Tag Archives: Herbicides

Organic Foods Cost More Due to Lack of Herbicides

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Organic growers do not use synthetic chemicals for controlling weeds. Many organic growers rely on workers to remove weeds by hand. However, hand-weeding labor is much more expensive than the use of herbicides – as high as $1000/acre in comparison to $50/acre. The increased cost of weeding is one of the reasons that organic food costs more, a point recently made by the well-known food writer, Michael Pollan…

“There are several reasons organic food costs more than conventional food. … Farming without chemicals is inherently more labor-intensive, especially when it comes to weeding.”

Author: Michael Pollan
Title: “Michael Pollan Answers Reader’s Questions”
Publication: The New York Times Magazine. October 6, 2011. pp.34-36.

Herbicides Essential for German Sugar Beets

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Germany is a major sugar producer because of a significant number of sugar beet hectares. Historically, weeds were removed from these fields by handweeding. Today, however, herbicides are indispensable because such labor would be prohibitively costly, a point made recently by German researchers…..

“The application of herbicides in sugar beet is essential to prevent yield loss due to weed competition. … Consequently, herbicides are extensively used in sugar beet in almost 100% of the conventionally cultivated fields in Germany.”

Authors: Andreas Marwitz, Erwin Ladewig and Bernward Märländer
Affiliation: Institute of Sugar Beet Research, 37079 Göttingen, Germany
Title: Impact of herbicide application intensity in relation to environment and tillage on earthworm population in sugar beet in Germany.
Publication: European Journal of Agronomy. 2012. 39:25-34