Farmers have been wondering about what’s the next new herbicide around the corner. After WWII, there were some new tools in the farmers toolbox to control the weeds and insects. They included 2,4,5-T (brush killer), 2,4-D and MCPA for broadleaf weed control in grain and corn, which were off-shoots of chemicals developed during the war to defoliate brush and trees to expose the enemy hiding undercover. DDT was an off shoot of chemicals designed to kill or disable enemy forces. The first “new” herbicide (atrazine) was developed to kill grasses in corn fields without killing the corn.
Atrazine was a true godsend for corn producers. Glyphosate was originally discovered to be used as a pharmaceutical, but nobody was interested. Stauffer Chemical patented it as a chemical to clean scales from boilers, pipes, and radiators by chelating certain minerals 1964. In 1970, Phill Hamm discovered its herbicidal activity and Monsanto bought the patent for $5.
Monsanto released Roundup (with glyphosate as its main herbicide) in 1974. Within very few years, Roundup became the world’s most used herbicide. After many years of trials and experience, those chemicals were found to be dangerous to human health, to various degrees. With the weed escapes and ability of some weeds to become immune to the killing properties of certain herbicides, different blends of some of those and other herbicides were patented and renamed before release. Many of those early patents were given within a few days or months. As years went on, more knowledge of health risks caused by residues of these and other pesticides in foods showed up, leading to new, more detailed testing on previously patented pesticides, leading to years of delay in patenting new pesticides and blends of them.
Some research points to increased risk of cancer, serious digestive system failures, early embryonic death of fetus, sex disrupters, breathing problems, an increase in the cost of health care to prolong life, and many other health problems that our medical professionals are concerned about.
There are many special interest groups, including grain farmers who rely on new technology in herbicides to maintain and increase crop yields, pharmaceutical companies that develop and sell pesticides, investors who expect profits from those companies, and politicians who have been lobbied by farmers and other stakeholders. On the other side, there are many lifelong scientists, health professionals, politicians, and taxpayers who want to correct past oversights which led to the deterioration of heath of soils, animal, and human health and a tremendous increase in the cost of our health care system.
In recent years we have noticed certain grains, and food products being used in trade wars.
Even though North America has been a leader in GMO grains (corn, soybean, canola, cotton, sugar beets) some very poor countries in need of donated grain to survive will not accept any GMO grain. They are afraid that some of those GMO grains might be planted and then if seed is planted from that crop, the yield will be disastrous because a hybrid plant’s grain will not yield like the parent did, and the pollination might spread from the GMO grain to their non-GMO grain and greatly reduce yield in their own grains that they replant year after year because their farmers cannot afford to buy seed grain year after year, let alone fertilizer or herbicide.
Indian farmers just went on strike for several years to keep GMO hybrids from being sold in their country, and won. After the GMO cotton was introduced, their farmers received less for their cotton crop than the new GMO seed, fertilizer, and herbicide had cost them. Soon, farm bankruptcy and a higher rate of farmer suicide followed.
Most former and current communist countries (Russia, China, Cuba, etc.) have a free universal health care system. Those countries do not want GMO crops, and Russia even puts buyers, growers, sellers, and anyone engaged in the GMO culture in prison. Coca Cola has recently switched from using sugars derived from GMO crops to sugar made from pure sugar cane. Mexico has used sugar from sugar cane to sweeten their cola for many years.
I have developed a very long list of foods that I just do not order or eat. They vary from domestic beer to ketchup which is 50 per cent sugar, and nothing derived from a GMO plant or grain that might have been sprayed with glyphosate either as a crop or as a desiccant before harvest. I get a very sick stomach with only a little of that food. Recently we ate in a different restaurant with many food items whose names I didn’t recognize. In my dilemma, I ordered only basic food items. After I got home, my stomach was sick for a day. As I think back, in my dilemma, I ordered three fried foods! I had forgotten that many restaurants use vegetable oil – corn, soy, canola, or a blend of who knows what. A very stark reminder for me!
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations
