Superweeds Growing Several Inches a Day

Superweeds are super in more than their pest resistance. They also grow at an amazing rate. These plants, which have gained these abilities by responding to the pressures created by genetically modified crops, especially Monsanto’s glyphosate-resistant crops, are posing an enormous danger to agriculture.

Farmers are at a loss to keep up with them as they soak up water and nutrients from crops. Some of these plants grow several inches a day!

Dave Mortensen is a professor of weed and applied plant ecology at Penn State University. He’s been trying to lobby congress about the implications of these plants. However, as he says, “Most of the public doesn’t know because the industry is calling the shots on how this should be spun.”

Unfortunately, the method most Agribusiness farmers are using to battle the problem—using even more glyphosate (Roundup) on their crops and other pesticides—can only make matters worse. What they’re finally starting to realize is that there’s only one approach that can possibly work. They’re starting to return to honest old-fashioned techniques that they’d shunned during the Monsanto revolution. They’re hiring crews to pull weeds. They rotating crops. They’re tilling fields (though this practice has the negative effect of adding to soil erosion).

The damage, though, is not only to Agribusiness. The environment as a whole, along with our health, is taking a hit. The massive applications of glyphosate and other pesticides take a toll. Glyphosate is polluting rivers and lakes. Superweeds out-compete other plants, so that the entire ecology of regions is at risk.

There’s really only one bit of good news in this unfolding disaster. Monsanto is taking a hit, and the corporation’s future prospects may not be as bright as they were. Their company spokesperson, Tom Helscher, stated that superweeds are a “wake-up call for all US farmers”. It sounds much like the company is blaming the farmers for the problem! He went on to make the bizarre statement, “The benefits of glyphosate-tolerant crops have been real for farmers and the environment.” Exactly what the benefits for real farmers have been are rather difficult to picture, and without question, glyphosate has been nothing but disastrous for the environment. It is responsible for:

• Mass crop die-offs.
• Development of a new pathogen.
• Stillborn calves.
• Stock animal infertility.
• Organ damage (information derived from Monsanto’s own data).

Of course, none of this makes Monsanto take a step back and ask what they’ve wrought. No, instead, spokesperson Helscher stated, “You always have to be continually innovating. Monsanto is doing that.” All we can do is cringe as we wait to see what that innovation wreaks.

Sources:

Super weeds pose growing threat to US crops
Independent Analysis of Monsanto’s Own GMO Crop Data Shows It Causes Organ Damage
GMOs Causing Mass Crop Die Offs, Infertility, and Miscarriages
Psycho Corporation Award Goes to Monsanto for New Pathogen, Dead and Stillborn Cattle, and Stock Animal Infertility

Tagged agribusiness, glyphosate, monsanto, roundup, superweeds, superweeds supergrowth