Monsanto/ Dow in push to poison your food with 2,4 D- Agent Orange component

Let's accept Monsanto for what it is, a Bioterrorist organization that has a tyrannical bent to control all of the food of the world and would cut corners on scientific peer reviews to increase profit margin. They have caused death billions of people and they will destroy this planet unless we do something about and put them in to Guantanamo Bay where real terrorists should be kept from harming others.

They not only breed super weeds they also breed super pests by the way and good scientists know this! Good scientists knowthe potential impact of this Monsanto Vegemony over nature.

Nice - create more potent toxic chemicals to kill 'superweeds' growing tolerant to the current chemicals, which in turn spawns more 'superweeds' and the cycle continues until our nation's soil and ground water tables have been destroyed!

Please take me back to the time when the only 'superweed' was the stuff I had in my bong in college!!!

Most Amecans dont care because its makes food cheap till monsanto runs all our food. They run 90% now. that is considered a monoply which is Illeagal.We dont see our government acting against them because they have worked for them or will work for the they have a revolving door.So that they have free run of that market.They have been getting rid of small farms in every country for decades.thats where we should be launching those tomahawks at, For what they are doing to us and our kids!

Technically, almost all crops are genetically modified. Genetic modification doesn't always involve directly modifying cell structure and dates back centuries. Tomatoes weren't always bright red, originally heirlooms were what was traditionally grown, with different kinds grown in different regions. And unmodified, natural eggplant is white and shaped like an egg, rather than the giant, oblong purple things you normally see today. These modifications were done using techniques such as selective harvesting, seed saving, and cross-pollination. Genetic modification is used for a variety of things, such as crops that resist fungus and bacteria.

That being said, modification for the purpose of being able to inundate your crops with powerful poisons is bad for a variety of reasons.

Eco,organic cropping systems which do not use herbicides have many tools to avoid weed infestations.The key word is infestation.A few weeds do not reduce yield or quality of a crop.The first tool is the soil test.In eco ag the soil base saturation should be 65% calcium.Magnesium potash,phosphorous also should be balanced to known ratios to adjust to the higher calcium base saturation.This alone will reduce weed infestations.The use of a calcium molasses spray within 6 hours of planting tilled soil also delays, reduces weed germination,making mechanical cultivation;rotary hoes,sweeps with rolling shields and later hilling of corn will produce a near zero weed population.No till practices for crops also are very effective.Winter Rye is sown in the Fall, in the spring before heading,the rye is roll crimped to the soil,then no till planters are used to plant the crop in the mulch.There are flame weeders, and OMRI sprays to control weeds in crops.Herbicides are not necessary in a balanced soil with the tools farmers have.Mechanical and other weed controls are on a cost par with herbicides which are petroleum based.

Ok...people I officially have a solution for weeds. Are you ready? I warn you this might seem radical and unorthodox.... Ok here we go, brace yourselves: PULL UP THE FREAKING WEEDS! It doesn't matter what kind of "superweed" it is, you can still pull it out of the ground with your hands! Gasp! It's a revolution!!!!

urbal

I am gonna start my garden now ......

My husband fought in Korea in 1969 (one of two years that agent orange was being tested there); he came home just in time to spend a year in Vietnam where he was a radio operator with an engineering company -- the planes went over and sprayed everything, then his company went in and cleared out all the dead brush. He came home in January, 1972; our first son was born in October of that year, and died 2 days later of cancer.
In 2006 Mike got so sick he had to go to the hospital; since we didn't have insurance we went to the local VA hospital. He was diagnosed with diabetes/ chronic kidney and heart failure. During the summer of 2009 he was treated for prostate cancer. He was healthy for more than 30 years after he came back from Vietnam, but at 59 he's dying.
How in the FUCK could these stupid companies do this all over again? They obviously didn't finish all the tests they wanted to on our soldiers so now we ALL get to be guinea pigs for the selfish shits.

p.s. Isn't Monsanto one of the companies owned by the koch[roaches]? Isn't it time for some heavy duty roach spray being 'showered' on this pondscum?

