IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v3y2011i9p1302-1322d13750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Herbicide-tolerant Transgenic Soybean over 15 Years of Cultivation: Pesticide Use, Weed Resistance, and Some Economic Issues. The Case of the USA

Author

Listed:
  • Sylvie Bonny

    (INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research), UMR Economie publique INRA-AgroParisTech, Campus de GRIGNON, 78850 GRIGNON, France)

Abstract

Genetically modified (GM) herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops have been largely adopted where they have been authorized. Nevertheless, they are fiercely criticized by some, notably because of the herbicide use associated with them. However, how much herbicide is applied to GMHT crops compared to conventional crops, and what impacts does the use of herbicide have? The paper first presents some factors explaining the predominance of GMHT crops. Then, trends in the use of herbicide for GM crops are studied in the case of the most widespread HT crop: HT soybean in the USA. The trends in the toxicity of herbicides applied to HT soybean are also addressed, as well as the appearance of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds. Lastly, the paper examines the spread of GR weeds and its impact. How are farmers, weed scientists, and the industry coping with this development, and what are the prospects of glyphosate-tolerant crops given weed resistance? In conclusion, some issues of sustainability and innovation governance raised by genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Sylvie Bonny, 2011. "Herbicide-tolerant Transgenic Soybean over 15 Years of Cultivation: Pesticide Use, Weed Resistance, and Some Economic Issues. The Case of the USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(9), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:9:p:1302-1322:d:13750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/9/1302/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/3/9/1302/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Hendricks, Chad & Mishra, Ashok K., 2005. "Technology Adoption and Off-Farm Household Income: The Case of Herbicide-Tolerant Soybeans," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 37(3), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Marsh, Sally P. & Llewellyn, Rick S. & Powles, Stephen B., 2006. "Social costs of herbicide resistance: the case of resistance to glyphosate," 2006 Conference (50th), February 8-10, 2006, Sydney, Australia 139881, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Caswell, Margriet, 2006. "The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the USA," Economic Information Bulletin 33897, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. David E. Ervin & Leland L. Glenna & Raymond A. Jussaume, 2011. "Correction: The Theory and Practice of Genetically Engineered Crops and Agricultural Sustainability Sustainability 2011, 3 , 847-874," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(7), pages 1-2, June.
    5. Frisvold, George, 2010. "Resistance Management and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Biotechnology," 14th ICABR Conference, June 16-18, 2010, Ravello, Italy 188091, International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR).
    6. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & McBride, William D., 2002. "Adoption Of Bioengineered Crops," Agricultural Economic Reports 33957, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Nelson, Gerald C. & Bullock, David S., 2003. "Simulating a relative environmental effect of glyphosate-resistant soybeans," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 189-202, June.
    8. William D. McBride & Nora Books, 2000. "Survey evidence on producer use and costs of genetically modified seed," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 6-20.
    9. Foreman, Linda F., 2006. "Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Corn Farms, 2001," Economic Information Bulletin 7205, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & McBride, William D., 2000. "Genetically Engineered Crops For Pest Management In U.S. Agriculture," Agricultural Economic Reports 33931, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Gardner, Justin G. & Nelson, Carl H., 2007. "Genetically Modified Crops and Labor Savings in US Crop Production," 2007 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2007, Mobile, Alabama 34919, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    12. Marsh, Sally P. & Llewellyn, Rick S. & Powles, Stephen B., 2006. "Social Costs of Herbicide Resistance: The Case of Resistance to Glyphosate," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25413, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Matin Qaim, 2009. "The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 665-694, September.
    14. David E. Ervin & Leland L. Glenna & Raymond A. Jussaume, 2011. "The Theory and Practice of Genetically Engineered Crops and Agricultural Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(6), pages 1-28, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gaitán-Cremaschi, Daniel & Kamali, Farahnaz Pashaei & van Evert, Frits K. & Meuwissen, Miranda P.M. & Oude Lansink, Alfons G.J.M., 2015. "Benchmarking the sustainability performance of the Brazilian non-GM and GM soybean meal chains: An indicator-based approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 22-32.
    2. Elodie Nivelle & Julien Verzeaux & Amélie Chabot & David Roger & Fabien Spicher & Jérôme Lacoux & Jose-Edmundo Nava-Saucedo & Manuella Catterou & Thierry Tétu, 2017. "Does nitrogen fertilization history affects short-term microbial responses and chemical properties of soils submitted to different glyphosate concentrations?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Kwame Sarpong Appiah & Hossein Korrani Mardani & Asma Osivand & Sylvia Kpabitey & Christiana Adukwei Amoatey & Yosei Oikawa & Yoshiharu Fujii, 2017. "Exploring Alternative Use of Medicinal Plants for Sustainable Weed Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-23, August.
    4. Beadle, Brian, 2023. "The design and application of an agricultural sustainability index using item response theory," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 278112, July.
