THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Friends and Colleagues
US EPA Revokes Approval of Dow’s “Enlist Duo” Herbicide
In response to litigation by conservation groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in late November 2015 that it would revoke its approval of the herbicide “Enlist Duo” after determining that its combination of chemicals is likely to be significantly more harmful than initially believed to non-target organisms.
Enlist Duo is a combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D that Dow AgroSciences created for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops designed to be resistant to this potent herbicide cocktail. The EPA had approved use of Enlist Duo in 15 U.S. states over this last year.
The EPA had initially concluded, based on information from Dow, that the two herbicides in Enlist Duo were not synergistic, meaning the toxicity of the two ingredients combined was not greater than expected based on the properties of the individual chemicals. However, new information contained in a patent application from Dow claims just such a synergy.
Most of the corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. But because of the overuse of glyphosate, “superweeds” resistant to it have evolved and infested tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmland; hence the creation of Enlist Duo by Dow to try and overcome this problem. However, some weeds have already developed 2,4-D resistance, fuelling worries of a further escalation of chemical use in agriculture.
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Item 1
EPA REVOKES APPROVAL OF DOW’S ‘ENLIST DUO’ HERBICIDE BECAUSE OF HIGH TOXICITY
Harmful Pesticide Banned on Genetically Engineered Crops
Center for Biological Diversity
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/enlist-duo-11-25-2015.html
WASHINGTON – In response to litigation by conservation groups, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it will revoke approval of the herbicide “Enlist Duo” after determining that its combination of chemicals is likely significantly more harmful than initially believed. Approved by the agency just over a year ago, Enlist Duo is a toxic combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D that Dow AgroSciences created for use on the next generation of genetically engineered crops that are designed to withstand being drenched with this potent herbicide cocktail.
The action resolves a year-long legal challenge filed by a coalition of conservation groups seeking to rescind the approval of the dangerous herbicide blend. The EPA had approved use of Enlist Duo in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and North Dakota, and had intended to approve it in additional areas in the near future.
The reversal came after the EPA’s failure to consider the impacts of Enlist Duo on threatened and endangered plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act was challenged by Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety, on behalf of Center for Food Safety, Beyond Pesticides, the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group, the National Family Farm Coalition and Pesticide Action Network North America. The Endangered Species Act requires that every federal agency consider the impacts of its actions on our nation’s most imperiled plants and animals and seek input from the expert wildlife agencies before plunging ahead, which the EPA had refused to do.
“With this action, EPA confirms the toxic nature of this lethal cocktail of chemicals, and has stepped back from the brink,” said Earthjustice Managing Attorney Paul Achitoff. “Glyphosate is a probable carcinogen and is wiping out the monarch butterfly, 2,4-D also causes serious human health effects, and the combination also threatens endangered wildlife. This must not, and will not, be how we grow our food.”
Dow created Enlist crops as a quick fix for the problem created by “Roundup Ready” crops, the previous generation of genetically engineered crops designed to resist the effects of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. Just as overuse of antibiotics has left resistant strains of bacteria to thrive, repeated use of Roundup on those crops allowed glyphosate-resistant “superweeds” to proliferate, and those weeds now infest tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmland. Enlist crops allow farmers to spray both glyphosate and 2,4-D without killing their crops, which they hope will kill weeds resistant to glyphosate alone. But some weeds have already developed 2,4-D resistance, and the escalating cycle of more toxic pesticides in the environment will continue unless the EPA stops approving these chemicals, and USDA stops rubber-stamping new genetically engineered crops.
“The decision by EPA to withdraw the illegally approved Enlist Duo crops is a huge victory for the environment and the future of our food,” said George Kimbrell, Center for Food Safety’s senior attorney. “We will remain vigilant to ensure industry does not pressure the agency into making the same mistake in the future.”
“This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the EPA taking this important action to protect people, rare plants and animals from Enlist Duo,” said Lori Ann Burd, Environmental Health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “As we gather with our families for the holiday feast, we can all breathe a little bit easier knowing that the EPA has protected our food from being drenched with this poisonous pesticide cocktail.”
