The resurgence of Agent Orange in the food supply.

submitted by HibikiBlackCaudillo from naturalsociety.com

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[–]HibikiBlackCaudillo[S] 8 insightful - 4 fun8 insightful - 3 fun9 insightful - 4 fun -  (1 child)

Bayer/Monsanto did a lot of nasty things with agent orange in the past so people should know about how it could be used in the future.

It's an article talking about the way Agent Orange and similar materials could find their way into the food supply again.

[–]goonmessiah 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

People should know what they’ve done in the past, but most people have been bred to and raised in ignorance. It’s really disappointing that they’re still around and that so many or ignorant of their past actions.

[–]infocom6502 5 insightful - 3 fun5 insightful - 2 fun6 insightful - 3 fun -  (0 children)

The current wiki page on this is not too bad. It seems that farmers that have been using glyphosate heavily are seeing worse and worse results as weeds become more roundup tolerant. Enter 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (it's been somewhat heavily used since 2013).

Mechanism of action is that it mimics a plant growth hormone. Definitely not healthy in larger doses, though short term acute toxity levels require quite a bit of this. At more trace doses, I'm not sure if there is a cancer link or how much; vague classification is that it's a possible carcinogen, though not sure what doses this would need. Personally, glyphate sounds far worse to me.

Men who work with 2,4-D are at risk for abnormally shaped sperm and thus fertility problems; the risk depends on the amount and duration of exposure and other personal factors.

Cancer risk

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies 2,4-D as a possible carcinogen to humans while the United States Environmental Protection Agency does not. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), said 2,4-D was classified as "possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on inadequate evidence in humans and limited evidence in experimental animals".

In June 2015 the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer confirmed its 1987 classification of 2,4-D as a possible carcinogen.

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (6 children)

From the original article:

What's most astonishing about this petition request is that if it is approved, the U.S. would then become an "agricultural war zone" where genetically engineered corn is "carpet bombed" with 2,4-D chemicals. Being resistant to such chemicals, the GE corn may then uptake those chemicals into its own structures and grain kernels, thereby creating corn laced with 2,4-D that would be unleashed when you eat your corn-based breakfast cereals or corn tortillas.

This is what already happens with plenty of poisonous chemicals: they drop it from a plane or spray it all over the place, it gets inside the plants, and people eat it. We have to kill bugs, but they should be a lot more careful and a lot more restrictive on what they can use. BTW, they should try more natural options like attracting birds, assassin bugs, wasps, etc.

We had an assassin bug colony on some of our tomato plants, and even though we had a tomato worm infestation on a nearby group, I didn't see a single worm on the tomato plants that had assassin bugs on them!

We also recently got a mud dauber colony in the middle of our squash garden, and I ain't seen no'n on them plants! The only problem is they keep attacking me when I weed, but I ain't got stung yet, so whatever.

We didn't even try to attract these bugs, so I'm sure some multi-national mega-corporation could figure out how to do it, if they weren't pelting their fields with poison (which kills good bugs as much as the bad).

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 3 fun3 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 3 fun -  (5 children)

The mud guys, they are big and black? I don't think they are wasps and can sting humans, I think those guys are trying to look like wasps for protection.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

They're kind of small, black, and orange. My pawpaw says they're dirt daubers, which the Internet calls mud daubers for some reason. It'd make sense if they were fake wasps, since it don't seem like they're tryn'o sting me; they just fly circles around my head. Either way, I'm happy they're killin the other bugs for me!

I've also seen normal dirt daubers (blueish-black) in the garden, but I think they're comin from one of the houses my grandparents own (it's right by the squash garden), since I saw one of them carry an inch-worm behind one of those panels on the outside of the house that came a little bit loose.

Now, there were some huge wasps that were also black and orange in one of our chicken houses. My grandparents' chicken business shut down in 2008, and they ain't used the buildings for anything other than storage ever since, so spiders are everywhere (the slats are covered in webs, it's crazy), which is why these wasps showed up; they're spider wasps! They're actually pretty docile for wasps. They left a long time ago, and the chicken houses are pretty far away from the squash garden, though.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

Yeah, my family calls 'em mud divers. I've witnessed many turf wars between the local crawdads and the mud diver population. Crawdads tend to vacate their holes if mud divers try to move in while they are away. I think mud divers are simply more brave due to their wasp-like appearance. I've never had a problem with them. They get into our house a lot through our windows, and they've never done a damned thing to me.

I hate wasps though. I will kill a wasp.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Yeah, my family calls 'em mud divers.

Interesting. "Divers" is probably a corruption of "daubers." Do all Scots call em that or just your family?

I've witnessed many turf wars between the local crawdads and the mud diver population

That's funny :P

Crawdads tend to vacate their holes if mud divers try to move in while they are away.

I don't blame em... I vacate my bedroom every time a wasp shows up! (Which, living in Dixie, is much more common than I'd like it to be.)

They get into our house a lot through our windows, and they've never done a damned thing to me.

Yeah, that's the experience I tend to have. They ain't aggressive, and only sting in self-defense.

I hate wasps though. I will kill a wasp.

Dirt daubers are wasps, though! They're just a more docile breed than, say, red paper wasps — which are the spawn of Satan and will hunt you down. I don't think they're found in Europe, but they're the most common type of wasp in Dixie (at least from my experience).

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

The only Scots thing my family has held onto is related to family, not culture. Same with the Romani side, my great-grandparents on both sides tried really hard to assimilate and make it as entrepreneurs in America, and if not for my parents, it would've worked completely and they'd be suit and tie landowners. Now they are reaching back to their roots with animal breeding and ministering to the poor and refused.

I think the "diver" thing comes from my specific mid-west area. I'm not sure, because I've heard them called "daubers" and such before by fellow humans here.

This should settle it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber

Seems as though they are called "daubers" and sometimes "dirt divers" so my region seems to just be confused on which one it was, and they mixed it.

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Oh, okay. That all makes sense.