Excellent article and equally excellent responses to the naysayers. I think I love you! You have another follower.

The sold farmers on GM being superior to the natural plant. Fail.

Some times I think this type of chemicals have to have been created by someone from another planet because I can not believe that another human would do such a thing, knowing damn well that one day his kids or grand kids or a kid period could be exposed to it

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=1285

As the most commonly used “home and garden” chemical, millions of U.S. households especially vulnerable children and pets, are exposed to this toxic chemical.

Beyond Pesticides fully supports the cancellation of this dangerous pesticide which has been associated with a host of adverse human impacts, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental effects, as well as water contamination and toxicity to aquatic organisms. The highly toxic chemical can be replaced by cost-competitive and effective management practices widely used in organic agriculture and lawn care.

As long as 2,4-D remains on the market, the public will continue to be exposed to, and suffer the effects of this chemical whose health impacts have long been ignored by EPA. Public health and environmental advocates believe it is time that EPA put science and the health of the public and the environment first and ban this dangerous chemical.

2,4-D is one of the most widely used herbicide for the control of broadleaf weeds in commercial agriculture and residential landscapes in the U.S. About 46 million pounds of 2,4-D are used annually, with 16 million pounds used in non-agricultural settings, such as golf courses, playing fields, and residential lawns. 2,4-D was considered eligible for reregistration by the EPA in 2005 with the publication of its Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document. However, according to advocates, extensive important scientific evidence pointing to the dangers of 2,4-D have been ignored by the agency during its risk assessment process. These include scientific observations that 2,4-D is an endocrine disruptor with predicted human health risks ranging from changes in estrogen and testosterone levels, thyroid problems, prostate cancer and reproductive abnormalities. EPA has yet to finalize a screening program to assess endocrine disruption for pesticides. According to EPA’s RED document for 2,4-D, current data “demonstrate effects on the thyroid and gonads following exposure to 2,4-D, there is concern regarding its endocrine disruption potential.” Despite this finding, the agency found 2,4-D eligible for reregistration, a fact that advocates say illustrates EPA’s flawed risk assessment process.

Along with numerous health effects that continue to be ignored, EPA removed the additional (10X) safety factor instituted to protect children from pesticide exposure. The removal of this extra safeguard for children means that children playing on lawns and fields continue to be exposed to a chemical that has known and uncertain toxicological effects from which they are not adequately protected. In fact, there are several data gaps and uncertainties in the toxicological database for 2,4-D such as, according to the RED, concern for developmental and neurotoxic effects. 2,4-D is also commonly formulated with other toxic herbicides such as dicamba and mecoprop-p (MCPP). The agency has not evaluated the cumulative effects of these chemicals, even though they are growth regulators and have the same mode of action. As such, exposures and risks posed from this combination(s) of chemicals have gone unchecked. "

fraken foods...

has anyone noticed that monsatan has a close resemblance to the umbrella corp...

Poisons to kill men faster? I bet the antidote is being cleverly included in the women's birth control pills.

Males-Only Eugenics!

http://www.eugenics.net COME ON DOWN

Janforgore, thank you for putting out all of this information on monsanto and GMO's it is very helpful, keep fighting the good fight

2 4 d is not agent orange... this person never took chemistry

It's pretty basic science and I'm sure Monsanto understands this. It's called "genetic variation" (google it) and it apples to all living things. Its the reason DDT, once considered a god send in Africa for fighting locust plagues is now ineffective. It's the reason the plague or ebola don't kill all their victims. You see, we all have the same genes, (as do a given species of weed). But for whatever reason, we're not all precisely the same (nor are the weeds). And we're not precisely the same in different ways. For example, someone who survived an ebola infection might get knocked off by a flu. While someone who recovered from that same flu virus, gets knocked of by ebola. As a result of these "genetic variations", these diseases (or pesticides) don't don't kill everyone (or all weeds). Some of the progeny of these survivors will be similarly resistant. As a result, after a few generations of these disease (or pesticide) cycles, you find that fewer and fewer of these hosts are dying from the disease (or pesticide). Eventually, as with locusts and DDT, the disease (or pesticide) will become largely ineffective. In short, what you're looking at folks, is evolution happening in a fraction of the time that you'd would normally expect it to occur. Only the strong survive.

