First observed in 2004, glyphosate (Round Up) resistant weeds are becoming established in many places in the US.
This is nature’s defence mechanism to overuse of everything from antibiotics, pesticides and now Monsanto’s herbicide Round Up. This is causing some farmers to revert to using older herbicides in combination with Round Up, like 2,4-D a product banned in a number of countries, and famous as a component in Agent Orange the toxic chemical used in the Vietnam war.
No one can say Monsanto wasn’t prepared for this day! Monsanto was aware of this problem as early as 2001, when it took out a patent on herbicide mixtures targeting plants resistant to Round Up.
Thank you for reporting on this, Patrick. I feel like this is an under reported issue. Why do i have to read a French publication to hear about a problem happening in my home state?! We have thorny pigweed here, i have to say it’s the worst weed ever. The thorns are ginormous even on small 2″ plants, they also cause lingering pain when you get pricked. Total nightmare. I hate to say this, but it reminds me of the Toyota slogan. You asked for it, you got it.
I am glad I keep running into this kind of information. What are farmers to do? There are less and less of them every year and our demand for food only grows.
Monsanto keeps coming up as the bad guy everywhere I go.
What are our alternatives? Is there another Big Ag/Big Chem company out there who is more responsible?
Hi David,
The alternative many of us see is a greater respect for smaller farmers, and more funding to keep existing small and organic farms in production and for the starting of new ones. I don’t think the alternative is to replace Monsanto with another big ag company.
Much of the worlds demand for food centers around meat, which is also the most energy and water intensive way to produce food.
While I think there is a place for meat in people’s diet, it’s time to rethink the emphasis we currently put on it. Many of the crops we currently grow are destined as animal feed, and it would sure take a lot of pressure off our environment and food supply if this was used to feed people instead.
Guess what one of our weeds is? No thorns though. Thank goodness from the sounds of it!!! HERE HERE regarding meat Patrick. I have “absorbtive abnormalities” which means that I do have to compensate by eating proportionally more beef and other B12 proteins than most folk. B12 is not available from plants. However, even with this stricture in my diet, that just means that 4 ozs of beef (better yet the liver) every day or two is sufficient. Therefore, a normal person needs less than that.
All I can say is super… why oh why oh why. (Actually I think I know why or at least can hazard a guess). I think it’s time that we learn to manage ‘weeds’ in a different way but I guess that’s obvious eh? 🙂