Dangerous Weed Killers Are Helping To Spread “Superweeds”

By Violet Batcha (Just Label It)

Proposals to expand the use of the dangerous weed killer 2,4-D should serve as a reminder that our heavy reliance on GE corn and soybeans – and the herbicides designed to “protect” these crops — has contributed to the rapid spread of “superweeds.”

As JLI’s Scott Faber said:

 “Relying on dangerous weed killers like 2,4-D to combat the growth of super weeds will just keep us on the same chemical treadmill. No wonder consumers want the right to know whether their food is from the GE crops that have caused the explosion of superweeds. As today’s USDA study shows, superweeds have now spread to 27 states.”

As crops genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicide Glyphosate have supplanted conventional varieties, herbicide resistant “superweeds” have increasingly spread across the nation.

USDA found, in a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released today, that seven different varieties of Glyphosate-resistant “superweeds” are now found in 27 states.

This map, included in USDA’s EIS, shows where the superweeds have spread.

The drifting of 2,4-D, a controversial ingredient that was used in Agent Orange, has already been linked to major human health problems such as cancer, liver dysfunction, and birth defects.

Developing new GE crops and more potent herbicides – as Dow AgroScience has proposed to USDA and EPA– will only lead to more weed resistance and the use of ever more potent weed killers.

As a matter of fact, USDA found that there are already five states with have 2,4-D resistant weed species.

The growth of super weeds is only one of the reasons why consumers want the right to know whether their food contains genetically engineered ingredients.