Gross... disgusting evil perversion of nature and of the gift from mother earth of Plants and animals We are more like the super weeds everyday maybe we should look closer at mutants we are mutants now too! Monsanto and Dow are horror show co's with no morals no ethics no care for the future only profits and greed... They are enemies of the people and should be treated as such!

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/24d.htm

More information.

"The herbicide 2,4-D was first identified in 1942 and marketed in 1944. Despite its decades of usage, there are still data gaps concerning 2,4-D's effects on human health and environment risk.
What is 2,4-D?

This highly selective herbicide is toxic to broad leafed plants but less harmful to grasses(1). One of the hormone weedkillers, 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid) is an aryloxyalkanoic acid known also as a 'phenoxy herbicide', which includes MCPA, mecoprop, triclopyr and 2,4,5-T. These chemicals have complex mechanisms of action against weeds, resembling those of auxins (growth hormones). Once absorbed 2,4-D is translocated within the plant and accumulates at the growing points of roots and shoots where it inhibits growth.

Production
Introduced in 1942, 2,4-D has been off patent for many years and is manufactured and sold by many different companies around the world.

The global market is estimated to be over US$300 million and the main producers are Agrolinz, Atanor, Dow, AH Marks (UK), Nufarm (Australia), Polikemia, Rhône-Poulenc, Sanachem, Sinochem (China) and Ufa, together with four other producers in Turkey(2) .

Ufa (Russia) produced about 49,000 tonnes of different formulations until production was discontinued some years ago due to 'environmental problems'. Production has resumed at lower levels. Dow (US) is now the largest producer with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes. Rhône-Poulenc is the largest European producer (7,000 tonnes pa), followed by Agrolinz (4,000 tonnes).

Use
The principal use is for the control of broad leaf weeds in cereal crops-including wheat, maize, rice and sorghum-and grassland and turf areas. It is also widely used in mixtures with other herbicides to provide weed control in forestry, orchards and non-crop areas, and for the control of aquatic weeds.

The phenoxy acid group of herbicides are probably one of the widest used herbicide chemcial classes. The US, South America, Europe and the former Soviet Union are major markets for 2,4-D-weed control on US wheat relies on little else-and global use is predicted to grow over the next decade(3). In the US where it was the third most used pesticide in the early to mid 1990s, over 31,000 tonnes of 2,4-D was used annually(4). In the UK it is among the top six herbicides used by UK local authorities, and it ranked seventh among herbicides used on grassland and fodder crops and twentieth among herbicides used in orchards in 1992(5,6). Overall the area of land treated with 2,4-D in UK agriculture (excluding amenity use) declined by 83% during the period 1984-1994(7). 2,4-D is also used widely in developing countries: India, for example, used 1,300 tonnes in 1994-5(8).

Acute toxicity
2,4-D is a WHO Class II 'moderately hazardous' pesticide. This places it in the same class as endosulfan, lindane, paraquat and toxaphene. It has an LD50 of 375 mg/kg in the rat with evidence suggesting a similar level of toxicity in humans(9).

Occupational exposure to 2,4-D has produced serious eye and skin irritation. Other symptoms of 2,4-D poisoning include nausea, weakness and fatigue, and in some cases neurotoxic effects including inflammation of nerve endings(10). Some medical reports from practitioners who have treated victims of acute exposure to 2,4-D mention severe and sometimes long lasting or even permanent symptoms. These include, as well as those listed above, diarrhoea, temporary loss of vision, respiratory tract irritation, confusion, numbness and tingling, bleeding and chemical hypersensitivity(11).

