US farmer wins damages over Bayer AG, BASF herbicide

Yahoo – AFP, February 17, 2020

Farmer Bill Bader claimed the companies encouraged farmers to use the dicamba
weedkiller irresponsibly (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

Washington (AFP) - A US jury has awarded $265 million to a Missouri farmer who blamed herbicide from chemical giants Bayer AG and BASF for destroying his peach orchards, in a case set to bolster 140 other lawsuits.

Jurors in federal court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, made the ruling on Saturday after peach farmer Bill Bader claimed the companies encouraged farmers to use the dicamba weedkiller irresponsibly.

Bloomberg News reported that the case was the first US trial over dicamba herbicide, which is alleged to have wrecked crops across America's Midwest by drifting onto plants that were unable to resist it.

Much like Roundup, another much-criticized herbicide marketed by Monsanto, dicamba has been on the market many years.

Use of the chemical jumped after Monsanto -- which was bought by Germany's Bayer in 2018 -- introduced seeds that can resist the weed-killer.

But the product has been blamed for polluting around four percent of US soybean fields in 2017. A common complaint is that the herbicide spreads to nearby areas.

The fight over dicamba comes in the wake of a case in which Bayer was ordered by a California jury to pay $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that Roundup might cause cancer.

In January, reports suggested Bayer could stump up $10 billion in a settlement with tens of thousands of US plaintiffs suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The cancer sufferers say they developed the disease after exposure to glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup.

Bayer, which has argued that dicamba is safe for crops as long as users follow instructions, was reported to be planning to appeal Saturday's ruling, while BASF was not available for comment.

Monsanto pleads guilty to using banned pesticide on research crop

Yahoo – AFP, November 22, 2019

A picture taken on May 24, 2016 in Lillo near Antwerp shows the Monsanto logo on a
building at the firm Manufacturing Site and Operations Center. (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

Biotech giant Monsanto on Thursday agreed to plead guilty to illegally using a banned and highly toxic pesticide on research crops at one of its facilities on the Hawaiian island of Maui and to pay $10 million in fines.

The company admitted in court documents filed in US District Court in Honolulu that it sprayed the pesticide known as Penncap-M on corn seed and other crops at its Valley Farm facility in 2014, even though it knew the chemical had been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency the year before.

"The illegal conduct in this case posed a threat to the environment, surrounding communities and Monsanto workers," said Nick Hanna, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, whose office handled the case. "Federal laws and regulations impose a clear duty on every user of regulated and dangerous chemicals to ensure the products are safely stored, transported and used."

The case against Monsanto was brought as the agriculture giant faced a slew of lawsuits arguing that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

Federal prosecutors had initially sought to file felony charges against the company for illegally spraying Penncap-M, a nerve agent. But they reportedly agreed to let the company plead to a lesser misdemeanor offense after Monsanto's lawyers intervened at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.

In its guilty plea, Monsanto admitted that after the 2014 spraying, it told employees to enter the sprayed fields a week later even though it knew the workers should have been kept from entering the area for 31 days.

The plea calls for Monsanto to pay a $6 million criminal fine and $4 million in community service payments to Hawaiian government entities.

Hanna's office said the government agreed to dismiss felony charges in two years if Monsanto abides by the plea agreement.

Monsanto ordered to pay $2 bn in latest Roundup blow

Yahoo – AFP, Glenn CHAPMAN, May 14, 2019

Monsanto has suffered the latest in a series of court defeats for its glyphosate-based
weedkiller Roundup, which the company insists is not linked to cancer (AFP Photo/
JOSH EDELSON)

San Francisco (AFP) - In a third major legal blow to Bayer-owned Monsanto and its weedkiller Roundup, a jury in California has ordered the chemicals giant to pay more than $2 billion in damages to a couple that sued on grounds the product caused their cancer, lawyers said.

The ruling on Monday was the latest in a series of court defeats for Monsanto over the glyphosate-based product, but the company insists the weedkiller is not linked to cancer.

The couple's legal team described the damages award as "historic," saying it totalled $2.055 billion (1.8 billion euros) after adding in slightly more than $55 million in compensatory damages.

"The jury saw for themselves internal company documents demonstrating that, from day one, Monsanto has never had any interest in finding out whether Roundup is safe," said plaintiff's counsel Brent Wisner.

"Instead of investing in sound science, they invested millions in attacking science that threatened their business agenda."

The setback sent Bayer's shares tumbling 2.55 percent to 55 euros in Frankfurt in mid-morning trading on Tuesday.

The German chemicals giant has seen close to 45 percent of its market capitalisation evaporate since it bought Monsanto in June 2018 for $63 billion.

Bayer finalised its massive acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster
purchase has turned out to be plagued with other massive costs (AFP Photo/
Odd ANDERSEN)

In a statement, Bayer said it was disappointed with the jury's decision and would appeal the verdict, which it argues was at odds with a recent US Environmental Protection Agency review of glyphosate-based weedkillers.

"The consensus among leading health regulators worldwide is that glyphosate-based products can be used safely and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic," Bayer said.

Bayer apologises

Glyphosate developer Monsanto was convicted in the United States in 2018 and 2019 of not taking necessary steps to warn of the potential risks of Roundup -- their weedkiller containing the chemical, which two California juries found caused cancer in two users.

Bayer announced last month that more than 13,000 lawsuits related to the weedkiller had been launched in the US.

Monday's stunning verdict came as Bayer admitted that its subsidiary Monsanto kept lists of high-profile people -- for or against pesticides -- in France and likely other European countries.

Bayer apologised on Sunday after it emerged that Monsanto had a PR agency collate lists of French politicians, scientists and journalists, with their views on pesticides and GM crops.

French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into the claims.

"It is clear that we apologise for what has come to light in France," Matthias Berninger, Bayer's head of public affairs, told journalists in a conference call.

Bayer has said that more than 13,000 lawsuits related to its 

glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup have been launched in the 

US (AFP Photo/Alain BOMMENEL, Laurence SAUBADU, Kun TIAN)

But he admitted that "it's very likely that such lists also exist in other European countries."

"We consider what we have seen so far to be completely inappropriate," he said.

"We were of the opinion that the reports of these dealings with journalists, politicians and activists are not in order and not in agreement with what Bayer stands for."

Hidden costs

The German agro-chemicals and drugs giant finalised its massive acquisition of Monsanto last year, but the blockbuster purchase has turned out to be plagued with other massive costs.

Just two months after the acquisition was completed, Monsanto lost a case to a school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He had sued the company over the glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Monsanto was initially ordered to pay $289 million to the groundskeeper, before the damages were reduced to $78.5 million.

In March, the company lost another case to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the weedkiller, and was ordered by a court to pay $80 million to the plaintiff.

Bayer is appealing both cases.

'Monsanto Protection Act' To Expire, Won't Be Part Of Continuing Resolution

The Huffington Post, Ashley Alman, 09/24/2013

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said the so-called Monsanto Protection Act
 favored by Republicans won't be included in a bill intended to prevent a
 government shutdown Sept. 30. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty
Image)

The so-called Monsanto Protection Act is set to expire, and will not be included in a bill designed to avert a government shutdown, according to a statement Tuesday from the press office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

House Republicans earlier this month released legislation that would include an extension of the Monsanto measure in their continuing resolution. The measure shields sellers of genetically modified seeds from lawsuits, even if the resulting crops cause harm.

Merkley has opposed the measure since it quietly passed in March, when it was attached to another spending resolution. Merkley led an online petition to oppose the extension, and unsuccessfully offered an amendment to the farm bill intended to kill what opponents have dubbed the Monsanto Protection Act. Monsanto is the world's largest seed company.

Merkley worked with legislative leaders to ensure the Farmer Assurance Provision rider would expire before it could be extended. In a statement Tuesday evening, the senator applauded those who helped him to avert the extension:

This is a victory for all those who think special interests shouldn’t get special deals. This secret rider, which was slipped into a must-pass spending bill earlier this year, instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to allow GMO crops to be cultivated and sold even when our courts had found they posed a potential risk to farmers of nearby crops, the environment, and human health. I applaud the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have worked hard to end this diabolical provision.

