Being a keen gardener myself, this is a worrying issue not only for myself but for so many out there. (More on GMO to follow later)
Roundup is a broad spectrum systemic herbicide-(is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants) which mean, it kills most plants that it come in contact with. Roundup is also the most widely used herbicide in the world. Roundup is the brand-name for this herbicide produced by Monsanto. Its active ingredient ‘glyphosate’ was patented in the 1970s and first brought into the market in 1974.
Roundup is a broad spectrum systemic herbicide-(is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants) which mean, it kills most plants that it come in contact with. Roundup is also the most widely used herbicide in the world. Roundup is the brand-name for this herbicide produced by Monsanto. Its active ingredient ‘glyphosate’ was patented in the 1970s and first brought into the market in 1974.
Glyphosate is the
active herbicidal ingredient in Roundup.
Many genetically modified food crops, such as corn and soybean, have
been scientifically designed to be resistant to glyphosate.
Current glyphosate-resistant crops include soy, maize (corn), canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, and cotton, with wheat still under development.
In 2015, 89% of corn, 94% of soybeans, and 89% of
cotton produced in the US were genetically modified to be herbicide-tolerant.
Farmers spray Roundup on their fields and kill all the weeds, leaving only
the food crop standing. This greatly
simplifies weed control, but it also means the food crops are literally covered
with Roundup. And so is any food you eat
that’s made from these crops, like corn chips, bread, cereals, biscuits and other
packaged food.
Roundup Ready
crops are crops genetically modified (GM) to be resistant to the
herbicide Roundup.
Monsanto also produces seeds which grow into plants genetically engineered (GE) to be
tolerant to glyphosate. The genes contained in these seeds are patented. Such
crops allow farmers to use glyphosate as a postemergence herbicide against
most broadleaf and cereal weeds. Soy was the first glyphosate-resistant crop.
In
South Africa Roundup is manufactured by ‘Efekto’- ®
Registered trademark of Monsanto Company
