GMO Pesticide-Resistant Crops Prompt Widespread Backlash Due to Environmental and Health Risks

Nearly 400,000 farmers, health professionals and concerned Americans joined together on Tuesday and submitted public comments urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reject Dow AgroSciences’ application that seeks approval of genetically-engineered (GE) corn and soybean crops that are resistant to the hazardous herbicide 2,4-D.
Additionally, more than 800 U.S. farmers petitioned Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reject the pesticide-promoting seeds, warning that they would directly harm their crops, farm businesses, livelihoods and health, according to Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
The comments were submitted on the final day of the USDA’s public comment period on its draft Environmental Impact Statement—a report that was supposed to assess possible harms associated with release of the new seed varieties.
Thousands of additional criticisms of the GE seeds are expected to be submitted before the midnight deadline.
As the USDA itself has conceded, approval of 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans would lead to an unprecedented 200 percent to 600 percent increase (from 26 million to as much as 176 million pounds) in agricultural use of the toxic herbicide by 2020.
Even at current usage levels, 2,4-D drift is responsible for more episodes of crop destruction than any other herbicide.
“Farmers are on the front lines of this potential chemical disaster,” said Lisa Griffith of the National Family Farm Coalition. “Losing crops means they lose wages, seeds for future plantings and markets, which also stresses their communities.”
Karri Stroh, executive director of the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society explains, “Our farmer members raise a variety of certified crops, including organic soybeans, fruit and vegetables, that are highly sensitive to 2,4-D. If Dow’s new 2,4-D seeds are approved and planted, and 2,4-D use surges across the country, those crops and the markets that depend on them will suffer tremendous losses. Those of us who live in farm country know that drift happens.”
Critics point out that the beneficiaries of the pesticide-promoting seeds are, not surprisingly, the pesticide manufacturers.
“The new GE herbicide-resistant seeds are part of a technology package explicitly designed to facilitate increased, indiscriminate herbicide use and pump up chemical sales,” said Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, senior scientist at Pesticide Action Network. “These GE seeds are the growth engine of the pesticide industry’s marketing strategy. That’s why Dow itself describes weed resistance to herbicides as a ‘great opportunity for chemical companies."
Public Safety at Risk
The health of people living in rural communities, particularly children, is also at stake. 70 medical and public health professionals submitted a letter to the USDA in 2012 warning of the severe health risks that would likely accompany the expected massive increase in 2,4-D.
“Many studies show that 2,4 D exposure is associated with various forms of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, hormone disruption and birth defects. Children are especially susceptible,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “USDA must take these significant risks seriously and reject approval of this crop.”
Groups submitting public comments to the USDA include the Center for Food Safety, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Food & Water Watch, National Family Farm Coalition, National Organic Coalition, Organic Consumer Alliance, Organic Seed Alliance and Pesticide Action Network.
Visit EcoWatch’s GMO page for more related news on this topic.
At first glance, you wouldn't think avocados and almonds could harm bees; but a closer look at how these popular crops are produced reveals their potentially detrimental effect on pollinators.
Migratory beekeeping involves trucking millions of bees across the U.S. to pollinate different crops, including avocados and almonds. Timothy Paule II / Pexels / CC0
<p>According to <a href="https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/beekeeping-how-to-keep-bees" target="_blank">From the Grapevine</a>, American avocados also fully depend on bees' pollination to produce fruit, so farmers have turned to migratory beekeeping as well to fill the void left by wild populations.</p><p>U.S. farmers have become reliant upon the practice, but migratory beekeeping has been called exploitative and harmful to bees. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/health/avocado-almond-vegan-partner/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported that commercial beekeeping may injure or kill bees and that transporting them to pollinate crops appears to negatively affect their health and lifespan. Because the honeybees are forced to gather pollen and nectar from a single, monoculture crop — the one they've been brought in to pollinate — they are deprived of their normal diet, which is more diverse and nourishing as it's comprised of a variety of pollens and nectars, Scientific American reported.</p><p>Scientific American added how getting shuttled from crop to crop and field to field across the country boomerangs the bees between feast and famine, especially once the blooms they were brought in to fertilize end.</p><p>Plus, the artificial mass influx of bees guarantees spreading viruses, mites and fungi between the insects as they collide in midair and crawl over each other in their hives, Scientific American reported. According to CNN, some researchers argue that this explains why so many bees die each winter, and even why entire hives suddenly die off in a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.</p>Avocado and almond crops depend on bees for proper pollination. FRANK MERIÑO / Pexels / CC0
<p>Salazar and other Columbian beekeepers described "scooping up piles of dead bees" year after year since the avocado and citrus booms began, according to Phys.org. Many have opted to salvage what partial colonies survive and move away from agricultural areas.</p><p>The future of pollinators and the crops they help create is uncertain. According to the United Nations, nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction, Phys.org reported. Their decline already has cascading consequences for the economy and beyond. Roughly 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world depend on bees and other pollinators for free fertilization services worth billions of dollars, Phys.org noted. Losing wild and native bees could <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wild-bees-crop-shortage-2646849232.html" target="_self">trigger food security issues</a>.</p><p>Salazar, the beekeeper, warned Phys.org, "The bee is a bioindicator. If bees are dying, what other insects beneficial to the environment... are dying?"</p>EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Australia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is home to more than 7% of all the world's plant and animal species, many of which are endemic. One such species, the Pharohylaeus lactiferus bee, was recently rediscovered after spending nearly 100 years out of sight from humans.
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