Comments due December 1, 2016

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking comments on a dangerous proposal that will put our farms, our food, and our environment at risk.



The EPA is proposing a dramatic expansion of the use of the toxic pesticide Enlist Duo. Enlist Duo is a mixture of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup®) and the even more toxic 2,4-D (part of the chemical mixture Agent Orange). If approved the pesticide cocktail could be used on corn, soy, and cotton in 34 states — up from 15 states where the product was previously approved for just corn and soy.



The rush to expand the use of Dow AgroSciences’ toxic chemical concoction of glyphosate and 2,4-D for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops comes only one year after the EPA asked a court to revoke its previous approval due to the unknown risks it posed, and now EPA suddenly wants to more than double the number of states where the pesticide can be used.



Enlist Duo is designed to be sprayed on Dow’s genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybeans, and cotton, killing the weeds but not the crops. Monsanto’s Roundup Ready crops are already failing because they created superweeds resistant to Roundup. Now imagine Roundup on overdrive. Scientists, lawmakers, and millions of citizens know that more chemicals are not the answer to the superweed problem.



Dow created Enlist crops as a quick fix for the superweed problem created by “Roundup Ready” crops that were genetically engineered to withstand what would otherwise be a toxic dose of the herbicide glyphosate. Just as overuse of antibiotics has left resistant strains of bacteria to thrive, repeated use of Roundup on those crops has resulted in the proliferation of glyphosate-resistant “superweeds” across millions of acres of U.S. farmland. Farmers are already reporting that some weeds have now also developed tolerance to 2-4, D. This means this next generation of new herbicide-tolerant crops will result in massive increases in pesticide use and perpetuate the pesticide treadmill.



Major news outlets are saying these crops are a serious cause for concern. According to the Los Angeles Times: “Just as the nation must stop overusing antibiotics if it hopes to slow the emergence of resistant infections, it must do the same with herbicides and genetically modified crops. The way to deal with so-called superweeds isn't by escalating the arms race against them.”



This GE crop system ensures a toxic spiral of ever-increasing chemical use on our land and food and poses a grave threat to our health. 2,4-D has been linked to major health problems including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine disruption, and reproductive problems. This approval would trigger millions of more pounds of toxic herbicides dumped onto our land. Even USDA admitted it could be as much as 176 million pounds per year!



Tell the EPA to reject this massive expansion in the use of Enlist Duo!