For example, she noted that crops designed to resist damage by glyphosate need fewer pesticides that are more toxic to the soil. Glyphosate is a chemical used in Round-Up and other weed killing products.
But some farmers have used so much glyphosate that a number of kinds of weeds can now resist it. David Ervin of Portland State University in Oregon led the committee that wrote the report. Professor Ervin says this means that some farmers are again using the more toxic herbicides to control weeds. He says the problem needs immediate attention.
Earlier this year, a professor at the University of Western Australia commented on the overuse of glyphosate. Stephen Powles wrote about it in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. He said glyphosate is as important in worldwide food production as penicillin is in medicine for fighting disease. He called for better use of glyphosate-resistant crop technology.
And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson, with additional reporting by Steve Baragona. You can comment on our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also get our stories on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I’m Bob Doughty.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25