Roundup resistant weeds pose environmental threat

stormymater · June 21, 2010

Found this to be exactly what one would expect from Mother Nature!

Roundup resistant weeds pose environmental threat
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

**Mischka** · June 21, 2010

To quote Jeff Goldblum from the movie Jurassic Park: "Nature always finds a way."

dustdevil · June 22, 2010

The article is typical journalistic sensationalism. We intercrop our corn with Dutch white clover and it does a good job of keeping the weeds down. It adds a small amount of nitrogen to the soil to boot. We don't use herbicides on our family farm at all.

**Mischka** · June 22, 2010

Sensational or not, Monsanto, along with their RoundUp herbicide and GMO seeds, has done much more harm than good to this planet.

bigbubbacain · June 22, 2010

I feel the same way. I wish I could remember where I had seen an article about "Roundup Resistan Corn" varieties that Monsanto was helping to develop.

Love my garden · June 22, 2010

Round-Up! ewwwwwwwwwwww, I won't even walk into the aisle of a store, that contains pesticides, defoliants.....info very informative...Thanks! I prefer just to weed! And I have alot to weed.....LOL that reminds me to get me butt back outside......break time is over......

Love my garden · June 22, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mischka

Sensational or not, Monsanto, along with their RoundUp herbicide and GMO seeds, has done much more harm than good to this planet.

Yes!!!! Thank you Monsanto, for uhhhhhhhhhhhh, nothing.......

stormymater · June 22, 2010

I absolutely agree Mischka. When they offered their super deluxe hybrid seed to Haitians after the terrible earthquake I could only think of the GMO cotton & its awful economic effects in India (was heralded as the great seed savior - just another way to enslave & thrust further dependency on desperate people - ugh).

dustdevil · June 22, 2010

Monsanto can't be stopped...they're a lot like Big Tobacco with the same kind of slick lawyers. The new Frankenstein monster is Roundup Ready Alfalfa.

husker nana · February 3, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by dustdevil

Monsanto can't be stopped...they're a lot like Big Tobacco with the same kind of slick lawyers. The new Frankenstein monster is Roundup Ready Alfalfa.

The USDA recently announced that they will allow the planting of genetically modified alfalfa without any restrictions. In Dec. they said it posed a threat to organic and conventional agriculture. Someone must of done some arm twisting, favor, or money talks.

Suze · February 3, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mischka

Sensational or not, Monsanto, along with their RoundUp herbicide and GMO seeds, has done much more harm than good to this planet.

I've really tried to keep an open mind about Monsanto, GMO seeds, and also these roundup ready GMO varieties. Having said that, I pretty much agree with your statement above at this point. Overall, they do much more harm than good to society and the gardening world in general. And, all these roundup resistant weeds are rather concerning! Thanks, Monsanto.

One primary factor (among others) that has really got me to thinking about this and doing some research in the last year or two are the rather goonish strong-arm tactics Monsanto uses to bully farmers who have their crops inadvertently cross-pollinated with GMO plants from a surrounding field.

It is just insane that they get away with this sort of harassment and have the power to ruin people because of their very deep pockets with the casual (to them) filing of a lawsuit - it is a blatant misuse of the legal system and the courts in my opinion.

However/conversely, I don't particularly have a great love for folks who attempt to capitalize on these potential concerns with GMOs and use it as a marketing tactic to sell their seeds as non-GMO (or a little more subtle at times, eg - we don't support or sell any GMO seeds at all and only offer "heirlooms"). I feel that can also be dishonest and misleading.

Why? It unfairly misrepresents F1 hybrids to those that don't know the difference (mostly those newer to gardening) who might tend to be lured into the hype that some vendors tend to put out there about the non-GMO "heirlooms" they have to offer.

Folks - the VAST majority of hybrids are NOT GMO, nor are home gardeners going to have any access to GMO seed for all practical intents and purposes. Just felt the need to state that for the record since it does frequently tend to come up eventually when GMOs are mentioned.

