- Through overuse of the herbicide "Roundup" produced by Monsanto, weeds have begun to take on the natural course of evolution and become resistant to Roundup.
- Unfortunately for Monsanto, this renders their genetically modified "Roundup Ready" crops, which were designed to be immune to Roundup so that the two products could be used alongside each other.
- 90% of soybeans, 70% of corn, and 70% of cotton in the US are having to be protected from weeds through use of even stronger herbicide, ultimately harming the environment and lowering crop yields, meaning higher food prices for everyone.
- This event is much akin to the overuse of anti-malarial drugs that caused malaria to be so deadly today.
This was a perfect article for me to read this year due to the excellent amount of background I have had, such as the GMO video and Food Inc. From videos and class lessons like these, I really could have predicted literally everything that happens in this article. It is very strange how such a huge and powerful company like Monsanto could be so caught off guard by such a foreseeable and natural event, that almost any high school biology student could predict. Of course, there is the possibility that Monsanto was fully aware that this would happen. After, they are such a big company that the only people who are really damaged by this are the farmers and consumers. Then Monsanto could make a new herbicide and new plants and the mind boggling number of farmers who use Monsanto's products would have to buy completely new ones all over again. Mark my words, as sure organisms evolve, Monsanto will evolve its products, and its profits, very soon.
Dillow, Clay. "After Years of Herbicide Use, Roundup-Resistant Superweeds Are Evolving to Invade U.S. Fields | Popular Science." Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. 4 May 2010. Web. 16 May 2010.
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