The world is drenched in glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s signature herbicide, Roundup. It is the most common herbicide used in agriculture, gardening, and city parks. With rising concerns about its potential carcinogenicity and environmental impacts, the search for alternatives is on.
But we are hooked on glyphosate. It is relatively cheap and it doesn’t have the plethora of restrictions other herbicides have, such as needing moisture or precisely scheduling to work. Its application also doesn’t require the time, effort, and knowledge needed for other weed-management techniques, such as rotating crops and growing cover crops.
Pest management is often a series of trade-offs—growers are trying to balance economics, convenience, management, time, [and] environmental cost.
, University of California–Davis
