Vets tell Obama: Oppose 2,4-D (Agent Orange) GMOs

Vietnam Veterans of America have sent an official letter to President Obama in an effort to make him aware of the potential dangers of 2,4-D resistant GM corn. Veterans of the Vietnam war should know.. because '2,4-D' (a phenoxy herbicide made by Dow Chemical), along with '2,4,5-T' were the active ingredients in the infamous Agent Orange defoliant used to annihilate the crop fields, rainforests, and - as it would soon be discovered- health of the Vietnamese people. The letter calls for more testing of the dioxin-based chemical, and also refutes the existing conclusions made by the USDA, who claim that increased use of 2,4-D would have no significant impact on the environment. Yeah right..

The toxicity of Agent Orange is generally attributed to its dioxin contaminants. Though 2,4-5-T (banned since 1978) is the worse of the two chemicals, 2,4-D exposure has independently been associated with the deadly immune system cancer non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, hepatitis, lower sperm counts, and birth defects in the children of exposed applicators. 2,4-D is the seventh leading source of dioxin in the U.S., and this excludes dioxin emissions from factories that produce it. While dioxin levels in current 2,4-D are lower than in Agent Orange, a recent Australian study shows that today’s 2,4-D contains as much dioxin as it did twenty years ago, directly contradicting industry assurances to EPA that production improvements have reduced dioxin levels..

..Approving crops engineered solely for the purpose of tolerating more of this toxic weed-killer should concern us all. Experts project that a widespread planting of 2,4-D corn will dramatically increase overall use of 2,4-D in agriculture. Use of 2,4-D will sky-rocket from 27 million pounds at present to over 100 million pounds per year. And corn is just the tip of this health-imperiling iceberg. 2,4-D-resistant soybeans and cotton will increase usage still more.

source: Supporting Vets' Letter to Obama on 2,4-D; A Fitting Memorial



And here's a link to the letter itself, from the VVA to Obama

VVA Seeks President's Help to Study Dow's Dioxin Corn Seed

While I was reading this post. Somebody beat me to the flag button. Now I am pissed. Anyway good post. I doubt Obama will listen, but at least the vets are giving it a good try. They would know better than anyone.

Originally posted by groingrinder
While I was reading this post. Somebody beat me to the flag button. Now I am pissed. Anyway good post. I doubt Obama will listen, but at least the vets are giving it a good try. They would know better than anyone.

Can you imagine having fought for your country over there, watching them use this chemical on THE ENEMY, only to then see your own government use (essentially) it's people? the people you risked your life for? Crazy. Sad. Obama won't have chit to say about it the jerk

While I share your anger, and yes this is obviously a terrorist state that does not care about its people.
Its a bit pointless to blame Obama.
He is just a puppet.

yep nasty stuff. Farmers spray it on pastures all over america to kill broad leaf but then their cattle eat the grass...

Originally posted by HumanCondition
While I share your anger, and yes this is obviously a terrorist state that does not care about its people.
Its a bit pointless to blame Obama.
He is just a puppet.

Hmm.. I'd say yes and no. First off, I hadn't even thought of it as "blaming Obama". I see a letter to the president as more of an attention-getter type of thing. Purely ceremonial. So essentially, you're right, I for one would find it silly to blame Obama for not responding to the letter. It would also be silly to blame him for not calling for more testing of 2,4-D. I doubt he knows what it is. However.. I would find it absolutely legitimate to blame him for personally appointing...

- former Monsanto PR VP and lobbyist, Michael Taylor, to the FDA as senior advisor to the commissioner
- former president of Monsanto's non-profit front group, Roger Beachy, to Director of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- Monsanto insider Tom Vilsack to USDA cheif
- former agriculture programs director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (another arm of Monsanto), Rajiv Shah to director of USAID
- former VP of CropLife America (lobbying group that represents "the big 6" - Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, BASF, Bayer and DuPont), Islam Siddiqui to Cheif Agricultural Negotiator for the US Trade Representative
- former Solicitor General, who sided with Monsanto instead of organic farmers with 'Monsanto vs. Geertson Seed Farms', Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court

EDIT TO ADD: Ahh.. I had written all that before I saw your last line "he is just a puppet". Yes, this is true. So, while directing blame at him would not only be pointless, but would play right into the hand of the true power structure, by falling for their fall-guy, it still doesn't mean he's off the hook.

