Now it’s here, ya gotta use it

This statement really bugs me:

the use of herbicide can reduce reliance on tractors for tillage, and pesticide use could be cut in half if growers are able to use genetically modified potatoes that resist many common diseases


The reliance on the crutch of genetic engineering is becoming far too strong in the minds of farmers and the consumers they publicly pander too. It seems in efforts to remain competative the ag industry will say and do just about anything.

So called No-Till cropping which is better for the farm, farmer and environment is only good when practiced sustainably–ie, no herbicides bought in but through orgainc controls. The over use of herbicide–inotherwords, Roundup–will cause numberous problems if it continues to be used in a no-till scenario.

As for relying on GMO Spuds to keep the critters away. Again, a sadly mistaken deception. The only way to keep selectively ahead of Mother Nature and her army of pests is to study your crops and select for the variety and harvest which has the least problems in given pest infestation areas. Such attention and natural selection will out-perform GM one-size-fits-all crop types everytime–all with out heavy, or any use of pesticide.

Potatoes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops. All of that chemical goo leeches into the spuds themselves. There is no way to wash it off once it has been absorbed by the tuber as it grows. The best option is to find a grower, or grow yourself, a crop which is minimally tilled–tilling uses fuel and compacts the soil which leads to other problems–and organically, even biodynamically raised.

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