In a significant development for environmental and public health advocates, the US chemical corporation Corteva has announced it will cease production of Enlist Duo, a herbicide widely criticised as a 'toxic cocktail' due to its dangerous composition. This decision marks the culmination of over ten years of legal battles and public campaigns aimed at banning the product from agricultural use.
A Dangerous Mixture: Agent Orange and Glyphosate
Enlist Duo has been a focal point of controversy because it combines two highly contentious chemicals: Agent Orange and glyphosate. Agent Orange, infamously deployed by the US military as a chemical weapon during the Vietnam War to destroy vegetation, has been linked to severe health issues, including cancer, among veterans and Vietnamese civilians. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, is similarly toxic and has spurred extensive litigation over its carcinogenic properties. Both substances are banned or heavily restricted in numerous industrialised nations due to their risks.
Despite these well-documented dangers, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Enlist Duo for use on food crops on two separate occasions. The herbicide has been applied annually to approximately 4.5 million acres of farmland, primarily for cultivating corn, soybeans, and genetically engineered cotton. This widespread usage has raised alarms about potential ecological damage and human health impacts.
Legal Battles and Advocacy Triumph
The discontinuation follows persistent efforts by environmental groups, with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) leading the charge as a key plaintiff in lawsuits against Corteva and the EPA. Kristina Sinclair, a staff attorney at CFS, described the move as a victory, stating, "After over a decade of legal battles, rather than try to rebut our arguments in court, the manufacturer pulled Enlist Duo from the market. Our food system never should have been doused in this toxic cocktail, and now never will be again."
Corteva, which reported over $1 billion in sales from its Enlist product line in 2022, has not provided an immediate comment on its decision to halt production. The reasons behind this strategic shift remain unclear, but it likely reflects mounting pressure from litigation and public scrutiny.
Ongoing Concerns with Agent Orange Component
While Enlist Duo is being phased out, concerns persist as Corteva will continue using the Agent Orange chemical 2,4-D in another herbicide called Enlist One. A lawsuit seeking to invalidate its approval is still ongoing. 2,4-D operates by attacking weed roots and leaves, inducing abnormal cell growth akin to cancer to kill or weaken plants. The World Health Organization classifies it as a 'possible' carcinogen, associating it with health risks such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, birth defects, respiratory problems, Parkinson's disease, and reproductive harm.
Furthermore, environmental assessments indicate that 2,4-D poses a threat to hundreds of endangered species, including butterflies, birds, fish, deer, panthers, and bats. The CFS has argued in court filings that the EPA's approval process failed to adequately mitigate these risks, potentially exacerbating the spread of herbicide-resistant 'superweeds' and forcing farmers to adopt more aggressive management strategies.
EPA's Controversial Role and Regulatory Flaws
The EPA's handling of Enlist Duo has been criticised as emblematic of broader issues within its pesticide division. Initially approved in 2014, the herbicide's registration was invalidated by a federal court in 2020 due to violations of environmental laws. However, the agency reapproved it in 2022 for a seven-year period, basing its decision on outdated usage data that advocates claim underestimates current threats.
Nathan Donley, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity, highlighted a flawed regulatory philosophy, noting, "Whenever the courts find flaws with their approach, there's never a moment of reflection, there's never an acknowledgment that their process is faulty, there's simply a scramble to figure out the quickest workaround to get it reapproved." He added that the EPA's primary goal often appears to be getting pesticides to market, which limits its effectiveness as a protector of public and environmental health.
This case underscores ongoing tensions between industrial agriculture, regulatory bodies, and environmental advocacy, with the discontinuation of Enlist Duo representing a hard-won success for those campaigning against hazardous chemicals in farming.
