Stop Dow's Agent Orange Seeds!

Dow Chemical wants to introduce its latest generation of genetically-modified (GM) seeds, which will be bred for resistance to the herbicide 2,4-D. That’s right, the next wave of seeds will be resistant to one of the primary components of Agent Orange, used in the Vietnam War as a chemical defoliant. Planting these seeds means the use of 2,4-D as a weed killer will increase drastically, an estimated 30-fold increase according to the Center for Food Safety. Not only is the chemical drift-prone and extremely toxic for farmers, it is also known to be a hormone disrupter, linked to birth defects, cell damage and lymphoma.

Why would farmers even be interested in 2,4-D seeds? The reason is that the previous generation of GM seeds--developed to tolerate Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide--have led to the growth of Roundup-resistant weeds. This epidemic of “superweeds” has alarmed farmers and scientists, triggering even more herbicide applications and the desire to use older, even more toxic chemicals, like 2,4-D.

But that’s not the solution--that’s just staying on an ever faster treadmill of chemical and agribusiness dependence. Monsanto assured us that resistant weeds would never spring up from using Roundup Ready seeds. Why would 2,4-D seeds be a better solution?

Voice your opinion by 4/27: tell the USDA we’ve had enough of herbicide-resistant seeds and short-sighted solutions.