Environmentalists and farmers seek court decision halting use of Dow’s “Agent Orange” pesticide

A coalition of environmental organizations and farmers represented by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Earthjustice recently filed new legal papers in federal court seeking the reversal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) approval of Dow Chemical’s toxic pesticide, Enlist Duo. The novel pesticide is a combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D, to be sprayed over the top of corn, cotton, and soybeans that are genetically engineered by Dow with resistance to both pesticides.

“Our filing reveals that EPA approved Enlist Duo despite its significant harms to health, environment, farms, water, and endangered species,” said Sylvia Wu, CFS attorney and counsel for the coalition. “EPA’s job is protecting the environment, human health, and farmers, not blindly doing the bidding of pesticide companies. The court must stop its use.”

In early 2017, EPA dramatically expanded approval of Enlist Duo use to 34 states and for use on cotton, only one year after a court sent back EPA’s previous approval. The two chemicals in Enlist Duo do more damage when used together than the net damage they do when used separately.

U.S. National Cancer Institute scientists highlighted 2,4-D specifically as associated with a two- to eight-fold increase in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization classified 2,4-D as a possible carcinogen to humans and glyphosate as a probable carcinogen to humans.

Source: Center for Food Safety

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