivered December 11.
Please tell USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to reject Dow’s 2,4-D-resistant Agent Orange Corn!
A large body of evidence indicates major health problems result from exposure to 2,4-D, including cancer, reproductive problems, neurotoxicity, and auto-immune disorders. And 2,4-D is devastating to the environment. It’s currently the seventh largest source of dioxin pollution in the US. The use of this toxic herbicide is projected to increase 50-fold if the USDA approves this crop. The USDA has already received more than 450,000 comments opposing Dow's new GE corn. But it has a long history of avoiding protests and bad press by issuing unpopular decisions right before the holidays.
Please take action today to stop new 2,4-D resistant genetically engineered crops!
Thank you!
Gets off soapbox
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Post by johninfla on Dec 7, 2012 16:57:22 GMT -5
Is there a website to register complaints etc?
John
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Post by MikeH on Dec 7, 2012 16:57:59 GMT -5
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Post by Drahkk on Dec 7, 2012 21:50:44 GMT -5
I remember posting on this in another thread months ago, worried about what will happen to my garden when all the farmers around me start spraying the stuff. Can't find the thread, but I know I remember it. Among other problems, 2,4 D aerosolizes and travels a lot further than glyphosphate, so my neighbors could easily kill my whole garden just spraying their corn and soybeans. If anyone finds a petition we can sign, or other functional action, I'm in.
MB
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Post by stratcat on Dec 8, 2012 0:10:26 GMT -5
Found a link in my emails from February for this one. It appears to be still active. sumofus.org/campaigns/24-d/?akid=172.17985.oUy074&rd=1&t=1As the Crow flies, I live ~30 miles from Midland, home of Dow Chemical and Dioxin in the air, soil and water. Don't eat the fish! 2,4-D Corn sounds like a real moneymaker for Dow...
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Post by synergy on Dec 8, 2012 3:10:53 GMT -5
Had a rough day and when I read this I had a pit in my stomach. I signed . I am two miles from the US border in Canada but I think this affects everyone . I fell rougher now than I did before.
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Post by bunkie on Dec 8, 2012 12:56:52 GMT -5
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 9, 2012 13:01:24 GMT -5
Here is the path to the petition:
Google the Organic Consumers Association. Click on the "Genetic Engineering" page.
Halfway down that page there is a column in the middle titles "Stop New GMO's"
Click on 2,4-D resistant crops.
That will take you to the page with the petition.
Thank you!!!!!!! The 11th is the day the petitions get delivered.
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Post by synergy on Dec 9, 2012 17:15:20 GMT -5
Thank you 12540dumont for the directions , my head is swimming and my stomach is churning , so much rampant disregard for the planet with these corporations pushing profit off GMO's. Worse than drug dealers in my estimation . Signed this too with notice how it can have ransference of GMO materials across the border infringing on others rights here in canada too.
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Post by castanea on Dec 9, 2012 18:59:15 GMT -5
Monsanto learned that you can make a lot of money from selling poison. We learned that Monsanto buys congressmen and presidents like we buy apples.
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Post by paquebot on Dec 9, 2012 21:06:07 GMT -5
Just be reminded that 2, 4-D is not Agent Orange but was part of it. 2, 4-D has been around a long time. It was developed during WW2 by the British and commercially available since 1946. It's primarily effectiveness is against broadleaf plants and not grasses. Corn is a grass and does have a natural resistance to it already.
Martin
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Post by johninfla on Dec 10, 2012 10:10:50 GMT -5
Martin,
I think the concern is that the new "2, 4-D Ready" crops will increase the use of the herbicide far beyond how it is currently used....maybe even producing 2, 4-D resistant weeds as have been found resulting from the overuse of glyphosate.
John
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Post by Drahkk on Dec 10, 2012 11:29:06 GMT -5
Of course it will. Flood a large area with poison, then fail to kill the survivors and guess who's left to breed? That's natural selection at its finest, even if it's to a very unnatural environmental factor. But unlike glyphosphate, 2,4-D is highly volatile and tends to drift over a much broader area than just what is sprayed. If you have farmers around you whose process consists of disc, plant, fertilize, spray, and harvest (like the ones on all sides of me do), the chance of your property not getting hit in the crossfire is near nil. grist.org/industrial-agriculture/meet-24-d-a-pesticide-even-conventional-vegetable-farmers-fear/MB
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Post by davida on Dec 10, 2012 15:15:19 GMT -5
A great concern for me are the Islands of Hawaii. These islands are ground zero for GMO testing. Thousands of GMO tests have been conducted on these small islands. During the tests, poisons are sprayed 15 to 20 times during the crop because they want the test totally sterile. On one street downwind to the tests on Kauai, 26 people have cancer. Where is the media coverage of this tragedy?? hawaiiseed.org/islands-at-risk-gmos-in-hawaii/
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Post by paquebot on Dec 10, 2012 15:56:04 GMT -5
I'm trying to figure out the purpose for breeding more resistance into corn. If you check the qualities of all the various hybrid corn, some companies will show how much resistance each one is. Most corn will survive early spraying with 2, 4-D. Not certain of the exact stage when safe for early but I think that it was 4 leaves. (Remembering that from Ag class in high school.) Later on, it's usually done with drop-down nozzles. Advantage to being able to spray early would be to stop any fast-growing broadleaf which would be a major competition for the young corn plant. It would also be cheaper than glyphosate which would be needed if primarily a grass problem.
Martin
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