Originally posted by hawkiye
yep nasty stuff. Farmers spray it on pastures all over america to kill broad leaf but then their cattle eat the grass...

Geez.. say, do you live in Iowa?

I manage a farm supply store. I do not own it, I do manage it... as such, we sell this stuff.

We get a lot of inquries and questions about 2,4-D and all the other chemicals. Usually, local farmers, hobby farmers, and land owners are the ones that purchase these chemicals to control weeds along fence lines and pastures, and drives.

They will tell me their problem, ask for a solution, and then want to know where the chemicals are. I will show them, answer their questions, and then they ask.. "Does it really work?"

I then tell them I have never used it. We do not use chemicals on our farm... we are not organic, but we are natural, and chemical free. I do NOT want inspectors coming around "certifying" our farm organic.

Anyway, I tell them we use no chemicals...herbicides or pesticides. They look at me like I fell off the moon. "Really?" they ask. And I say "Really."

"How do you control brush and weeds?"... I answer, "We use goats and good rotational grazing practices. And with goats, we can make money breeding, selling the animals, and we save by not spending money killing weeds... can't do that with chemicals."

They usually look at the $49.99 to $79.99 price tag for the 2.5 gallons of chemical sprays... and I tell them for the cost of that they could buy a goat. For the cost of two applications, they could get a billy and a nanny and start breeding, and by next year at this time, they could have a small herd, selling goats, clean pastures, and use no chemicals.

Most then buy the 2,4-D or other spray and walk away. The problem is this:

I know most of my regular customers and I know their families and a little about their lives. Most of these people that buy this stuff dropped by the store after visiting a sick family member with cancer, cysts, terrible arthritis, growths, and generally poor health.

Many buy the chemicals because their health is so poor they can't cut or control the weeds and brush manually and physically. They ride around their 4 wheeler or golf cart or UTV with a sprayer pouring these poisons all over their land and ditches and waterways and into their wells.

It's a Catch 22 really. They buy more and more of these toxins to kill weeds because they are too unhealthy to do so...which in turn makes them even more unhealthy, so they have to buy more and more poisons and equipment to maintain the farm they are poisoning.

They wheeze and huff picking up 50lb bags and ask for help loading a small load... and I do so vigorously. They then remark that I am a young man. I tell them I am 50 years old and have a farm too, but I do it the old fashioned way...very little extra equipment, low overhead, no chemicals, and lots of hard work.

They make some remark that borders pity to insult, and then get into their truck...huffing and puffing and wheezing and oozing some sore... so they can go back to their farm and spray gallons of toxins.

reply to post by bacci0909


A friend of my father's is dying because of complications from Agent Orange he got dosed with in Vietnam. It can kill you now, or it can kill you later after torturing you and robbing your health for decades.

reply to post by groingrinder


Very sad.. and that's probably my main concern. All these things that could show up later in life.. radiation, GMO, HPV, fluoride, etc

I once had a neighbor who used 2,4 D religiously on broad-leafed weeds (dandelions, etc.) I moved about 3 years ago to a different town after the house we were living in was sold. I KNOW what the chemical smells like.

The new town I moved to has a big problem. I like to go to parks and schools for exercise (biking, walking, picnics, etc.). The park maintenance have been spraying the hell out of all the local parks and schools this summer. It is actually far worse than it was in the previous neighbor's yard. They do this, and wear protective gas masks while doing so.

I went to a park today, and it was so bad that I started getting a headache at first. Then my eyes started to itch, followed by getting running of the nose. Then my stomach started burning, followed by my throat.

The point is this: These chemicals are absolutely toxic! Dandelions have never bothered me at all, and I can't understand why they bother other people in America so badly. Earlier this summer, I saw bees feeding on the dandelions, before the spray was let loose. Today, I didn't see a SINGLE one. Perhaps this is where all the bees are getting killed?

reply to post by AlreadyGone


I almost cried reading this.


How sad for all of us, that we can't see how much we are harming ourselves in the interest of saving time and money.

Animal husbandry predates recorded history. Somehow human beings have been doing this stuff without chemicals for thousands of years, and now in the pursuit of convenience we're throwing everything away.