USDA May Deregulate Corn And Soybean Seeds Able To Withstand Weed Killer Used In Agent Orange

By M.L. JOHNSON 01/03/14 

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The federal government on Friday proposed eliminating restrictions on the use of corn and soybean seeds that are genetically engineered to resist a common weed killer, a move welcomed by many farmers but feared by scientists and environmentalists who worry it could invite growers to use more chemicals.

The herbicide known as 2,4-D has had limited use in corn and soybean farming because it becomes toxic to the plants early in their growth. The new seeds would allow farmers to use the weed killer throughout the plants' lives.

Farmers have been eager for a new generation of herbicide-resistant seeds because of the prevalence of weeds that have become immune to Monsanto's Roundup. But skeptics are concerned that use of the new seeds and 2,4-D will only lead to similar problems as weeds acquire resistance to that chemical too.

"It's just so clear. You can see that you have this pesticide treadmill effect," said Bill Freese, a chemist with the Washington, D.C.-based Center For Food Safety, which promotes organic agriculture.

Most corn and soybeans grown in the U.S. are already genetically engineered, largely to resist Roundup, which was introduced in 1976. Before that, most farmers tilled their fields prior to planting, flipping the soil over and burying the weeds to kill them. The technique also exposed tilled earth to the air, creating problems with erosion and runoff.

Herbicide-resistant seeds permitted most farmers to stop tilling because they could spray fields after their plants emerged, killing the weeds but leaving crops unharmed.

The new generation of plants "allowed us to do a better job of controlling the weeds, and therefore, we've been able to do a better job of preserving the soil, which is our primary natural resource," said Ron Moore, who grows 2,000 acres of corn and soybeans with his brother in western Illinois.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's plant-inspection agency concluded that the greatest risk from the new seeds developed by Dow AgroSciences was increased use of 2,4-D, which could hasten the evolution of weeds resistant to it.

But, the agency said, resistance could develop anyway because 2,4-D is the third most-used weed-killer in the nation.

Freese and other advocates also raised concerns about possible health risks from increased use of 2,4-D and the chemical's tendency to drift beyond the area where it is sprayed, threatening neighboring crops and wild plants.

Dow AgroSciences has attempted to address that by developing a new version of 2,4-D and new equipment to use with it, company spokesman Garry Hamlin said.

The seeds and new 2,4-D have been approved in Canada but not yet sold there. The company has targeted their release in the U.S. for 2015, pending approval by various federal agencies. In anticipation of that, it has received import approval from seven nations and has applications pending in about six others to allow farmers who use the seeds sold under the Enlist brand to export their crops.

Some nations, particularly in Europe, have been resistant to genetically engineered crops, and consumer concerns have created a market for organic and other foods made without genetically modified ingredients. Minneapolis-based General Mills announced Thursday that it had switched the sugar and cornstarch in original Cheerios to make that product GMO-free.

For now, Dow AgroSciences' seeds can only be used in tightly controlled trials.

The Center for Food Safety and the environmental group Earthjustice threatened legal action if restrictions are the seeds are lifted.

The public has 45 days to comment on the USDA report published Friday as part of the deregulation process. The Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a separate review on the impact of expanded use of 2,4-D, although it previously found the herbicide safe.

The EPA plans to release a report in the coming months, and the two agencies are expected to make final decisions simultaneously on use of the chemical and seeds. It was not clear when that would happen.

Dow AgroSciences has asked the USDA to deregulate one corn and two soybean varieties, all resistant to both 2,4-D and glyphosate, the generic form of Roundup.

The USDA said farmers could help curb resistance to 2,4-D by using a variety of means to fight weeds and not relying solely on the one herbicide.

Eighty-six percent of corn, soybean and cotton farmers in the South and 74 percent of those in the Midwest have had problems with hard-to-control weeds, Hamlin said, citing private data from agricultural services.

"These growers need new tools," he said.

Moore said he currently uses both glyphosate and another herbicide in an effort to discourage resistance. He was not certain whether he would use the Enlist seeds and 2,4-D if that became an option because he has not had problems with Roundup resistance.

But he said he knows famers who have had trouble, and some have gone back to tilling. Weeds cannot be left in fields because they suck up the nutrients, water and sunlight meant for crops.

"Those are the three things that plants all need to grow," Moore said. "I don't want anything competing with my soybeans."

Freese said he would rather see farmers use organic means to control weeds, perhaps by using cover crops that go into the ground after the harvest to hold soil in place and deter weeds until the next growing season.

Among its critics, 2,4-D is best known as a component of the Vietnam War-era herbicide Agent Orange, which has not been produced since the 1970s.

Agent Orange has been tied to health problems in Vietnam veterans, but scientists do not believe 2,4-D was the culprit. Instead, their research focused on dioxin, a cancer-causing substance found in another ingredient known as 2,4,5-T, which was banned by the EPA in 1985.

CORRECTION:A previous headline for this Associated Press story stated that the USDA approved the seeds. They have only published a draft environmental impact statement that may open the doors to deregulation of the seeds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/gmo-seeds-usda-approved-agent-orange_n_4537153.html

Mexican Judge Throws out Monsanto Appeal to Confirm GM Maize Ban

Posted on Dec 30 2013 - 8:23pm by Sustainable Pulse

A Mexican judge has thrown out the appeals of Mexico’s SEMARNAT (Environment and Natural Resources Ministry), and Monsanto, who were attempting to overturn a September court ruling that banned the planting of GM maize in Mexico.

