FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2014     

CONTACT: Organic Consumers Association, Katherine Paul, 207.653.3090

FINLAND, Minn. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued final approval today, over the objections of hundreds of thousands of citizens and more than 50 members of Congress, of Dow AgroSciences Enlist-brand corn and soybeans, genetically engineered to resist massive doses of a combination of 2,4-D- (one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange) and glyphosate (the key ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide). The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) issued the following statement:

"The USDA's approval of these crops is proof that today's destructive, industrial agriculture model, based on a system of GMO mono-crops, is a failure," said Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica.

"Farmers have been sold the lie that they can increase yields and prevent crop failure from weeds by buying Monsanto's and Dow's GMO seeds and dousing them in toxic poisons, also manufactured and sold by Monsanto and Dow. But just as scientists predicted, these "miracle" crops are evolving to resist the poisons thrown on them, causing the USDA and the EPA to approve increasingly toxic poisons to fight increasingly resistant weeds. Where does the escalation end?

"For consumers, the USDA's approval of Dow's new GMO crops increases the urgency with which we must fight for mandatory labeling of GMO foods in order to obtain the basic right to know what's in our food."

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.