WASHINGTON, DC, April 13, 2010 (ENS) – Weeds are developing resistance to the herbicide that genetically engineered crops are designed to tolerate, finds the first major assessment of how biotech crops are affecting all U.S. farmers, released today by the National Research Council.
Since genetically engineered crops were introduced in 1996, at least nine species of weeds in the United States have evolved resistance to glyphosate, a main component in Roundup and other commercial weed killers, according to the report.
The weeds have become resistant to glyphosate largely because of repeated exposure, the assessment found.
“Genetically engineered crops could lose their effectiveness unless farmers also use other proven weed and insect management practices,” advises the committee that wrote the report, formally called the Committee on the Impact of Biotechnology on Farm-Level Economics and Sustainability…