We knew it might happen sometime, and now it has..
"The Rise of the Superweed"
Remember 'Roundup' the Glyphosphate chemical developed by Monsanto. Roundup killed all the weeds on farmers fields, allowing him to produce more crops per acre, year after year.
Roundup eliminated all weeds, greatly reduced plowing, and therefore labour, and also wind erosion.
Just as the heavy use of antibiotics contributed to the rise of drug-resistant supergerms in humans, American farmers’ near-ubiquitous use of the weedkiller Roundup has now led to the rapid growth of these tenacious new Superweeds.
Superweeds are springing up---- not as many as clogged fields over 20 years ago....not yet.
But these Superweeds cannot be killed with standard weedkillers. And they are on the increase, can only be killed by spraying the field with a very toxic new modern weedkillers.
Higher food prices, lower crop yields, extra weeding and ploughing will add to food prices, as well as the pollution of land and water.
With the rise of the Superweed crops might soon have to be checked not only for toxicity, but also washed before processing for food.
Below is one farmers story. He is not the first farmer to suffer, nor will he be the last.
Nature is girding its loins, and I fear is about to hit back with a vengence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/energy-environment/04weed.html?src=me&ref=homepage
