Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) signaled it will approve Dow’s new Enlist-brand corn and soy crops, genetically engineered to resist massive doses of 2,4-D.
You remember 2,4-D. It’s similar in composition to Agent Orange, the Vietnam-era herbicide responsiblefor severe illnesses in people directly exposed to it, and also in their offspring and future generations.
The USDA admits to concerns that if the new crops are approved, the annual use of 2,4-D would jump from 26 million pounds to 176 million pounds. (Independent scientists predict the increase would be even more dramatic.)
But hey, it’s not the USDA's problem. According to the agency, it’s responsible only for approving the genetically engineered seeds, not the new formulation of 2,4-D herbicide that will be used on the crops. So the USDA is passing the buck to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which it says is responsible for approving the new formulation of 2,4-D herbicide that will be used Dow’s Agent Orange crops.
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