Need to Know
At the demo against Monsanto and genetic engineering in agriculture in Amsterdam last Saturday there was much talk about the product Roundup, a nasty potion easily available in a gaily coloured bottle at a garden centre or DIY store near you. However, in the world of agribusiness and chemical herbicides Roundup is yesterday’s news. No longer capable of keeping rapidly evolving superweeds under control on US farmland (superweeds evolve after a weed population has been subjected to intense selection pressure in the form of repeated use of a single herbicide), Roundup has been shifted firmly down the chain of supply and demand into the home and garden market. Meanwhile the clever people at Monsanto have moved to the next level in their never-ending War against Weeds.
The new kid in town is a charming concoction that goes by a variety of aliases such as Banvel, Oracle,Vanquish, and Xtend, but is actually the herbicide Dicamba.
The Final Solution
Although marketed as a shiny new “solution” according to the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS), “Dicamba is actually an old herbicide that served alongside “Agent Orange” in Vietnam, and has been resurrected as an environmentally friendly chemical through the magic of public relations.” It is similar in structure and mode to 2,4-D, a major component of Agent Orange, and has the highest soil mobility of over 40 evaluated herbicides, a process which leads inevitably to increased water contamination. Dicamba can also drift for miles and has caused millions of dollars worth of damage to Midwestern growers who have suffered crop losses due to herbicide drift onto their farms.
In the tried and tested manner Monsanto has developed a range of crops genetically modified to resist the Dicamba assault, the most threatening of which is probably Monsanto’s Dicamba Soybean. Other crops include Dow’s 2,4-D Corn and 2,4-D Soybean, and the non-browning “Arctic Apple.”
There are currently 13 new GE crops pending USDA approval.
The short video below graphically illustrates one farmer’s experience of dealing with Dicamba
Brothers in Arms
If you think that these are problems specific to American farmers, think again. Monsanto and its brothers in arms, Syngenta, Dow Chemical, Bayer and many others are desperate to sell this garbage all over the world, to Africa, Latin America, India, and especially to China.
Now if only those pesky Europeans would just lay down and roll over!
See for Yourself
One final thought about Roundup. You might want to check out this scientific study, first published in 2003 and available on the Science Direct website on the effects of Roundup and other glyphosate based products on cell-cycle disregulation in humans (and other living things): Glyphosate-based pesticides affect cell cycle regulation
Related articles
- Monsanto pressing ahead with GMO crop amid USDA scrutiny (xe.com)
- USDA decision means delay for Monsanto, Dow (stltoday.com)
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