The rider is set to expire at the end of the month.

10 Signs The Global Elite Are Losing Control

Activist Post, Eric Blair, Sept. 8, 2013 

Karma is coming for the elite in a big way. As the Powers That Be head toward a devastating defeat in their war plans for Syria, signs are emerging that their rule over humanity is rapidly diminishing.

Over the last decade the global elite have been on a mad dash to consolidate power over the world. It’s always been their plan like some evil villain in a comic book, but after 9/11 the plan went into overdrive and then turbo charged during the financial crisis of 2008.

Yet it’s doomed to fail because humans are meant to be guided by their own free will, not controlled like livestock. The more the elite try to control humanity, the more entropy occurs. Entropy, for those who don’t know, is the lack of order or predictability; a gradual decline into disorder.

Although the elite still enjoy a huge wealth advantage over the masses, they are now resigned to behaving like tyrants to maintain control. This, in turn, exposes their dark side which has been cleverly concealed for ages. Not anymore.

People are waking up in droves, at least as fast as the elite can build their full-spectrum prison matrix.  Let them try.  To paraphrase Victor Hugo, “No army can stop an idea whose time has come.”

Here are ten signs that the elite are losing control over the people:

1. Official lies no longer effective: The lies they tell simply don’t work anymore. There was a time when official lies, especially about war and peace, were believed. Because, after all, how evil would it be to lie about such things? Generally people want to believe they are being told the truth when life and death is at stake. The boy who cried wolf has cried one too many times. Even if they told the truth at this point, very few would believe them.

2. No confidence in politics: US politicians have a paltry approval rating. The trust in government is at all-time lows here and around the world. Mainstream polls show only 10% of the public has confidence in Congress. In other words, 90% don’t believe in them to be competent to govern.

Watch this Town Hall exchange below where a man threatens US Senator John McCain with arrest for treason to his face. This would have never happened just a year or two ago:

3. No confidence in media: The most recent polls show that 77% of the population no longer trusts corporate TV news. Is it any wonder why the establishment media failed to sell the lies about the alleged Syria chemical event?  With all their monopoly might over the airwaves, they can no longer claim that black is white simply because officialdom says so.

4. Bankers rejected: Hungary recently became the first country to follow Iceland’s lead by shedding international bankers (IMF) and is considering pursuing prosecution of past prime ministers who enslaved the people with debt.

Look for this trend to continue even if nations decide to default to break free.

5. Vatican abruptly cleaning up its act: Under the previous Pope, Pope Benedict, scandals erupted from the Vatican ranging from covering up pedophile priests to money laundering and fraud. Benedict, in an unprecedented move, abruptly retired to make way for a seemingly much more likable Pope Francis. Pope Francis by all measures is working furiously to reclaim the church’s peaceful and humble reputation. Whether this is genuine or a PR move, it’s telling that the church was forced into such a drastic turnaround to save itself from losing all credibility.

6. Mutiny among soldiers: Finally. Soldiers, who are outlawed from making political statements, are steadily speaking out against US military adventurism. As Einstein famously said “The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service.”

7. Militarized police state: One of the darkest signs that the elite are losing their grip on power is the construction of the militarized police state specifically trained to combat domestic civil unrest. Local cops with tanks and other combat gear are working with Feds at Fusion centers, active Army units are on American soil for the first time in history, the NSA spy grid is being used by the IRS and DEA, and the elimination of due process for Americans under the NDAA are just some of the tyrannical moves made to secure the elite criminals from public backlash. They’re clearly scared, and they should be given what they’ve done to the American people and the Constitution.

8. Serious secession movements everywhere: A state seceding from a larger political entity used to be an ultra-fringe concept, until now. In America, secession movements are winning over the public in parts of Colorado and California. In Europe, serious secession movements are happening in Spain and Scotland, as well as several EU nations flirting with the idea of dropping out the the euro. Decentralization = Entropy!

9. GMO food being rejected everywhere: Control the food and you control the people. True in theory, but much more difficult in practice. GMO leaders like Monsanto are being exposed. All of their economic and political strength cannot defeat the spread of knowledge about the dangers of pesticide-soaked Frankenfoods. GMO fields are being burned in protest in America and around the world, informed nations continue to reject their products, and labeling laws are gaining traction.

