Killing the population through the foods we eat

‘OUTRAGE’ FOLLOWS USDA’S ADVANCEMENT OF NEW GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS (Source Common Dreams) Environmental groups warn that advancing Dow’s new genetically engineered crops means a continuation of a toxic chemical treadmill that threatens human health. Watchdog groups are denouncing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recommendation on Wednesday to approve new varieties of genetically engineered corn and soybeans as a path towards more toxic pesticides that threaten the environment and public health. The new crops are Dow AgroScience’s 2,4-D- and glyphosate-tolerant corn and soybeans. They are made to be used with Dow’s Enlist Duo herbicide, which contains 2,4-D and glyphosate and is also under review by the USDA. The calls not to green-light the crops focus on the dangers of 2,4-D, whose use the USDA admits will increase at least three-fold with the Enlist package. Writing at Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) AgMag blog, Mary Ellen Kustin and Soren Rundquist detail the group’s analysis showing that over 5,600 American schools are within 200 feet from a field where 2,4-D could be sprayed if the Enlist Duo package is fully approved, a particularly noteworthy finding as 2,4-D has been linked to Parkinson’s, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cancer and other health problems.

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