Post by coolplanet on Jul 5, 2013 10:49:26 GMT -5
Crops Engineered To Not Need Chemicals End Up Making Us Use More Chemicals
Contrary to industry claims, a new report links our dependence on GMO crops to the spread of superweeds.
And more herbicides.
By Sydney Brownstone | July 4, 2013
www.fastcoexist.com/1682496/confusingly-crops-engineered-to-not-need-chemicals-end-up-making-us-use-more-chemicals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29
It’s one of the main sells on Monsanto’s website: “[Roundup agricultural herbicides] use on Roundup Ready crops has allowed farmers to conserve fuel, reduce tillage and decrease the overall use of herbicides.”
A new study out from consumer rights NGO Food and Water Watch demonstrates otherwise. Expanding on a Washington State University report put out last year by Dr. Charles Benbrook showing that GMO crops increased herbicide applications by 527 million pounds--and increased pesticide use by 11% overall in the last 16 years--Food and Water Watch’s analysis of USDA and EPA data links increased use of GMO crops to the spread of herbicide-resistant superweeds.
“Herbicide use on corn, soybeans and cotton did fall in the early years of GE crop adoption, dropping by 42 million pounds (15%) between 1998 and 2001,” the report notes. “But as weeds developed resistance to glyphosate [Roundup], farmers applied more herbicides, and total herbicide use increased by 81.2 million pounds (26%) between 2001 and 2010.”
Focusing on herbicides atrazine, glyphosate, 2,4-D, and dicamba, the Food and Water Watch study predicts that herbicide use will only continue to increase as glyphosate-resistant weeds spread to new regions. Use of atrazine, a hormone disruptor tied to irregular menstrual cycles, has remained steady while dependence on herbicide-resistant crops has grown over the last decade. Some agricultural specialists have also suggested using atrazine on cornfields to combat glyphosate-resistant weeds. Glyphosate (or Roundup) use, meanwhile, has mushroomed from 15 million pounds to 159 million pounds from 1996 to 2012, and 2,4-D, which causes liver damage in animals, has also increased by 90% since glyphosate-resistant crops came into vogue.
More at link: www.fastcoexist.com/1682496/confusingly-crops-engineered-to-not-need-chemicals-end-up-making-us-use-more-chemicals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29
Contrary to industry claims, a new report links our dependence on GMO crops to the spread of superweeds.
And more herbicides.
By Sydney Brownstone | July 4, 2013
www.fastcoexist.com/1682496/confusingly-crops-engineered-to-not-need-chemicals-end-up-making-us-use-more-chemicals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29
It’s one of the main sells on Monsanto’s website: “[Roundup agricultural herbicides] use on Roundup Ready crops has allowed farmers to conserve fuel, reduce tillage and decrease the overall use of herbicides.”
A new study out from consumer rights NGO Food and Water Watch demonstrates otherwise. Expanding on a Washington State University report put out last year by Dr. Charles Benbrook showing that GMO crops increased herbicide applications by 527 million pounds--and increased pesticide use by 11% overall in the last 16 years--Food and Water Watch’s analysis of USDA and EPA data links increased use of GMO crops to the spread of herbicide-resistant superweeds.
“Herbicide use on corn, soybeans and cotton did fall in the early years of GE crop adoption, dropping by 42 million pounds (15%) between 1998 and 2001,” the report notes. “But as weeds developed resistance to glyphosate [Roundup], farmers applied more herbicides, and total herbicide use increased by 81.2 million pounds (26%) between 2001 and 2010.”
Focusing on herbicides atrazine, glyphosate, 2,4-D, and dicamba, the Food and Water Watch study predicts that herbicide use will only continue to increase as glyphosate-resistant weeds spread to new regions. Use of atrazine, a hormone disruptor tied to irregular menstrual cycles, has remained steady while dependence on herbicide-resistant crops has grown over the last decade. Some agricultural specialists have also suggested using atrazine on cornfields to combat glyphosate-resistant weeds. Glyphosate (or Roundup) use, meanwhile, has mushroomed from 15 million pounds to 159 million pounds from 1996 to 2012, and 2,4-D, which causes liver damage in animals, has also increased by 90% since glyphosate-resistant crops came into vogue.
More at link: www.fastcoexist.com/1682496/confusingly-crops-engineered-to-not-need-chemicals-end-up-making-us-use-more-chemicals?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcompany%2Fheadlines+%28Fast+Company%29