10. Cannabis liberation: Many reading this will think marijuana legalization is a superficial development. However, it is a major signpost that the elite’s grip is fading.  Enormous resources have been spent to keep cannabis illegal. Cannabis has been a powerful medicine for physical, mental, and spiritual health throughout the ages. This single plant represents a huge threat to the power structures and their industries, hence its seemingly senseless illegality. The approaching global reversal of the tyrannical policy of prohibition is the first of many concessions to come.

Related Articles:

14 year old girl picks fight with bully TV host - and WINS!

 "Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version) 

14 year old girl picks fight with bully TV host - and WINS!

14 year old Rachel Parent debates Kevin O'Leary on the issue of Genetically Modified Food. Rachel's website: http://www.gmo-news.com/

Canadian Biotechnology Action Network: www.cban.ca petition for mandatory GMO food labelling: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Brin

Rachel Parent

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Over $30M spent last year on lobbying to keep GMOs hidden in foods

NaturalNews, Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, June 27, 2013

                              

(NaturalNews) Guess who spends the most money lobbying on agricultural lobbying? If you answered, "Monsanto," you're correct. Most of their efforts, of course, are focused on lobbying for GMOs -- to keep them legal and keep them hidden in foods.

Do you know how much money Monsanto spent on lobbying in 2012?

The answer is nearly $6 million!

And in a close second, the American Farm Bureau spent $5.7 million on lobbying in 2012.

The Natural News infographic shown below reveals even more details about who's spending the most money lobbying for GMOs and other conventional agriculture "favors" from Washington.

In 2012 alone, companies spent over $30 million "influencing" Congress on agricultural issues, including making sure they didn't pass legislation that would label GMOs or outlaw them altogether. Is it any wonder that the United States of America is one of the very last nations in the world to either ban GMOs outright or require their labeling on foods?

As the second infographic below shows, 64 countries require GMO labeling.

And so far, fifty percent of U.S. states have introduced GMO labeling bills of one kind or another. So the states want it, but the federal government keeps blocking it.

Why is the USA the big holdout on honest food labeling? Could it be because the biotech industry keeps paying off all the politicians?

Share and enjoy these powerful infographics, all created by the Natural News art department:

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GM food off the menu in Parliament's restaurants despite ministers telling the public to drop their opposition

Millions march against GM crops

Organisers celebrate huge global turnout and say they will continue until Monsanto and other GM manufacturers listen

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press, Sunday 26 May 2013

Protesters make their point to Monsanto in Los Angeles, California,
May 25, 2013. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Organisers say that two million people marched in protest against seed giant Monsanto in hundreds of rallies across the US and in more than 50 other countries on Saturday.

"March Against Monsanto" protesters say they wanted to call attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the food giants that produce it. Founder and organiser Tami Canal said protests were held in 436 cities across 52 countries.

Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits, or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment.

The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labelling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.

The "March Against Monsanto" movement began just a few months ago, when Canal created a Facebook page on 28 February calling for a rally against the company's practices. "If I had gotten 3,000 people to join me, I would have considered that a success," she said Saturday. Instead, she said, two million responded to her message.

Together with Seattle blogger and activist Emilie Rensink and Nick Bernabe of Anti-Media.org, Canal worked with A Revolt.org digital anarchy to promote international awareness of the event. She called the turnout "incredible" and credited social media for being a vehicle for furthering opportunities for activism.

Despite the size of the gatherings, Canal said she was grateful that the marches were uniformly peaceful and that no arrests had been reported.

"It was empowering and inspiring to see so many people, from different walks of life, put aside their differences and come together today," she said. The group plans to harness the success of the event to continue its anti-GMO cause.

"We will continue until Monsanto complies with consumer demand. They are poisoning our children, poisoning our planet," she said. "If we don't act, who's going to?"

Monsanto, based in St Louis, said on Saturday that it respects people's rights to express their opinions, but maintained that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.

The US Food and Drug Administration does not require genetically modified foods to carry a label, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.

The Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require the labelling of genetically modified foods.

The Biotechnology Industry Organisation, a lobbying group that represents Monsanto, DuPont & Co and other makers of genetically modified seeds, has said that it supports voluntary labelling for people who seek out such products. But it says that mandatory labelling would only mislead or confuse consumers into thinking products weren't safe, even though the FDA has said there is no difference between GMO and organic, non-GMO foods.

However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut moved ahead this month with votes to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc has said that all products in its North American stores containing genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018.

Whole Foods says there is growing demand for products that don't use GMOs, with sales of products with a "Non-GMO" verification label spiking between 15% and 30%.

Related Article:

Monsanto set to halt GM push in Europe

Seeds Of Death - Full Movie

Published on May 24, 2013

In preparation of the global March Against Monsanto, you are invited to watch our award-winning documentary Seeds of Death free.

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/

The leaders of Big Agriculture--Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta--are determined that world's populations remain ignorant about the serious health and environmental risks of genetically modified crops and industrial agriculture. Deep layers of deception and corruption underlie both the science favoring GMOs and the corporations and governments supporting them.

This award-winning documentary, Seeds of Death, exposes the lies about GMOs and pulls back the curtains to witness our planet's future if Big Agriculture's new green revolution becomes our dominant food supply.

A Question and Answer fact sheet deconstructing Monsanto's GM claims and Big Agriculture's propaganda to accompany the film is available online.

Protesters make their point to Monsanto in Los Angeles, California,

May 25, 2013. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

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Monsanto demands $1 billion in court

RT.com, 01 August, 2012

REUTERS / Henry Romero

Four weeks into a trial between two titans of the biotech industry, Monsanto Co. claimed on Tuesday that its biggest competitor, DuPont, owes them $1 billion for infringing on their patent for herbicide-tolerant lab-made crops.

Monsanto insisted this week that rival company DuPont owes them $1 billion for producing genetically modified crops that were designed to withstand the herbicide Roundup, a technology for which the leading biotech corporation has a patent for. Monsanto’s accusations are based on hundreds of lines of DuPont-made soybean crops that combined the patented Roundup Ready trait with their own herbicide immunity called GAT. Although DuPont claims that their products performed better than Monsanto’s crops by combining technologies from both companies, Monsanto maintains that DuPont infringed on their copyright going back several years and should now compensate them to the tune of $1 billion.

DuPont has filed a counterclaim in response under the argument that Monsanto deceived the US government in getting patent approval for their Roundup Ready crops. Attorneys for DuPont say that Monsanto was not clear with the US Patent and Trademark Office about what genes used in their Roundup Ready crops actually helped organisms fight off herbicides, allowing them wide breadth to thwart similar attempts at the technology from its competitors.

“It was intentional because Monsanto didn’t want people to know what was inside the bag, what was inside the seed,” Leora Ben-Ami, a DuPont lawyer with Kirkland & Ellis, told the court on July 10, Bloomberg News reports. “Monsanto didn’t want people to know how the seed was made.”

By creating plants resistant to herbicides, farmers are able to harvest an abundance of laboratory-produced seeds and douse their fields in chemicals, killing off weeds while at the same time sparing their money crops. Outside of the industry, though, opponents claim that the chemicals used in the herbicides are being used ad nauseam and consumers are being put to risk.

Analyst Chris Shaw of New York’s Monness Crespi Hardt & Co. tells Bloomberg that he thinks DuPont’s counterclaim will fail in court, and that both companies will likely settle out of court.

“They’re going to reach some mutually beneficial agreement even if one loses the trial,” Shaw says. “Ultimately both need each other, given the market share.”

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Farming Groups Supporting Dow's Controversial Genetically Modified Corn Have Financial And Executive Backing From Agricultural Biotech Industry

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Monsanto and Genetically Modified Crops - Is there a cover-up?

Monsanto sued for underpaying workers

RT.com, 23 July, 2012

Screenshot from monsanto.com

It’s back to court for biotech giants Monsanto. This time America’s largest agriculture corporation is being sued by a group of farmers who say they were promised free housing but instead were charged thousands and poisoned by pesticides.

