US superweeds epidemic shines spotlight on GMOs

The United States is facing an epidemic of herbicide-resistant "superweeds" that some activists and researchers are blaming on GMOs, an accusation rejected by industry giants.

According to a recent study, the situation is such that American farmers are "heading for a crisis." Nearly half (49 percent) of all US farmers said they had "glyphosate resistant weeds" on their farms in 2012, according to the most recent review from agri-business market research firm Stratus.

Still, the industry refuses to accept any responsibility for the "superweed" phenomenon. "Herbicide-resistant weeds began well before GM crops," said a Monsanto spokeswoman.

A USDA spokesman told AFP the phenomenon has "been going on for decades, and has happened subsequent to the development of herbicides." "It happens naturally with all herbicide modes of action. The plants select for resistance over time," he said.

But Bill Freese of the Center for Food Safety, an anti-GMO non-profit, said "GE crops greatly speeded up" the issue. That's a view shared by researchers such as Charles Benbrook of the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University. Heavier doses of herbicides were used on fields that now harbor glyphosate-resistant weed, he noted.

The USDA, backed up by researchers, emphasizes that genetically modified organisms as such are not the source of "superweeds." Instead, they blame "weed management tactics chosen by farmers" who have in large numbers adopted genetically modified seeds alongside glyphosate marketed by Monsanto and its competitors.