| | 07/June/23
| | US EPA failed to protect against toxic Enlist herbicides, lawsuit alleges Yesterday, Center for Food Safety (CFS), Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), and Alianza Nacional De Campesinas, Inc. (Alianza) sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its unlawful re-approval of Enlist One and Enlist Duo, highly toxic herbicides sprayed "over the top" of corn, soybeans, and cotton genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicides. "EPA unlawfully ignored the environmental and public health risks of Enlist herbicides," said Kristina Sinclair, CFS attorney and counsel for the plaintiffs. "And by failing to address Enlist's adverse effects, EPA is jeopardising hundreds of endangered species across the country." Enlist One and Enlist Duo contain the infamous 2,4-D, one of the active ingredients in the chemical weapon Agent Orange. According to the lawsuit, EPA knew that the renewed use of Enlist herbicides would harm rural communities and wildlife by substantially increasing concentrations of 2,4-D and glyphosate in the environment, destroying important habitats for threatened and endangered species, polluting local waterways, and damaging native plants and crops. Center for Food Safety India: Three states refuse to say yes to GMO cotton field trials Only Haryana has approved biosafety research trials (BRL) of genetically engineered cotton hybrids out of the four states, in which locations for such trials were chosen. Telangana and Gujarat have refused to give no objection certificates (NOC) for holding the trials in the 2023-24 cropping season, and Maharashtra has not responded yet. India's GMO regulator GEAC has now asked Telangana and Gujarat to state their reasons for not accepting the proposal and has asked the government of Maharashtra to provide their views and comments along with “appropriate reasoning” within 30 days. The Coalition for GM Free India said, “State governments like Telangana and Gujarat have declined to provide NOCs, but the GEAC is forcing them to provide reasons or break their silence. Why should a statutory regulator pressurise state governments in this manner?” DownToEarth Indonesia: Public interest in organic products grows The public is becoming more interested in organic agricultural products because they are deemed to be more healthy and friendly to the environment, Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) stated. Consumers have understood that the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides leaves residue and destroys biodiversity, Head of BRIN's Agriculture and Food Research Organization (ORPP) Puji Lestari said. According to data from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), consumption of organic products in the United States and Europe continues to rise. Antara We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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