794
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Herbicide resistance and usage: correct date
"From 1994 to 2006, the amount of glyphosate applied per acre of soya [in the USA] rose by more than 150%, from just 0.52 to 1.33 lbs./acre/year" says [http://www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/gmcrops2008full.pdf this] Friends of the Earth report. And as Benbrook stated the report also concludes that "While farmers growing Roundup Ready crops initially used lesser amounts of herbicides other than glyphosate, that trend has changed in recent years. Increasingly, farmers find it necessary to apply both increased rates of glyphosate and large quantities of other herbicides to kill resistant weeds." This upward spiral in resistance/usage can be expected to continue.
'''Update:''' Benbrook has revised the numbers. As of 2008 he says, "The basic finding is that compared to pesticide use in the absence of GE crops, farmers applied 318 million more pounds of pesticides over the last 13 years as a result of planting GE seeds. This difference represents an average increase of about 0.25 pound for each acre planted to a GE trait. GE crops are pushing pesticide use upward at a rapidly accelerating pace. In 2008, GE crop acres required over 26% more pounds of pesticides per acre than acres planted to conventional varieties. The report projects that this trend will continue as a result of the rapid spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds" <ref>[http://www.organic-center.org/science.pest.php?action=view&report_id=159 Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use: The First Thirteen Years] November 2009</ref>. "'This report confirms what we've been saying for years,' said Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety. 'The most common type of genetically engineered crops promotes increased use of pesticides, an epidemic of resistant weeds, and more chemical residues in our foods. This may be profitable for the biotech/pesticide companies, but it's bad news for farmers, human health and the environment'" <ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1752655520091117 Biotech crops cause big jump in pesticide use-report] Reuters, Nov 17, 20082009</ref>.
Self described agricultural nerd, Tom Philpott, happened upon ag periodicals wherein flummoxed food weed managers and farmers discuss what to do about growing weed and resistance problems on GM and conventional fields, "And that is causing farmers to think hard about the pesticide-treadmill problem—the situation wherein weeds and other pests develop resistance to poisons, demanding ever higher doses of old poisons and constant development of novel ones". Philpott reveals "herbicide names being dropped like those of starlets in a gossip column". [http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-20-farmers-battle-weeds-chemical-treadmill-speeds/]. It would be humorous if not so serious. "'''Highly toxic herbicides, some of them banned in other countries, which glyphosate was supposed to replace, have had to be brought back in use in addition to glyphosate. These include 2,4D, 2,4DB, Atrazine, Paraquat, Metsulphuron Methyl, Imazethapyr'''." [http://www.risq.org/article168.html]. See also [http://www.grain.org/research/contamination.cfm?id=95 Argentina's bitter harvest]
Another issue is the growing resistance of insects to GM Bt crops [http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?category=National&template=Farmerssuicide&slug=Farmers%20hit%20by%20failed%20Bt%20cotton%20crop%20in%20AP&id=84101&callid=1] [http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/failures092705.cfm] [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2340&lpos=related_article1] [http://www.biotech-info.net/changes_in_refuge.html] [http://www.biotech-info.net/wrangling.html]. See also [http://www.grain.org/research/btcotton.cfm?id=302 BT Cotton in Andhra Pradesh - A Three Year Assessment] [http://www.ddsindia.com/www/PDF/BT_Cotton_-_A_three_year_report.pdf]. Also see [http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=330 BT Cotton in South Africa: The Case of the Makhathini Farmers] and [http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=5741 Every Trick in the Book - The Marketing of BT Cotton in India].
==Herbicide in Your Food==