    5. Felicia Cheţan & Teodor Rusu & Cornel Cheţan & Camelia Urdă & Raluca Rezi & Alina Şimon & Ileana Bogdan, 2022. "Influence of Soil Tillage Systems on the Yield and Weeds Infestation in the Soybean Crop," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    6. Tillie, Pascal & Dillen, Koen & Rodríguez-Cerezo, Emilio, 2014. "Modelling ex-ante the economic and environmental impacts of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerant maize cultivation in Europe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 150-160.
    7. Cecilia Solér, 2012. "Conceptualizing Sustainably Produced Food for Promotional Purposes: A Sustainable Marketing Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-47, March.
    8. Funk, Samuel M. & Bergtold, Jason S., 2014. "Cost Efficiency Changes and Adoption of Biotechnology Enhanced Soybeans in Kansas," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2014, pages 1-10.
    9. Fern Wickson & Rosa Binimelis & Amaranta Herrero, 2016. "Should Organic Agriculture Maintain Its Opposition to GM? New Techniques Writing the Same Old Story," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-19, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Frisvold, George, 2010. "Resistance Management and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Biotechnology," 14th ICABR Conference, June 16-18, 2010, Ravello, Italy 188091, International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR).
    2. Areal, Francisco J. & Riesgo, Laura & Gómez-Barbero, Manuel & Rodríguez-Cerezo, Emilio, 2012. "Consequences of a coexistence policy on the adoption of GMHT crops in the European Union," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 401-411.
    3. Bonny, Sylvie, 2009. "Issues, impacts, and prospects of the first transgenic crops tolerant to a herbicide. The case of glyphosate-tolerant soybean in the USA," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51449, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Roberts, Roland K. & English, Burton C. & Gao, Qi & Larson, James A., 2006. "Simultaneous Adoption of Herbicide-Resistance and Conservation-Tillage Cotton Technologies," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 38(3), pages 1-15, December.
    5. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Wechsler, Seth James, 2011. "Revisiting the Impact of Bt Corn Adoption by U.S. Farmers," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103327, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Nehring, Richard & Osteen, Craig & Wechsler, Seth James & Martin, Andrew & Vialou, Alex, 2014. "Pesticide Use in U.S. Agriculture: 21 Selected Crops, 1960-2008," Economic Information Bulletin 178462, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Areal, Francisco J. & Riesgo, Laura & Gomez-Barbero, Manuel & Rodriguez-Cerezo, Emilio, 2011. "Adoption of GMHT Crops: Coexistence Policy Consequences in the European Union," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114227, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Livingston, Michael J. & Mitchell, Lorraine & Wechsler, Seth, 2014. "Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States," Economic Research Report 164263, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge & Wechsler, Seth James, 2012. "Fifteen Years Later: Examining the Adoption of Bt Corn Varieties by U.S. Farmers," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124257, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Johansson, Robert C. & Kara, Erdal & Ribaudo, Marc, 2006. "On how environmental stringency influences BMP adoption," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21207, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    11. Mitchell, Paul D., 2011. "Economic Assessment of the Benefits of Chloro-s-triazine Herbicides to U.S. Corn, Sorghum, and Sugarcane Producers," Staff Paper Series 564, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    12. L. Toma & A. P. Barnes & L.-A. Sutherland & S. Thomson & F. Burnett & K. Mathews, 2018. "Impact of information transfer on farmers’ uptake of innovative crop technologies: a structural equation model applied to survey data," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 864-881, August.
    13. Jonas Kathage & Manuel Gómez-Barbero & Emilio Rodríguez-Cerezo, 2016. "Framework for assessing the socio-economic impacts of Bt maize cultivation," JRC Research Reports JRC103197, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Hurley, Terrance M. & Mitchell, Paul D., 2015. "Value of Insect Pest Management to U.S. and Canadian Corn, Soybean and Canola Farmers," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205129, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Roberts, Roland K. & English, Burton C. & Gao, Qi & Larson, James A., 2006. "Adoption of No-Tillage Practices, Other Conservation-Tillage Practices and Herbicide-Resistant Cotton Seed, and Their Synergistic Environmental Impacts," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21304, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    16. Mehta, N., 2015. "Changing Inter-Sectoral Linkages: Role of Technology Adoption in Agricultural Growth," Agricultural Economics Research Review, Agricultural Economics Research Association (India), vol. 28(Conferenc).
    17. Peter Weißhuhn & Katharina Helming & Johanna Ferretti, 2018. "Research impact assessment in agriculture—A review of approaches and impact areas," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 27(1), pages 36-42.
    18. Bullock, David S. & D'Arcangelo, Filippo Maria & Desquilbet, Marion, 2018. "A discussion of the market and policy failures associated with the adoption of herbicide-tolerant crops," TSE Working Papers 18-959, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Aug 2019.
    19. Khanal, Aditya R. & Gillespie, Jeffrey M., 2011. "Adoption and Profitability of Breeding Technologies on United States Dairy Farms," 2011 Annual Meeting, February 5-8, 2011, Corpus Christi, Texas 98574, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    20. Mitchell, Paul D., 2011. "Estimating Soil Erosion and Fuel Use Changes and Their Monetary Values with AGSIM: A Case Study for Triazine Herbicides," Staff Paper Series 563, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:3:y:2011:i:9:p:1302-1322:d:13750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.