4 ms·

interesting, do those treated crops get knocked over in strong winds compared to untreated crops or something like that?

hosh 4y ago
Root systems are not necessarily just about being able to hold soil or not getting knocked over. I don’t know what the parent comment meant by that, but I do know the root zone is vital for plants. Plants do not directly mine minerals. Instead, they produce complex sugars which they exchange with bacteria and fungi, who in turn, trade minerals that the plant needs. Some plants with also trade nutrients with each other (usually within the same species). It’s in this way that soil itself is alive, whereas dirt is dead. Glysophates messes with soil in such a way that farmers attempt to compensate with fertilizer as an input. It becomes a degenerate process. Our current commercial agricultural has been slowly killing our soil.
- kuhewa 4y ago
  Granting that is perfectly true for arguments sake, roundup also enables widescale no-till agriculture which is huge for soil conservation
  - hosh 4y ago
    The idea here is to look at the whole ecosystem, even at the local level at the level of the farm. - How does Roundup contribute to the health of the farm? - How is the manufacturing process of Roundup harmonized with ecosystem where it is manufactured? What about further up the supply chain? What about transport, marketing, and finance? - How is the manufacture and use of Roundup caring for land, caring for people, and distributing fair share? Chances are, the “weeds” that Roundup were killing contributes more to the soil health than Roundup does. The point of “no till” is not just to no-till, but rather, a comprehensive and holistic way of working with the soil. It takes at least five years to get it going.
    - kuhewa 4y ago
      > Chances are, the “weeds” that Roundup were killing contributes more to the soil health than Roundup does. I mean, sure, if you take the cropland out of production and let weeds do their thing, that will be great for soil health. That isn't farming though. The alternative to sedbed preparation with herbicide isn't just leaving the weeds. Typically, it is tillage. Are there no till practices that scale that dont involve Roundup? Yeah, sometimes. But thus far it's use has fostered the proliferation of no-till farming, now on 1/5th of US cropland, and has been a net benefit for soil conservation Unless you really want to argue tilling was better.

hosh 4y ago

Root systems are not necessarily just about being able to hold soil or not getting knocked over. I don’t know what the parent comment meant by that, but I do know the root zone is vital for plants. Plants do not directly mine minerals. Instead, they produce complex sugars which they exchange with bacteria and fungi, who in turn, trade minerals that the plant needs. Some plants with also trade nutrients with each other (usually within the same species). It’s in this way that soil itself is alive, whereas dirt is dead. Glysophates messes with soil in such a way that farmers attempt to compensate with fertilizer as an input. It becomes a degenerate process. Our current commercial agricultural has been slowly killing our soil.

kuhewa 4y ago
Granting that is perfectly true for arguments sake, roundup also enables widescale no-till agriculture which is huge for soil conservation
- hosh 4y ago
  The idea here is to look at the whole ecosystem, even at the local level at the level of the farm. - How does Roundup contribute to the health of the farm? - How is the manufacturing process of Roundup harmonized with ecosystem where it is manufactured? What about further up the supply chain? What about transport, marketing, and finance? - How is the manufacture and use of Roundup caring for land, caring for people, and distributing fair share? Chances are, the “weeds” that Roundup were killing contributes more to the soil health than Roundup does. The point of “no till” is not just to no-till, but rather, a comprehensive and holistic way of working with the soil. It takes at least five years to get it going.
  - kuhewa 4y ago
    > Chances are, the “weeds” that Roundup were killing contributes more to the soil health than Roundup does. I mean, sure, if you take the cropland out of production and let weeds do their thing, that will be great for soil health. That isn't farming though. The alternative to sedbed preparation with herbicide isn't just leaving the weeds. Typically, it is tillage. Are there no till practices that scale that dont involve Roundup? Yeah, sometimes. But thus far it's use has fostered the proliferation of no-till farming, now on 1/5th of US cropland, and has been a net benefit for soil conservation Unless you really want to argue tilling was better.