Seven migrant workers from the state of Texas are suing Monsanto after they say the massive biotech corporation failed to keep their promise. The plaintiffs argue that they were promised free housing and kitchen access for their families in exchange for working on a hybrid corn seed project in the state of Indiana, but instead were milked out of their money and exposed to dangerous chemicals.

Jose Cardenas, the lead plaintiff in the case, is going after Monsanto and its recruiter, Milo Inc., as well as that company’s president. Cardenas insists that Milo Inc. promised the plaintiffs $80 for each acre the farmers detasseled and would be additionally compensated with housing arrangements. According to his complaint, however, the pay that was signed over was less than minimum wage when divided among the crew members.

Courthouse News Service reports that money problems weren’t all the farmers were poised with.

"The motel housing did not comply with substantive federal and state safety and health standards applicable to agricultural labor housing,” the complaint reads.Additionally, instead of complimentary accommodations they were forced to spend $300 per room while on the job.

And the kitchen? “[T]he kitchen facility provided by the defendants – a school bus in which about three to four stoves and two refrigerators had been installed – was substandard."

"Two or more of the working plaintiffs suffered illness or injuries from suspected pesticide exposure while working for defendants,” the farmers add.

Attorney Kathryn Blair Craddock with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid is representing the group of seven workers whom are seeking damages under the Agricultural Worker Protection Act, as well as unpaid wages as promised through the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Agriculturalists across America have previously tried to take Monsanto to court over charges stemming from their lab-made corn GMOs, but that case was a bit different. Over 2,000 farmers have petitioned the US government to more thoroughly investigate the impact a genetically modified corn crop from Monsanto will have on the country. As RT reported before, the biotech company wants to plant a corn variant across America’s Midwest that will be resistant to a powerful pesticide produced with 2,4-D, the same compound crucial to the make-up of the notorious Vietnam War-era killer Agent Orange. If approved, the new corn will be able to thrive as farmers douse their fields in the chemical, killing off unwanted weeds in the process while at the same time subjecting Americans to a pesticide linked to causing cancer.

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Farming Groups Supporting Dow's Controversial Genetically Modified Corn Have Financial And Executive Backing From Agricultural Biotech Industry

International Business Times, by Ashley Portero, May 12, 2012

Small farmers and public health advocates are protesting the USDA's
expected approval of Dow's new genetically engineered corn, which is
 bred to be resistant to 2, 4-D, arguing it will lead to an increased use of
the herbicide -- one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange.
(Photo: Reuters)

RELATED ARTICLES

• Farmers, Scientists Protest USDA Approval Of Dow's 'Agent Orange Corn'
• Superweeds May Lead Farmers to Use '2, 4-D' Herbicide Found in Agent Orange
• Monsanto Bt Crops: Genetically Modified Corn Linked To Soil Ecosystem Threat

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture readies its decision on whether to approve for widespread use Dow Chemical Co.'s (NYSE: DOW) new genetically engineered corn, the chemical company is touting a broad coalition of support among farmers to increase the likelihood that the agency approves the product.

Dow is taking this step to counter claims that the new corn, called Enlist, could encourage the use of a powerful herbicide found in the Vietnam War defoliant Agent Orange, because Enlist is designed to be resistant to this chemical. Enlist's opponents say that if this herbicide is more widely employed, the environment and public health would be endangered. More than 140 agricultural, consumer, environmental and public-health groups sent USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack a letter, which was signed by 365,000 people last month urging him to reject the crop.

In response to an article we ran in late April about this campaign, Dow dismissed as "hyperbole" criticism surrounding Enlist. The company said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determined 2, 4-D (the Agent Orange herbicide) poses "a reasonable certainty of no harm," and that, in fact, a different chemical, 2,4,5-T, is the principal contaminant in Agent Orange.

"The surest way to increase per acre herbicide volume is to do nothing to solve the weed resistance problem," Dow wrote. "Returning to agriculture as it was 20 years ago ... will merely force farmers into additional cultivation connected with increasing erosion, agricultural runoff, soil compaction and fuel use with attendant contributions to air pollution."