Judy Hatcher, executive director of Pesticide Action Network, said: “EPA is taking a step in the right direction, but Enlist Duo shouldn’t have been given the green light in the first place. Too often, GE seeds and the herbicides designed to accompany them are rushed to market without thorough evaluation of their real-world impacts on community health and farmer livelihoods.”
Item 2
E.P.A. REVOKES APPROVAL OF NEW DOW HERBICIDE FOR G.M.O. CROPS
by
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/business/epa-revokes-approval-of-new-dow-herbicide.html
The Environmental Protection Agency, in a surprising move, has decided to revoke the approval of a herbicide that was made to be used on a new generation of genetically modified crops.
The agency’s decision could delay the introduction of corn, soybeans and cotton developed by Dow Chemical to be resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D. But Dow said it did not anticipate a significant delay.
In a court filing on Tuesday, the E.P.A. said it had discovered new information suggesting that the herbicide, which Dow calls Enlist Duo, could be more toxic than previously believed.
“E.P.A. can no longer be confident that Enlist Duo will not cause risks of concern to nontarget organisms, including those listed as endangered, when used according to the approved label,” the agency said in its filing to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.
Most of the corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the United States are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, also known by the brand name Roundup. That allows farmers to spray the chemical on their fields to kill weeds without hurting their crops.
But because of overuse of glyphosate, many weeds have evolved to be resistant to it, so that strategy does not work so well any more. Dow’s new crops, which are resistant to both glyphosate and the older herbicide 2,4-D, were eagerly awaited by some farmers, who would be able to spray 2,4-D over their crops to kill weeds that are not killed by glyphosate alone.
“There’s been a lot of optimism around this, particularly in light of the fact that we have widespread resistance we’re dealing with,” said Jason Norsworthy, a professor of weed science at the University of Arkansas. He said farmers were calling him on Wednesday worried that introduction of the technology would now be delayed.
But 2,4-D is prone to drifting, and some vegetable farmers in the Midwest worried that the chemical would drift and kill their crops, which would not be engineered to withstand it. To assuage those concerns, Dow developed Enlist Duo, which contains a new formulation of 2,4-D that is less prone to drifting. It also contains glyphosate.
Groups opposed to genetically modified crops hailed the E.P.A.’s decision. “This is a roadblock to the entire next generation of corn and soy in this country,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety.
But Dow said in a statement that the concerns of the E.P.A. could be resolved in time for the 2016 growing season.
“We continue to prepare for commercial sales of Enlist Duo for the 2016 growing season with enthusiastic grower adoption,” said Tim Hassinger, the president of Dow AgroSciences, the company’s agricultural division.
The E.P.A. had approved Enlist Duo in October 2014 for use in six of the top corn-producing states, and in March of this year for use in nine more states. The crops themselves have been approved by the Agriculture Department.
Dow has been planning to begin selling at least the Enlist corn seeds in 2016, pending regulatory approval from China, a major export market. Some environmental and consumer groups, including the Center for Food Safety, had sued the E.P.A., seeking to reverse the approval of Enlist Duo. The E.P.A. filing saying that it would vacate its approval came in this lawsuit. The court must still accept the E.P.A.’s request, and Dow will have a chance to comment before that decision.
The agency said that it had initially concluded, based on information from Dow, that the two herbicides in Enlist Duo were not synergistic, meaning the toxicity of the two ingredients combined was not greater than expected based on the properties of the individual chemicals.
But the agency said it had found a patent application from Dow claiming just such a synergy. That could mean the measures included in Enlist Duo’s label to prevent damage from herbicide drift were inadequate, the agency said.
“Here, E.P.A. has learned that it did not have all relevant information at the time it made its registration decision,” the agency said in its court filing.
Shares of Dow fell nearly 3 percent on Wednesday. Dow’s chief executive, Andrew N. Liveris, has said that the company is evaluating the future of Dow AgroSciences, meaning it might be sold to another company.
The setback to Enlist Duo could be good news for Monsanto. It is developing its own next generation of crops resistant to dicamba, another old herbicide. Monsanto shares rose 4 cents on Wednesday to $95.60.
This week’s setback is the second recent one for Dow AgroSciences and the E.P.A. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated in September the E.P.A.’s approval of a Dow pesticide called sulfoxaflor, after beekeepers and others said the agency had not adequately studied the risk of the chemical to bees.