TWN Biotechnology & Biosafety Series no. 12
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/biosafety/bio12.htmGenetically
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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