Roundup Ready Crops: benefits and possible dangers

There is currently a lot of controversy over the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as crops.  While GMOs have been grown for decades now, there is still misunderstanding about their impacts on the environment. 

Some of the most common varieties of GMOs are those that are resistant to herbicides, specifically to glyphosate, (i.e., Roundup)- these crops are sold under the name Roundup Ready.  With this genetic modification, crops can be sprayed directly with glyphosate.  This results in an overall reduction in the use of herbicides and a switch from herbicides that require incorporation into the soil before planting.  So, with glyphosate the herbicide to kill weeds is sprayed directly on the crop and no-till methods (the soil is not disturbed) can be used.  This reduces erosion and run-off, keeps important organic nutrients in the soil and improves nutrient cycling in the soil. 

While seeds for herbicide tolerant crops are more expensive, they lead to decreased overall costs for farmers.  The main decreased cost is from lowered production costs, mainly from using less herbicide, and there can also be some net increased production.

However, glyphosate-resistant crops have led farmers to rely on glyphosate as the only herbicide they use when growing these crops.  The heavy use of glyphosate has received criticism because it has caused the development of glyphosate resistant weeds, so farmers have increased spraying of glyphosate to combat this.  The effects of glyphosate on human health are still under debate, but it has been shown that more herbicide residue is present on crops that have been sprayed with glyphosate rather than using traditional weed-management techniques, and if farmers are using larger amounts of glyphosate directly on crops, it could be harmful for us.  To combat herbicide tolerance in weeds, farmers are now encouraged to use other herbicides along with glyphosate.  Because of this, the environmental benefits are not quite as high, but still better for the environment than conventional methods.

Further study still needs to be done on the effects of glyphosate on human and animal health, but it at least seems for the time being, that this form of GMOs could be environmentally beneficial, and certainly something worth pursuing.

-source and additional information on insect resistant crops:

 Barfoot P, Brookes G. Key global environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop use 1996–2012. GM Crops and Food: Biotechnology in Agriculture and the Food Chain 2014; 5:149 - 160; PMID: 24637726; http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/gmcr.28449 

(can also be found at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24637726)

-Key players in Roundup Ready Crops: http://web.mit.edu/demoscience/Monsanto/players.html