Orange Agent of Death

Agent Orange, you got to be kidding me. Really??? Agent Orange or Herbicide Orange (HO) is a wicked herbicide and defoliant (causes the leaves to fall off) that was used as part of America’s herbicidal warfare program. Guess who makes the stuff? You guessed it right if you said Monsanto. Monsanto had some help later from Dow chemicals. What a collaboration, huh? “The former Monsanto Company was one of nine wartime government contractors who made military herbicides.” Agent Orange got its name from the color of the orange-striped barrels it was shipped in.

Simulation of HO barrel

What in the world is wrong with these people.??? Haven’t they heard of Vietnam and the health problems that resulted from Us spraying our own with this poison? Its use resulted in over 400,000 Vietnamese deaths and 500,000 birth defects.

Is this more denial, as they’ve done with Genetically Engineered foods and their obvious heath risks? And now you want to put this into the seeds and spray it on our food??? The Glyphosate in Round Up wasn’t enough? Agent Orange poison is currently used to control weeds in cereal grains and lawns. So we are already being exposed to it, and they want to do more? Agent Orange crops?

2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), its  chemical, name was introduced in 1946. Where are the “regulators” charged with the protection of public health and our environment. Regulators??? The EPA rejects the idea that Agent Orange is a threat. The USDA is more like a salesman for Dow, than a regulator for the people’s health and welfare.

Another component of Agent Orange is 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), which in 1969, was revealed to have been contaminated with a dioxin.  This dioxin  2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD)  was created unintentionally during manufacturing– thanks Monsanto. And it was known at that time to cause serious adverse health effects.  It was considered “perhaps the most toxic molecule ever synthesized by man.”

A review done back in 1979 revealed that even “vanishingly small” quantities of dioxin in the diet caused some serious health effects when tested on animals. The National Toxicology Program has classified this stuff as a “known carcinogen,” causing lymphoma-type cancers. Dioxin is toxic over several years. It is not water-soluble and it doesn’t degrade easily.

Monsanto says it is now an independent agriculture company, no longer the wartime government contractor. But its chemicals are the same ones employed as in wartime. This time, however, it’s all in the name of killing weeds. Sadly, that’s not all that will be affected if Monsanto and Dow (the new Monsanto) are allowed to have their way.

soybean

New GE soybean and corn seeds called “Enlist” were already approved in Canada this year, the US is prepped and ready to join in. The corn and soy will be genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. The “Enlist Weed Control System” needs to combine 2,4-D and Glyphosate to combat weeds that are now resistant to glyphosate alone. And this will go on, and on, and on. Dow AgroScience says its safe though, we should be fine, no real threat. Why do we need their new crops, what’s wrong with the old ones???

What the ham and eggs???

“Aside from its harmful endocrine and carcinogenic effects, 2,4-D is a very volatile herbicide, which can easily drift onto nearby crops, vegetables and flowers. In fact, a comparative risk assessment found that 2,4-D was 400 times more likely to cause non-target plant injury than glyphosate (also known as Roundup, the herbicide many currently used GE crops are engineered to survive.)” (source)

Should Enlist crops win ultimate authorization, the USDA said that would increase the annual use of 2,4-D  in the United States from 26 million pounds per year to possibly 176 million pounds. Drift and runoff are a serious risk potentially harming  our environment, plants and animals.

“Scientists, human and environmental health  advocates, farming organizations, and food  transparency groups have urged government  regulators to think twice about unleashing  more 2,4-D.”http://rt.com/usa/156272-epa-dow-agent-orange-herbicide/

“In 2012, seventy health scientists sent a letter to the EPA asking it to block approval of Dow’s 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans for commercial sale.”

The toxicity of these chemicals is well-known. Studies have been conducted for many years and as usual our government turns a blind eye to the truth. Our veterans are the perfect example of what exposure to Agent Orange can do. But those with the power to make change don’t believe the many complications our soldiers are experiencing came from that exposure.

Their illnesses are also documented and known. They have a range of afflictions: rashes and other skin irritations, miscarriages, psychological disorders, Type-2 diabetes, birth defects in children, and cancers; prostate, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, just to name a few. In the same way, they see nothing wrong with GE foods or the health effects now showing themselves to be related to their consumption.

Can’t we just ban GMO’s altogether??? It probably would take a life time to accomplish that one. 😦 But we can fight back. Boycott, Boycott, Boycott. We can hit them where it hurts; in their pockets…Don’t buy meat from factory farms. You know that GE corn and soy are their diet, it will be in you, too. Tell the USDA, to keep Agent Orange corn off Your Plate!

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/stop_agent_orange_corn/

Before I go, I’d like to share an interesting video with Michael Meacher, former UK Environment Minister, speaking on the risks associated with the technology of genetic modification …   http://on.aol.com/video/michael-meacher-on-the-problems-of-genetic-modification-516926307

 

Also, check out the Pesticide Action Network and the USDA info on green-lighting the use of Agent orange:  http://www.panna.org/media-center/press-release/usda-genetically-engineered-corn-opposed-by-farmers-scientists-public-interest

This stuff is dangerous. Agent Orange causes severe illness to those exposed to it and to the offspring of those exposed. It has been known to cause cancer in farmers that use it. The EPA/USDA/FDA, all must be made to listen to the voice of the people. Future generations depend on our action NOW. Let’s make some noise about it…

As always, I share because I care. Let me hear from you. Like my page, leave a comment, let me know you’re there…