A recent review of 2,4-D by the UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) noted that "Approval holders must generate a number of toxicology/operator exposure studies to allow a full risk assessment to be made."(12)

Chronic effects
It seems that long term exposure to 2,4-D can affect different animals in a wide variety of ways. Rats for example were found to be largely unaffected when fed moderately large amounts in their diet over long periods, although signs of kidney pathology were demonstrated. Dogs however died when fed smaller amounts over shorter periods. A human fed 16.3 grammes over 32 days showed severe symptoms of intoxication(13).

It also seems that the various chemical forms of 2,4-D can have different toxic effects. Acid, salt and various esters differ in all their measured toxic effects to some extent, but the majority of toxicity data relates only to the acid.

Cancer
Phenoxy acid herbicides have been linked with soft tissue sarcomas, but the UK ACP has concluded that 'the data do not suggest a positive link with 2,4-D'14 as have the Canadian authorities(15). However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified 2,4-D among the phenoxy acid herbicides MCPA and 2,4,5-T as a class 2B carcinogen-possibly carcinogenic to humans(16) (concluding that there was limited evidence in humans, inadequate evidence in animals).

The US authorities have also been reluctant to declare 2,4-D as a potential human carcinogen, but the US courts decided that a forestry worker contracted cancer and died as a direct result of his exposure to 2,4-D during the course of his work(17).

snip

Conclusions
2,4-D is a pesticide that has been heavily used in agriculture all over the world for some fifty years or more. Alarmingly the ACP Evaluation has highlighted a large number of major data gaps-covering human health effects, aquatic and wider environmental risk. In addition to the number and the range of these data gaps, there continue to be concerns about long term adverse effects of 2,4-D on human health and water pollution."

WHEN THEY MESS WITH THE FOOD YOU KNOW YOUR IN PRISON.
OTHER COUNTRIES ARE ENCOURAGING HOME GARDENS
BUT NO USA TRYING TO STOP THAT AND STOP THE LOCAL FARMERS from SELL THEIR PRODUCE ON THE HI-WAY
BUT HOMELAND SECURITY SAYS NO: Colorful prison.

"The report found that if 2,4-D is used the way Dow suggests, humans will be exposed to dangerously high levels of the toxin, which in turn causes autoimmune disorders, cell destruction (apoptosis), nerve damage, metabolic dysfunction, and other serious problems."

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031396_superweeds_pesticides.html#ixzz1HAUUsUNj

Hey, but at least we'll be able to continue to have GM foods...............YuMmmmm

http://current.tv

Thanks for not loosing your focus on this important issue. Current .com (current .tv?) got lucky when you found them. Thanks again Jan for all you do and for your contributions to Current.

http://www.capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=36102531&type...

This is unconscienable. They made the poison that brought the superweeds then put out the Agent Orange component "cure" on the market to make more money. Do I have faith these won't be deregulated? Not much. But I have to sign this, and we have to spread this news as far as we can. They cannot be allowed to continue the poisoning of our planet and species for profit.
~~~

"I am writing to urge you not to deregulate a new generation of super-toxic GM crops designed to survive repeated sprayings of the herbicide 2,4-D (a component of the notorious poison Agent Orange).

Monsanto and Dow are promoting these toxic varieties after their first generation of herbicide-resistance Frankencrops generated a growing army of superweeds.

For farmers who were told RoundUp Ready crops would make weed control easier, the super-weeds have been an absolute nightmare. Nearly half of farmers have a problem with these weeds, forcing them to spend more money and time to come back and spray crops with ever more deadly pesticide combinations.

But for Monsanto, Dow and other chemical companies, it's just an opportunity to sell more pesticides. 2,4-D, one of the pesticides Monsanto supplied to the military during the Vietnam War for use in Agent Orange, is linked with cancer, endocrine disruption, reproductive problems, neurotoxicity, kidney and liver damage, and birth and developmental defects.

Deregulation of 2,4-D tolerant crops would only increase the use of this dangerous pesticide."