Dow AgroSciences is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture and EPA approval for their new genetically-modified corn resistant to 2,4-D — a chemical that can be used as a high-powered herbicide, but which was also an ingredient in the notorious Vietnam-era defoliant known as Agent Orange. Dow says that the new corn – officially called “Enlist,” but known to critics as “Agent Orange Corn” – is necessary for farmers because invasive weeds have developed immunities to traditional herbicides.
Critics are concerned that the use of 2,4-D herbicides on American crops would pose a serious public health risk, pointing to research on Agent Orange exposure that links the chemical to certain kinds of cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other health conditions.
Proponents of “Enlist” say that the campaign against “Agent Orange Corn” is just a scare tactic environmentalists are using to exploit public sympathy for Vietnam veterans, citing that the chemicals 2,4,5-T and dioxin were the ingredients in Agent Orange responsible for the litany of health conditions associated with exposure to the defoliant, not 2,4-D.
Both 2,4,5-T and dioxin are off the market; 2,4-D, however, is EPA-approved for home lawn care and has not been officially classified as a human carcinogen.
To learn more about the issue, check out New York Times coverage by clicking here.
So what do you think?
