'Agent Orange Corn' sparks controversy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/CBS) - A farming controversy is brewing over what pesticide critics are calling "Agent Orange Corn."

At the center of the issue is the commonly used herbicide 2,4-D. Critics question use of the toxic compound, which was used to make Agent Orange during the Vietnam conflict..

When it comes to battling weeds, Ken Edmondson has been using the herbicide 2,4-D for years.

"2,4-D has to go on a fairly young crop. It's a growth regulator" he explained.

Now ecologists and food safety advocates worry that greater amounts of 2,4-D could be used. That's because of an innovation by Dow AgroSciences. The company developed a new corn that is tolerant to the herbicide.

Now, the group Vietnam Veterans of America is getting involved. Last month the group wrote President Barack Obama, urging him to look into how increased use of 2,4-D might affect people.

Dow AgroSciences says 2,4-D is safe for people and "no herbicide has been more extensively tested."

"There are 4,500 studies and reports that are used to support ongoing uses of the product," said Dow AgroSciences spokesperson Garry Hamlin.

Health experts said the primary human damage from Agent Orange came from a different ingredient, not 2,4-D. And Dow said opponents to the herbicide are using scare tactics by attaching the Agent Orange name to their new corn product.

The herbicide controversy caught Edmundson's attention. A Vietnam veteran himself, he takes exception to the labeling of Dow's new corn product.

"My take on it is it's nonsense 2,4-D has been around forever ... . I do not buy into theory it's an Agent Orange kind of a compound," he said.

In April, the EPA rejected environmentalists' petition to pull 2,4-D from the market.