Ken Roseboro - Scientist says biotech companies encouraging GMO-herbicide treadmill
April 12, 2012 The dramatic rise of weeds resistant to glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is leading biotechnology companies to develop more genetically modified crops that are tolerant to older, more toxic herbicides such as 2,4-D and Dicamba.
In a paper published recently in BioScience, David Mortensen, professor of weed ecology at Penn State, and fellow researchers criticized this “single tactic” approach of herbicide-tolerant GM crops to control weeds. The paper says the approach will dramatically increase herbicide use and threaten environmental quality, create even more herbicide resistant “superweeds,” and encourage continued neglect of public research and extension investment in integrated weed management approaches in favor of chemical company profit-driven GMO approaches.
In 2010, Mortensen told a US House Oversight Committee that the government should restrict the use of herbicide-tolerant GM crops and impose a tax on GM seeds to fund research and educational programs for farmers.
Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report, recently interviewed Mortensen.
What were the key findings of your paper published in BioScience?
Read More:
http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/april2012/scientist-biotech-gmo-herbicide.php
