Monsanto's GE seeds = harmful pesticide drift

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Published on Thursday, 18 August 2016 11:00

Written by editor

r1 ... The herbicide drift problem is getting worse

Dear Paov,

Here we go again. Monsanto pushed a new line of genetically engineered (GE) crops to market — and farmers are, once again, getting burned.

Growers in Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri are reporting extensive crop damage from dicamba, the herbicide being used on Monsanto’s new GE “Xtend” soy. Particularly prone to drift into neighboring fields, dicamba is toxic to broadleaf plants like fruit, nuts, vegetables — and non-GE soy.

This problem of pesticide drift isn’t a surprise. So why were these dicamba-tolerant seeds allowed on the market last year?

Monsanto says they’ve reformulated dicamba to be less drift prone. But since EPA has not approved the new formulation yet, it’s the volatile, old-style version that’s being applied. And even when “new and improved” dicamba is available, there’s no guarantee that the older, cheaper — and more damaging — version of the chemical won’t continue being used in the field.

This problem is urgent. Tell the leaders of USDA and EPA to fix their broken GE/pesticide rules, and fast.

After 20+ years of Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready seeds, the consequences of herbicide resistant GE crops are quite clear: superweeds, crop damage and contamination, and increased exposure to health-harming chemicals.

Why aren't federal decisionmakers taking a closer look at the real-world impacts of this failed technology? Under current rules, reviewers don’t even consider the spikes in pesticide use that come along with GE seeds. And once on the market, GE crops are never reviewed again.

Speak up today! The way GE crops are reviewed — and approved — needs to change, now.

r2