More than 140 environmental and health advocacy groups along with 35 medical and public health professionals have submitted letters to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the agency to reject an application for the approval of herbicide and herbicide resistant crops submitted by Dow AgroSciences.

The NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) did not have a good week. After news that the FDA dismissed a federal court ruling that the agency needed to enforce viable options for dealing with antibiotic resistant pathogens resulting from the overuse of antibiotics in livestock feed, word came that the EPA denied the organization's petition to ban the chemical 2,4-D.

After news that the FDA dismissed a federal court ruling that the agency needed to enforce viable options for dealing with antibiotic resistant pathogens resulting from the overuse of antibiotics in livestock feed, word came that the EPA denied the organization's petition to ban the chemical 2,4-D.

On February 23^rd, the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) filed a lawsuit against the EPA seeking to force the government agency to consider a petition aimed at banning a common toxic pesticide ingredient that is best known for its use in Agent Orange.

Consumer advocacy group, The Cornucopia Institute, is calling for concerned citizens to sign a petition in hopes of blocking Dow Chemical, the manufacturer of 2,4-D— toxic herbicide found in Agent Orange—that is waiting on approval from the USDA for its genetically engineered strain of corn resistant to the controversial chemical.

Monsanto's Roundup—the glyphosate-based pesticide—is currently the most heavily used weed killer in the country, but its efficacy is waning as farmers across the nation are reporting Roundup-resistant 'superweeds' and pesticide resistant insects taking hold in their fields and leaving farmers with no option but to return to controversial chemicals like 2,4-D, also known as Agent Orange.