Rene Sanchez Galindo, the attorney for the group Acción Colectiva, revealed the failure of the appeals in a special announcement late last week.
Acción Colectiva, a group of 53 scientists and 22 organizations, which successfully brought the case to ban GM maize in Mexico, is led by Father Miguel Concha of the Human Rights Center Fray Francisco de Vittoria; Victor Suarez of ANEC (National Association of Rural Commercialization Entertprises); Dr. Mercedes Lopéz of Vía Organica; and Adelita San Vicente, a teacher and member of Semillas de Vida, a national organization that has been involved in broad-based social action projects to protect Mexico’s important status as a major world center of food crop biodiversity.
Sanchez Galindo stated that “the new court decision will maintain the temporary suspension of all trials and commercial planting of GM maize in Mexico, ordered by the first court ruling in September.”

The latest decision also goes further in securing the first judgement by stating that even if a new court case is filed on this subject by Monsanto and its government supporters, the suspension shall remain in effect until the appeals court has made a final ruling.
The Mexican federal government had allowed trial crops of GM maize to be planted in Mexico since 2009 before the shock decision in September made by the Twelfth Federal District Court for Civil Matters of Mexico City. Judge Jaime Eduardo Verdugo J. cited “the risk of imminent harm to the environment” as the basis for the decision.
The Judge’s ruling means that multinationals such as Monsanto and Pioneer are legally banned from releasing GM maize into the Mexican countryside.
Father Miguel Concha said the Judge’s decision reflected a commitment to respect the Precautionary Principle expressed in various international treaties and statements on human rights. Concha emphasized that the government is obliged to protect the human rights of Mexicans against the economic interests of big business.
http://sustainablepulse.com/2013/12/30/mexican-judge-throws-monsanto-appeal-confirm-gm-maize-ban/#.UsZUfJQ4Vr2 ‪#‎GMOs‬ ‪#‎StopMonsanto‬ ‪#‎RightToKnow‬ ‪#‎LabelGMOs‬ Food Democracy Now!

 

China rejects fifth US corn cargo in a month, citing GMO strain.

By NaturalHealthWarriors on December 16, 2013 

China has blocked a fifth cargo of US corn since mid-November after testing found a strain of genetically-modified (GMO) corn not yet approved for import. Three more cargoes may also be refused.
A cargo of 59,100 tons was turned away on Tuesday in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang after quarantine officials found MIR 162 — an insect-resistant GMO strain which the country’s agriculture ministry has yet to warrant, Reuters cited an official as saying.
China, the world’s second largest corn consumer, has refused 180,000 tons of grain since mid-November. Observers believe it has less to do with the corn and more to do with other trade quarrels between the two countries.
“It is really causing big trouble and it seems to be related to bilateral trade conflicts,” a domestic corn trader told Reuters.
In November, China fought US accusations that it was blocking a World Trade Organization technology deal that would cut tariffs on products. US Trade Representative Michael Froman said later that month that China’s demand to exempt over 100 products from the deal risked breaking negotiations.
In response, China’s commerce minister, Gao Hucheng, said it was “irresponsible for the US to discard the consensus that has been agreed by most of the countries only because the deal cannot meet its own requirement for several products.”
This month, China challenged further accusations from Washington that it dumped cheap exports on the US market.
Growing domestic corn surpluses may also explain some reticence to accept further US imports. Weak consumption from the animal feed industry looms large in China, as this year will likely yield a record corn harvest. Its corn output for 2013-2014 is expected to rise 5.9 percent to reach a new record for consumption.
“To some extent, there is a link to the domestic supply surplus – these are the rules of the game,” an industry analyst from a Chinese government-linked think-tank told Reuters earlier this month.

AFP Photo / Frederic J. Brown

“We believe future incoming cargoes will face strict inspection.”
China’s corn imports are expected to rise in the long-term, as the country urbanizes and the demand for meat and dairy rises.
US government data still shows that China has a strong demand for corn, as it was the top destination for US supplies last week. For analysts, this appetite overshadows the recent handful of corn rejections.
The US Agriculture Department (USDA) said Monday that it inspected 17.6 million bushels of corn headed to China last week. That figure equals 44 percent of the total amount of corn inspected by the USDA.
“If they are still importing it, it makes us wonder if this is more of a political game that China is playing,” said Terry Reilly, a senior commodity analyst at Futures International. “As long as China is taking US corn on a weekly basis…we are not going to get bearish on this topic.”
Around two million tons of US corn is on its way to China, which has already committed to another three million tons of US grain.
However, traders said that another three cargoes have already been shown to contain MIR 162, and are expected to be refused from ports in Guangdong and Fujian.
“Rejections will be frequent, following large arrivals in coming weeks,” an industry source who asked not to be identified said.
“Some cargoes simply berth offshore and buyers are not unloading the cargoes before testing results are complete.”
The US corn market has not been impacted by the Chinese rejections. Prices have actually increased 4.2 percent since the first refusal in November.
Much of the rejected corn has been acquired by importers in other Asian markets, at times with price cuts, according to European traders.