Biotech quick fix for superweeds could lead to 'super superweeds'

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: superweeds, biotech, health news

(NaturalNews) Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And that is exactly how the biotechnology industry and government agencies are trying to handle the escalating "superweed" epidemic.

According to a recent report out of Washington University (WU) in St. Louis, Mo., the chemical industry's answer to genetically-modified (GM) induced superweeds is to now tamper with the genetics of the superweeds themselves, which may appear to provide a quick fix, but will eventually spur an even worse breed of "super superweeds."

Superweeds, of course, are the byproduct of genetically-engineered (GE) crops that have been programmed to resist certain pesticides and herbicides. Use of these chemicals has increased as a result, and the weeds they were designed to kill have over time developed a resistance to them as well, having mutated into what we now know as superweeds (https://www.naturalnews.com/weeds.html).

But instead of recognizing the problem as having stemmed from GE technology in the first place, purveyors of GMOs are now looking at ways to genetically modify superweeds. This insane notion will most likely not even work, but even worse is the fact that it is sure to exacerbate the problem even further to the point that there will eventually be no way to control ever-mutating stocks of "Frankenweeds."

WU researchers have basically identified the mechanism behind the ability of horseweed, a type of superweed, to resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, also known as glyphosate. And by playing around with varying temperatures and times of application, the scientists determined that in certain weather and under certain conditions, they were able to successfully mitigate the superweed.

But this method of reactionary problem solving does not address the root cause of the issue, and in fact only makes it worse. GMOs and the pesticides they require to grow are spawning unnatural superweeds that are slowly destroying the whole of agriculture. And ironically, coming up with a quick fix such as tampering with the genetics of the superweeds themselves is a recipe for epic disaster in the long run.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06...