Fusion_power · February 3, 2011

While I generally agree with your statement Suze, I have to point out one factual error. At least one gmo tomato made it into commonly and widely available seed status here in the U.S. It was a result of a seed mixup a few years ago where the gmo variety accidentally was shipped instead of the non-gmo version of the same tomato. Was it a problem in any way? Not until someone happened to run a dna test and found the gmo contamination.

There have been four phases in plant development so far in our history and we are in the beginning stages of the fifth.

1. harvesting wild plants.
2. cultivating and improving wild plants to be more productive.
3. hybridizing the improved plants to increase consistency and production.
4. Genetically modifying improved plants to add novel traits.

and the newbie
5. construction of complete genomes by assembling entire chromosomes.

I have far less problem with the idea of constructing entire genomes than I do with the shotgun in the nucleus approach of current gmo's.

DarJones

Suze · February 3, 2011

Darrel, what was the GMO variety that made it out into public distribution by mistake? Just curious.

casino · February 4, 2011

I find what SUZE says interresting, "Folks - the VAST majority of hybrids are NOT GMO, nor are any home gardeners going to have any access to GMO seed for all practical intents and purposes." sounds harmless enough.

The home gardener may not (at this time) have access to GMO seed, but GMO food is already part of the American diet. If you purchase corn oil it comes from Roundup corn. Tomatoes in a tin can could be GMO enhanced.
Food raised in my backyard is the least of my GMO worries because I save my own seed but for those people who purchase seed they should know its history. Are my seeds OP heirlooms, are my seeds F1 Hybrids from conventional breeding or is my seed created in a GMO lab testube. This is important to know.

The new buz word is lets go GREEN. In today's world plastic bottles are made from petrolium oil. But tomorrow we can go green by inserting a gene into the corn plant to be a few molecules away from "plastic". Sounds great, now we can grow all the plactic we want. Question: Is anyone out there allergic to corn? In our green world we may see warning labels on our plactic zip lock bags that read, using these green bags could cause severe alergic reactions to corn sensitive people. The discovery channel had an entire special devoted to the green revolution. All this GMO talk makes my head spin. All this science stuff may be cool but this could be pandoras box gone wild. I hope my body can keep up with all the changes.

husker nana · February 4, 2011

Casino-The home gardener may not (at this time) have access to GMO seed, but GMO food is already part of the American diet.

GREEN. In today's world plastic bottles are made from petrolium oil. But tomorrow we can go green by inserting a gene into the corn plant to be a few molecules away from "plastic". Sounds great, now we can grow all the plactic we want.

Question: Is anyone out there allergic to corn?

Casino- Those are all things that you stated. Have you checked out the site, "Whats On My Food"? You click on the food of your choice on the right and it gives you the information on what toxins that food has. You can also click on the area there that says Conventional vs. Organic to see the differences. Pretty interesting but scary site.

Nature Works owned by Cargill and DuPont are just two that already making products/packaging made out of corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, wheat, rice and sweet potatoes.

I have a sister-in-law that is allergic to corn and a granddaughter that is allergic to wheat. (Celiacs disease).

So yes, it is more then just what we plant or utilize in our own gardens. Companies like Monsanto and their products are not just what we eat and breath but into plastics, clothing, paints and carpeting. The list is huge.

June 21, 2010	#1
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	Roundup resistant weeds pose environmental threat Found this to be exactly what one would expect from Mother Nature! Roundup resistant weeds pose environmental threat http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

June 21, 2010	#2
Mischka Tomatoville® Administrator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Bay State Posts: 3,207	To quote Jeff Goldblum from the movie Jurassic Park: "Nature always finds a way." __________________ Mischka One last word of farewell, Dear Master and Mistress. Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: "Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved." No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.

June 22, 2010	#4
Mischka Tomatoville® Administrator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Bay State Posts: 3,207	Sensational or not, Monsanto, along with their RoundUp herbicide and GMO seeds, has done much more harm than good to this planet. __________________ Mischka One last word of farewell, Dear Master and Mistress. Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: "Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved." No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.

