TWN Biotechnology & Biosafety Series no.
12
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/biosafety/bio12.htm
Genetically
Engineered Backslide: The Impact of Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Pigweed on
Agriculture in the United States
By Edward Hammond
Publisher: TWN
(ISBN: 978-967-5412-27-1)
Year: 2010 No. of pages:
32
ABOUT THE BOOK
The widespread planting of “Roundup Ready” crops
that are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate has
led to the emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds in fields in the United
States. Of these weeds, the species believed to pose the greatest threat to
agricultural productivity is Palmer amaranth – more commonly known as Palmer
pigweed – which has infested cotton and soya farms across the southern US and is
expected to spread to new areas and crops.
The approach currently adopted
to stem its spread has been to apply more and more herbicides, including
chemicals which are banned in many countries due to their toxicity. American
farmers have also had to revert to agricultural practices used in the 1980s and
earlier, such as hand weeding and increased tillage. Such measures will not only
push up farm production costs, but give rise to adverse environmental impacts as
well.
This paper examines the worrying extent and implications of the
Palmer pigweed problem, which the author says shows up the folly of US
agriculture’s increasing reliance on genetically modified herbicide-resistant
crops.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EDWARD HAMMOND is an American policy
researcher who has worked on biodiversity, biological weapons and infectious
disease issues since 1994. From 1999 to 2008 he directed the Sunshine Project,
an international non-governmental organization specializing in biological
weapons control. Hammond was Programme Officer for the Rural Advancement
Foundation International (now the ETC Group) from 1995 to 1999. He holds MS and
MA degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, USA, where he was an
Inter-American Foundation Masters
Fellow.
Contents
1.Introduction
2.The Emergence of Glyphosate Resistance
3.What is Known About the Biology of Palmer
Pigweed Resistance
4.Chemical Storm: The Response to Glyphosate-Resistant
Pigweed
5.Costs to Manage Glyphosate-Resistant Pigweed
6.Impact of
Increased Tilling
7.Cloudy Outlook: 2,4-D- and Dicamba-Resistant
Cotton
8.Conclusion
Endnotes
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