Press Releases
Pingree helps lead Congressional effort to block approval of toxic weed-killer
Washington, DC,
August 5, 2014
Tags:
Food and Agriculture
New genetically engineered crops could drastically increase use of ‘Agent Orange’ compound
With just weeks before a final decision is to be made, 50 members of Congress, led by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reject new GE herbicide-resistant crops and the subsequent use of extraordinarily potent weed-killer designed to kill the “superweeds” that have adapted to withstand Monsanto’s RoundUp. The herbicide, Dow’s Enlist Duo, contains both glyphosate (the active ingredient in RoundUp) as well as 2,4-D, the same compound used in Agent Orange that sickened many Vietnam veterans.
"The introduction of Roundup Ready GE crops in the 90s sparked a frightening increase in the amount of herbicides in this country. There's no reason to think that the deregulation of 2,4-D resistant plants will be any different," said Pingree. "The overuse of these powerful herbicides has led to superweeds that require an even stronger cocktail of toxic chemicals to control. When will it end? Today, it's Enlist 'Duo.' Tomorrow, it could be 'Triple' or 'Quintet.' The federal government needs to take a hard look at ending this destructive cycle." |