26/January/22

 

In 2021, thousands of US growers reported to the US EPA that dicamba sprayed by other farmers damaged crops in their fields, writes Bart Elmore, author of the book, Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food Future. Affected plants include sycamore, oak and elm trees; azaleas, black-eyed susans and roses; garden tomatoes, peppers and peas. According to the EPA, there were 2,700 “dicamba incidents”, affecting 3.6 million acres, in 2017. Two years later, the number of incidents ballooned to 3,300. Now, farmers are seeing weeds that have developed resistance to dicamba and other herbicides recommended for use with a new generation of GM seeds. Seed companies like Bayer, which now owns Monsanto’s product portfolio, say one solution is for farmers to buy seeds that can tolerate a wider array of weedkillers. Recently, Bayer sought approval for a new line of seeds that would make crops resistant to five different types of herbicides. For farmers, this will mean greater reliance on petrochemicals and higher costs. Today, US farmers use more than twice as much herbicide to grow soybeans as they did before GM Roundup Ready crops were introduced. Elmore writes, "I see dicamba drift as a symptom of a larger petrochemical dependency that threatens the viability of the US food system." The Conversation

 

 

Scientists are developing gene-edited potatoes to lower acrylamide content in crisps and chips/french fries. This is claimed to make it more economical to produce, and safer to consume, these addictive junk foods. For why lowering acrylamide content is a nonsensical reason to genetically engineer potatoes, see this. Murdoch University Research Repository; GMWatch