The Weeds Are Winning

Herbicide Resistance and Industrial Agriculture

• Commenters agree resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides was evolutionarily inevitable under heavy use.
• Field scientists reportedly warned about overuse for decades; confusion is attributed to laypeople hearing industry spokespeople instead.
• Weeds can evolve resistance to any control method (chemicals, hand-weeding, etc.), with barnyard grass mimicking rice cited as an example.

Monsanto/Roundup and Farmer Incentives

• Some argue Monsanto “won” via market dominance and lobbying; others say simply because Roundup Ready systems are cheaper, easier, and enable no‑till, thus “better” by many farm metrics.
• There is disagreement over whether productivity per area is actually higher and over the risks of dependency on a single supplier.
• A cited rationale for Monsanto’s initial optimism: if it was hard in the lab to engineer resistance, they assumed it would be hard for weeds—commenters counter that mass selection in nature is far more powerful.

Health Risks of Glyphosate

• One camp: regulatory agencies like EPA and EFSA see no meaningful cancer or endocrine risk to consumers at real-world exposures, even if glyphosate is a carcinogenic hazard at some doses.
• Another camp: points to IARC’s “probably carcinogenic” classification and scattered endocrine/gut microbiome concerns, and personally avoids glyphosate when affordable.
• Clarification: IARC evaluates hazard, not real-world risk; its Group 2 categories also contain everyday exposures (e.g., hot beverages).
• Small animal studies suggesting endocrine effects are criticized for unrealistically high doses and weak statistical power.
• A claim that gluten intolerance is “actually a glyphosate issue” appears without supporting evidence in the thread (unclear).

Alternatives to Chemical Herbicides

• Tactics mentioned: strong vinegar, boiling water, salt, manual weeding, child labor/human labor, goats.
• Vinegar is reported effective but non-selective, corrosive to equipment, and very pungent; some argue it’s “still poison” ecologically.
• Salt is effective but persistent and non-specific; boiling water is praised as safer, especially on paths.
• Some prefer manual/permaculture approaches and embrace certain “weeds” for aesthetics and biodiversity.

Robots, AI, and Weed Control

• Multiple comments highlight commercial laser-weeding robots and GPS-guided tractors already in use.
• Many expect broad-acre spraying will shift toward robotic, vision-based, targeted removal.
• Others note biological controls (engineered insects/microbes) have worse failure modes and a fraught history.
• Concern is raised that weeds will eventually adapt even to AI recognition (mimicry of crops).

Ecology, Weeds, and Food Systems

• Weeds are reframed as potentially useful: fast-growing, deep-rooted species moving nutrients and sometimes edible (e.g., amaranths).
• Thread notes that some “worst weeds” are essentially traditional food crops we now spend heavily to eradicate.
• Several comments criticize endless monoculture and “poison cycles,” advocating more diverse, resilient systems (permaculture, food forests), even if less profitable.