June 22, 2010	#6
Love my garden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Harmony, NC Posts: 39	Round-Up! ewwwwwwwwwwww, I won't even walk into the aisle of a store, that contains pesticides, defoliants.....info very informative...Thanks! I prefer just to weed! And I have alot to weed.....LOL that reminds me to get me butt back outside......break time is over...... __________________ Preservatives, Pesticides and Disco Suck!

June 22, 2010	#3
dustdevil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: WI, USA Zone4 Posts: 1,887	The article is typical journalistic sensationalism. We intercrop our corn with Dutch white clover and it does a good job of keeping the weeds down. It adds a small amount of nitrogen to the soil to boot. We don't use herbicides on our family farm at all.

June 22, 2010	#5
bigbubbacain Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Zone 9 Texas, Fort Bend County Posts: 436	I feel the same way. I wish I could remember where I had seen an article about "Roundup Resistan Corn" varieties that Monsanto was helping to develop.

February 3, 2011	#12
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	While I generally agree with your statement Suze, I have to point out one factual error. At least one gmo tomato made it into commonly and widely available seed status here in the U.S. It was a result of a seed mixup a few years ago where the gmo variety accidentally was shipped instead of the non-gmo version of the same tomato. Was it a problem in any way? Not until someone happened to run a dna test and found the gmo contamination. There have been four phases in plant development so far in our history and we are in the beginning stages of the fifth. 1. harvesting wild plants. 2. cultivating and improving wild plants to be more productive. 3. hybridizing the improved plants to increase consistency and production. 4. Genetically modifying improved plants to add novel traits. and the newbie 5. construction of complete genomes by assembling entire chromosomes. I have far less problem with the idea of constructing entire genomes than I do with the shotgun in the nucleus approach of current gmo's. DarJones

February 3, 2011	#13
Suze Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 3,027	Darrel, what was the GMO variety that made it out into public distribution by mistake? Just curious.

February 4, 2011	#14
casino Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Southfield, Michigan Posts: 318	I find what SUZE says interresting, "Folks - the VAST majority of hybrids are NOT GMO, nor are any home gardeners going to have any access to GMO seed for all practical intents and purposes." sounds harmless enough. The home gardener may not (at this time) have access to GMO seed, but GMO food is already part of the American diet. If you purchase corn oil it comes from Roundup corn. Tomatoes in a tin can could be GMO enhanced. Food raised in my backyard is the least of my GMO worries because I save my own seed but for those people who purchase seed they should know its history. Are my seeds OP heirlooms, are my seeds F1 Hybrids from conventional breeding or is my seed created in a GMO lab testube. This is important to know. The new buz word is lets go GREEN. In today's world plastic bottles are made from petrolium oil. But tomorrow we can go green by inserting a gene into the corn plant to be a few molecules away from "plastic". Sounds great, now we can grow all the plactic we want. Question: Is anyone out there allergic to corn? In our green world we may see warning labels on our plactic zip lock bags that read, using these green bags could cause severe alergic reactions to corn sensitive people. The discovery channel had an entire special devoted to the green revolution. All this GMO talk makes my head spin. All this science stuff may be cool but this could be pandoras box gone wild. I hope my body can keep up with all the changes.

February 4, 2011	#15
husker nana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Wisc. 5A Posts: 197	Casino-The home gardener may not (at this time) have access to GMO seed, but GMO food is already part of the American diet. GREEN. In today's world plastic bottles are made from petrolium oil. But tomorrow we can go green by inserting a gene into the corn plant to be a few molecules away from "plastic". Sounds great, now we can grow all the plactic we want. Question: Is anyone out there allergic to corn? Casino- Those are all things that you stated. Have you checked out the site, "Whats On My Food"? You click on the food of your choice on the right and it gives you the information on what toxins that food has. You can also click on the area there that says Conventional vs. Organic to see the differences. Pretty interesting but scary site. Nature Works owned by Cargill and DuPont are just two that already making products/packaging made out of corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, wheat, rice and sweet potatoes. I have a sister-in-law that is allergic to corn and a granddaughter that is allergic to wheat. (Celiacs disease). So yes, it is more then just what we plant or utilize in our own gardens. Companies like Monsanto and their products are not just what we eat and breath but into plastics, clothing, paints and carpeting. The list is huge.