>Of course, the products developed were done so primarily in order to make
>profit. But when they also (e.g. roundup ready soybeans) eliminate the
>production and application of thousand of gallons of deadly pesticides,
>doesn't that contribute towards sustainability, just a teeny bit now?
I hope it works as you suggest. What i've read is roundup ready
soybeans allow more concentrated spraying of herbicides without
hurting the soybean. The benefit is in no-till methods.
Disking the weeds is eliminated because the additional herbicides
kill everything.
This is promoted by Monsanto as sustainable no-till
agriculture. They estimate that roundup can be produced
forever and no-till uses less energy and is ecological. Lots
of farmers are buying into this viewpoint and others worry
about Monsanto raising prices and skimming all the profit.
Most of the other ecological methods require careful timing
and knowledge of weeds. Sometimes they require cover crops
for weed suppression or a succession of crops that inhibits
weed build up. With roundup you just spray and plant.
All these comments are from memory so corrections would be
appreciated if anything is in error.
>Thats enough for now. Lots of good questions Jeff, as usual. Too bad the
>answers don't come as easily.
>Boy we are sure good at asking question, anyways ;-)
Yes, often knowing good questions is more important than
knowing answers. One might say life is constant questions
and incomplete answers. The trick is to know which questions
to ask.
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be
tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear
more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of
idea. -- John Ciardi
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity
has its own reason for existing. - Albert Einstein
It is better to know some of the questions than all of the
answers. - James Thurber
The function of genius is not to give new answers, but to
pose new questions - which time and mediocrity can solve.
- Hugh Trevor-Roper, "Men and Events
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Jeff Owens ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Zone 7, http://www.teleport.com/~kowens
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