To bolster its position, Dow sent us a list of "mainstream agricultural organizations" that the company said concur with its assessment. In a letter sent to the USDA, these groups insisted that further evaluations of 2, 4-D would disrupt the agricultural industry and deny "valuable tools to U.S. farmers by requiring costly and unwarranted environmental reviews."

While Dow has publicized this letter as a means of demonstrating the support for its new corn by industry heavyweights, an analysis of the organizations reveals that they are either backed by or led by key players in the genetically modified organism (GMO) industry. In other words, rather than being a group of unbiased representatives of agricultural interests, these groups stand to benefit from Enlist's successful introduction to the market.

Monsanto Connection

Six of the nine groups on Dow's list have clear connections to Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), one of the world's leading producers of GMO seeds and herbicides. The company helped launch the GMO wave more than a decade ago with the release of genetically engineered Roundup Ready seeds manufactured to resist Monsanto's own Roundup herbicide. Among Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops are soybeans, alfalfa, corn, cotton, spring canola, sugar beets and winter canola.

Roundup Ready crops account for 90 percent of the soybeans and about 70 percent of corn and cotton produced in the U.S., according to the USDA. Like Dow, the company is also seeking regulatory approval for crops resistant to multiple herbicides, as its glyphosate-based Roundup continues to lose its potency in the face of so-called "superweeds."

These are the links between the agricultural groups supporting Enlist and Monsanto:

• The Agricultural Retailers Association -- a Monsanto representative is a member of the board of directors for crop and seed production
• American Seed Trade Association -- its non-profit "First the Seed Foundation," which promotes seed biotechnology, is funded by the American Seed Trade, which itself is backed financially by Monsanto
• American Sugarbeet Growers Association -- Monsanto is a financial sponsor
• Biotechnology Industry Association -- Monsanto officials serve on the executive committee and as vice chair of the food and agriculture governing board
• National Wheat Growers Association -- Monsanto is a "diamond" level sponsor
• National Corn Growers Association -- the group's chairman, Bart W. Schott, is a liaison to the Monsanto Grower Advisory Committee
• In addition, a Dow AgroSciences representative serves on governing bodies of the Biotechnology Industry Association. And Dow is a "bronze" level backer of the National Wheat Growers Association.

The three other signatories to the USDA letter -- the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association and the National Cotton Council -- do not appear to have any professional ties to either Monsanto or Dow.

However, all of those organizations specifically describe biotechnology as "the future of modern agriculture" on their websites. Plus, most soybean and cotton crops come from Roundup Ready seeds. Hence, trade groups created around these plants are invested in the creation of new, multi-herbicide resistant seeds that can withstand herbicides such as 2, 4-D.

The Problem of 2, 4-D and Herbicide Resistance

Aside from the potentially problematic connection of 2, 4-D to Agent Orange, disputed by Dow, the chemical may pose its own risks. For example, the herbicide has been known to drift when sprayed, damaging and even destroying neighboring crops that are not genetically engineered to resist it. Dow claims a new 2, 4-D herbicide that it has developed alongside Enlist corn reduces drift by at least 90 percent.

In addition to corn, Dow is also developing soybeans and cotton with 2, 4-D resistance. Critics warn that this is only a temporary fix to the rapidly increasing problem of herbicide resistance, insisting the introduction of new and potentially toxic herbicides will deepen a vicious cycle akin to a chemical arms race with weeds.

"Dow's 2, 4-D crops are no 'solution' to glyphosate-resistant weeds. After at best temporary relief, they will trigger an outbreak of still more intractable weeds resistant to both glyphosate and 2, 4-D," wrote the coalition of critics in their letter to the USDA.

What's Next?

Dow hopes the USDA will approve Enlist soon and that the product will be available to farmers by 2013.

For its part, Dow insists that impeding the sale and use of its new Enlist products could have drastic impacts for both the American agricultural industry and the international community.

"The recommendations that pesticide opponents are making today would make farming less efficient at a time when global crop production is barely keeping pace with food demand driven by a word population expansion," Dow wrote in a statement. "It would also further impair U.S. farm productivity in a difficult economy at a time when agricultural exports are one of the single greatest contributors to our nation's balance of trade."

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