Biotechnology critics call for greater regulation of weedkillers

Critics of agriculture biotechnology have used the increasing reports of herbicide-resistant weeds as new fodder for their campaign to increase regulation of the industry. Ohio Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who chaired a House hearing Wednesday on the spread of Roundup-resistant weeds, said the Agriculture Department has been too quick to approve new varieties of herbicide-tolerant crops and other biotech products, Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reports on the Green Fields blog. David Mortensen, a weed scientist at Penn State University, called for the government to restrict the use of herbicide-resistant crops and impose a tax on biotech seeds to fund research and education programs.

"Now, more than ever, farmers need to have a Department of Agriculture that takes care to preserve and protect the farming environment for generations to come," Kucinich said. The herbicide-resistant weeds are most prevalent in southern cotton and soybean fields but is spreading to other regions, Brasher writes. Michael Owen, an Iowa State University weed scientist, disagreed with Mortensen's call for a seed tax but agreed farmers need to quit relying so heavily on Roundup to control weeds. Farmers "value the convenience and simplicity of these crops without appreciating the long-term ecological and economic risks," Mortensen said. (Read more)