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In reply to the discussion: The USDA's new labeling for genetically modified foods goes into effect Jan. 1. [View all]womanofthehills
(8,891 posts)]Over 80% of genetically modified (GM) crops grown worldwide are engineered to tolerate being sprayed with [/b]glyphosate herbicides,1 the best known being Roundup. The herbicide kills all plant life in the field apart from the crop. These crops are known as glyphosate-tolerant or Roundup Ready (RR) crops.
The idea behind such crops was to simplify weed control for farmers. The farmer could douse the entire field with glyphosate herbicide, killing all weeds without killing the crop.
But this is not the way things turned out. Weeds have quickly become resistant to glyphosate herbicide through a process called selection pressure, in which only those weeds that tolerate the herbicide survive to pass on their genes. The resulting epidemic of glyphosate-resistant superweeds has caused huge problems for farmers in countries where glyphosate-tolerant crops are widely planted.
https://detoxproject.org/glyphosate/whats-the-connection-between-glyphosate-and-genetically-modified-crops/
One of the most salient developments in global agriculture in the past 20 years has been the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties (15). In the United States in 2015, GE varieties accounted for 94% of planted soybean and 93% of planted maize (6). Adoption of this new technology was rapid: First introduced in 1996, GE soybean varieties embedding the glyphosate-tolerant (GT) trait have exceeded 80% of planted hectares since 2003. The share of planted maize using GE varietiesembedding GT and/or insect-resistant (IR) traitshas exceeded 80% since 2008. GT varieties are complementary inputs with glyphosate, and their adoption has inevitably led to substitution away from other herbicides (7). Conversely, IR varieties can substitute for the use of insecticides, conceivably leading to lower pesticide use. Because pesticides have implications for human health and ecological diversity, factors that affect their use are of considerable policy interest (810). However, the nature and extent of the impact of GE variety adoption on pesticide use remain open questions. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600850
For example, residues of glyphosate, used on 80% of GMO crops and widely used to dry down non-GMO crops before harvest, were detected in 9 of the 13 diets. Eleven of the 13 diets contained GMOs that are grown with large amounts of Roundup.
https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/archive/2015/16242-laboratory-rat-feeds-contaminated-with-toxic-pesticides-and-gmos