SWAMP WATCH
Center for Food Safety (CFS) was in federal court again this week, this time seeking the reversal of Trump and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) approval of Monsanto’s toxic herbicide, “XtendiMax,” a reformulation of the highly drift-prone and potent herbicide, dicamba, to be used with Monsanto’s new GMO crops.
Dicamba is notorious for its propensity to drift and damage neighboring crops. While any pesticide can drift in the wind while it is being sprayed, dicamba also vaporizes from soil and plant surfaces hours, or days, after application, forming vapor clouds that can drift long distances to injure sensitive crops. In response to pressure from Monsanto and the pesticide industry, EPA rushed XtendiMax to market which has resulted in unprecedented levels of herbicide drift damage. There has never been anywhere close to as much herbicide drift injury as was caused by dicamba last year, with over three million acres of soybeans as well as scores of vegetable and fruit crops, trees, and shrubs damaged by dicamba drift across the country. Flowering plants near cropland also suffered, with potential harms to pollinators, as well as hundreds of endangered animal and plant species. Although the final tally is not yet known, farmers and experts have reported similar widespread devastation during the summer 2018 season.
In January 2017, CFS sued EPA to halt the agency’s approval of Monsanto’s XtendiMax. EPA’s approval will allow for a more than 10-fold increase in use of the toxic pesticide, resulting in the release of millions more pounds of this toxic chemical, and increasing risks to farmers, community health, and the environment. Because these same crops are also engineered to withstand applications of Monsanto’s Roundup, the overuse of that pesticide (containing the active ingredient glyphosate) will continue at current high levels.
Yesterday, we had our day against Monsanto and the Trump administration in Court, and we expect a decision on the case in the coming months.
Thank you for everything you do,
Center for Food Safety Legal Team