First Monsanto developed seed stock for corn, cotton and soybean that was resistant to Roundup, a pesticide used to kill weeds en masse across acres of crops. The New York Times reports that "today, Roundup Ready crops account for about 90 percent of the soybeans and 70 percent of the corn and cotton grown in the United States."
Now, guess what? Yep. The weeds have evolved to become resistant to Roundup, too. Faced with what is being described as a massive threat to industrial agriculture, farmers are now having to resort to more labor-intensive methods, such as plowing and hand-pulling weeds. The issue is expected to impact food prices
What I would like to see, instead of some new, better, nonresistant version of Roundup, is farmers going back to more sustainable methods. While the article discusses how no-till farming, which prevents erosion, is most severely threatened by Roundup resistance, there are other methods of agriculture, like permaculture, that minimize erosion without the use of massive amounts of toxic chemicals.
What's your take on the Roundup situation?
Comments
I have always tried to do things as close to natural as possible. I not only think it is best for my land, it is also best for my family. Sadly, this is the polar opposite of what Mon$anto is all about. Roundup is just a way to make Big Ag easier to do. Monocrops are detrimental to farm and business. Roundup ready is just an offshoot of the Big Ag mentality: Grow one thing until it kills the land and then keep the farmer in their pocket by making them dependent on chemicals and GMO seed to survive(just barely at that).
Amy
There are as many definitions of “sustainable” as there are people to ask. Lauren suggests returning to more “sustainable” methods but it’s hard to tell what those methods should be. Rotation of tools – different modes of action and even mixing some tillage in the rotation – has been a staple principle of resistance management for years, and resistance is forcing more rotation. I’m not sure what Permaculture is – but if it means going to perennials, not very many plants that we use in the commercial food supply are perennial. Corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, lots of vegetables and fruits are all annual.
It seems to me that a useful approach to sustainability is the one adopted by the Field to Market coalition. Their goal:
“To meet the needs of future generations, promote an economically viable agricultural production system that measurably:
(1) Reduces pressure on habitat and other land use demands by increasing productivity of affordable, accessible, quality crops on available acres
(2) Increases the resource use efficiency of energy, water, fertilizer, soil, and other agricultural inputs
(3) Enhances water quality and other natural resources through thoughtful stewardship
(4) Contributes to the economic vitality of agricultural communities, and
(5) Protects the health and safety of our workers and consumers
Reference: http://www.fieldtomarket.org
I’m sorry to see some clear disrecpancies here. Although there is an increase in the amount of resistant weeds showing up, farmers are not resorting to labour intensive methods of removing them. Instead, they are using better management practices, through timed tillage and different methods of chemical control, to stop this this problem. There had been no weed found to be resistant to all forms of chemical control.
I would also like to point out that, yes glyphosate resistance make large agriculture easy but it is actually small farms who are adopting the technology more. Farms with 450 ac or less adopt RR at 88% while farms with 1500 or more have adopted at 64%. We cannot target just the large farms here since it is the small farmer who is using it just as much.