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135 comments on DrumBeat: August 20, 2007

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eric blair on August 20, 2007 - 9:48am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top

Today on the NPR morning rotation they highlighted the growing resistance of weeds to roundup.

This paper examines the factors that have led to the recent instability in financial markets,
specifically the housing bubble and the recent run-up in stock prices. Prices in both the housing
market and the stock market are often moved by psychological factors that have little to do with
fundamentals.
http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/meltdown_2007_08.pdf

Virus Spreading Alarm and Pig Disease in China
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/business/worldbusiness/16pigs.html?ex=...
A highly infectious swine virus is sweeping China’s pig population, driving up pork prices and creating fears of a global pandemic among domesticated pigs. (Hope it doesn't make the jump to humans)

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bruce from chicago on August 20, 2007 - 10:10am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I heard that story on NPR too. I expect Roundup resistant horseweed to be making an appearance in my neck of the woods, Cumberland County Il., soon as the topography of rolling hills dictates the use of no-till methods that use roundup. As Ean Malcom in Jurassic Park stated, “nature will find a way”. A half century of use of chemicals and antibiotics is already stimulating the adaptation by organisms to our meddling.

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mr f on August 21, 2007 - 12:54pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The Future of Food

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btu on August 20, 2007 - 10:13am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

eric,

The annual Roundup bath is creating superweeds just as predicted. In the Red River Valley of the North, farmers often rotate Roundup Ready soybeans with wheat, this spring which was wet, a lot of wheat did not come up on last year's RR soybean fields, these fields had to be replanted. In my opinion, in certain growing conditions, Roundup is also carrying over to the next growing season killing any crops without genetic engineered resistance to Roundup.

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mcgowanmc on August 20, 2007 - 10:55am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Arkansawyer

Yes. RoundUp is just like antibiotics.

Soon RU will be used sparingly. Just like TB strains/staff are
resistant to antibiotics, Johnson grass, cocklebur,
pigweed will be coming back.

As well as some virulent cornworms and boll weevils.

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gwb on August 20, 2007 - 1:06pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Wired Magazine ran an article in their November 2004 issue about the appearance of a coca plant in Colombia that showed resistance to glyphosate (the RoundUp pesticide):

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/columbia.html

The U.S./Colombia authorities have never publicly acknowledged its existence, but according to the article, all the growers in Colombia have switched to "Boliviana negra" -- the "Roundup-Ready" coca. Apparently, the original plant was discovered in a sprayed field, and cuttings were made from it, and were grown out like crazy. Seems it was a naturally-occurring mutation -- no signs of genetic manipulation. So much for Plan Colombia...

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elwoodelmore on August 20, 2007 - 8:53pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

planned obsolescence by evolution.

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