Interesting article in the New York Times last week about how widespread use of the weedkiller Roundup has led to the rapid growth of herbicide-resistant superweeds. This is just one more strike against a system that sounded good on paper, but turns out to have major negative unintended consequences.
The big idea is that tilling the soil is bad because it causes erosion. This is undoubtedly correct. Roundup is part of an alternative system that does not require tilling. But the other part of the system is genetically modified, Roundup-tolerant versions of corn, soybeans, and other crops. Patented genes from these GMO crops make their way via natural pollination into non-GMO crops, and pretty soon it is a crime for a farmer to save his own seeds, as farmers have been doing for the last 13,000 years.
It’s also an open question whether soil is healthier being poisoned every year or being tilled. In any case, it’s time to find a different solution to the erosion problem.
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