To me the question isn't if weedkiller is bad for ecological systems or plants: it obviously is. The question is, why the hell do we use it when we've had agrar

To me the question isn't if weedkiller is bad for ecological systems or plants: it obviously is. The question is, why the hell do we use it when we've had agrarian societies for 10,000 years? I see basically two areas where weedkillers are typically used: agriculture, and aesthetic. For agriculture, weeds can be a fierce problem. On small gardens it's possible to use various tactics to control weeds without chemicals. But on large farms, usually a variety of tactics need to be used to control weeds, and chemicals end up being the simplest and quickest. But they are certainly not required. Here is one list of non-chemical weeding options: https://thefanningmill.com/2015/05/27/infographic-weed-control-strategies/ https://thefanningmill.com/2015/05/27/infographic-weed-contr... Really I think we should be having a conversation about whether the risks of chemical weeding are worth the benefit, which is primarily just an economic one from agricultural exports. We can easily provide for our nation's agro needs without dangerous weeding techniques, and at about half to a quarter of the current amount we produce. On top of this, our diets in general are hampered by the crazy way we consume specific foods. We let "consumer demand" drive what crops are grown and brought to market, even though it's been shown that consumers often demand things that are bad for them, or are overly picky. We consume too much food in general, but consuming less would hurt the economy, even if it would make us healthier and reduce healthcare costs. And we give up the option of purchasing from small local farms in order to get more food for less money. Not to mention the fact that processed foods are still in high demand, as well as meats which place burdens on both agriculture and environment. Weedkiller seems like a good place to start this conversation. Do we need weedkiller? Do we need such gigantic amounts of just a few crops? Do we need giant farms owned by a few companies? Do we really need to eat oranges year round? And should we really be letting vendors [whose primary objective is profit, not health or choice] control what foods we are given the option to eat?