Video Satire Blasts Dow Chemical’s ‘Agent Orange’ Crops

When deciding what produce to buy from the supermarket, the questions a shopper typically asks are pretty basic: How’s the color? Is it fresh? Can it withstand toxic chemicals that were once used to manufacture lethal nerve gas?

Wait, what?

The Center for Food Safety reports Dow Chemical has developed genetically-engineered, pesticide-promoting corn and soybeans that can be repeatedly doused in 2,4-D, a powerful herbicide used in forming Agent Orange.

To get this information out, Center for Food Safety released a satirical “Mad Men” video featuring would-be Dow Chemical executives who are trying to market the genetically-engineered crops.

Dow Chemical is seeking U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval to sell these next generation crops as a solution to the growing weed resistance problems to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

“Given the known problems and history of 2,4-D, it is astonishing that any company would brazenly promote such a toxic product. It’s bad for the environment, it’s bad for farm workers, and it’s bad for our health,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of Center for Food Safety, in a prepared statement.

A petition asking the USDA to reject the crops, launched as part of the CFS campaign, has nearly 100,000 signatures.

Visit EcoWatch’s FOOD and GMO pages for more related news on this topic.

[source: http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/18/dow-chemical-agent-orange-crops/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dow-chemical-agent-orange-crops]