IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i4p2337-d503352.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Contribute to Sustainable Agriculture?

Author

Listed:
  • Sheldon Krimsky

    (Department of Urban, Environmental Policy and Planning, School of Arts and Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA)

Abstract

Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) have become the leading agricultural herbicides used globally since the development of genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant crops. This paper investigates whether GBHs are consistent with or supportive of sustainable agriculture. Agricultural sustainability is defined by generally agreed upon goals: (1) promoting agroecology; (2) protecting soils and the Earth’s natural resources; (3) protecting biodiversity; and (4) enhancing the quality of life and health of farmers, farm workers, and society. Through an in-depth examination of the scholarly literature, the paper explores whether the scientific studies of GBHs are consistent with their sustainable applications in agriculture in the areas of human health, non-tillage agriculture, soil quality, aquatic ecosystems and beneficial, non-target species. Based on the four generally agreed upon goals listed above for agricultural sustainability, the paper finds that GBHs are not consistent with sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheldon Krimsky, 2021. "Can Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Contribute to Sustainable Agriculture?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2337-:d:503352
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2337/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/2337/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matin Qaim, 2020. "Role of New Plant Breeding Technologies for Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 129-150, June.
    2. Perry, Edward D. & Hennessy, David A. & Moschini, GianCarlo, 2019. "Product concentration and usage: Behavioral effects in the glyphosate market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 543-559.
    3. Tom Kuhlman & John Farrington, 2010. "What is Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(11), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Ram Swaroop Meena & Sandeep Kumar & Rahul Datta & Rattan Lal & Vinod Vijayakumar & Martin Brtnicky & Mahaveer Prasad Sharma & Gulab Singh Yadav & Manoj Kumar Jhariya & Chetan Kumar Jangir & Shamina Im, 2020. "Impact of Agrochemicals on Soil Microbiota and Management: A Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Karin Kauer & Sandra Pärnpuu & Liina Talgre & Viacheslav Eremeev & Anne Luik, 2021. "Soil Particulate and Mineral-Associated Organic Matter Increases in Organic Farming under Cover Cropping and Manure Addition," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Yu Wang & Roaa H. Latief & Hasan Al-Mosawe & Hussein K. Mohammad & Amjad Albayati & Jonathan Haynes, 2021. "Influence of Iron Filing Waste on the Performance of Warm Mix Asphalt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Stéphan Marette & John Beghin & Anne‐Célia Disdier & Eliza Mojduszka, 2023. "Can foods produced with new plant engineering techniques succeed in the marketplace? A case study of apples," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 414-435, March.
    4. Vincent Smith & Justus H. H. Wesseler & David Zilberman, 2021. "New Plant Breeding Technologies: An Assessment of the Political Economy of the Regulatory Environment and Implications for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Badir S. Alsaeed & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Soroosh Sharifi, 2022. "Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Frameworks (SWRM-AF) for Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-31, November.
    6. Zoltán Lakner & Brigitta Plasek & Gyula Kasza & Anna Kiss & Sándor Soós & Ágoston Temesi, 2021. "Towards Understanding the Food Consumer Behavior–Food Safety–Sustainability Triangle: A Bibliometric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    7. Hildegunn Mellesmo Aslaksen & Clare Hildebrandt & Hans Chr. Garmann Johnsen, 2021. "The long-term transformation of the concept of CSR: towards a more comprehensive emphasis on sustainability," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Aras Türkoğlu & Kamil Haliloğlu & Metin Tosun & Piotr Szulc & Fatih Demirel & Barış Eren & Henryk Bujak & Halit Karagöz & Marek Selwet & Güller Özkan & Gniewko Niedbała, 2023. "Sodium Azide as a Chemical Mutagen in Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.): Patterns of the Genetic and Epigenetic Effects with iPBS and CRED-iPBS Techniques," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, June.
    9. Mengjie Tian & Mingyong Hong & Ji Wang, 2023. "Land resources, market-oriented reform and high-quality agricultural development," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4165-4197, December.
    10. Bruna Ornelas da Costa & Luana Siqueira Andrade & Cíntia Ehlers Botton & Cristine Lima Alberton, 2023. "Effects of a Telehealth Stretching Exercise Program on Pain, Sleep, Depression, and Functionality of Women with Fibromyalgia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Daan Francois Toerien, 2022. "Linking Entrepreneurial Activities and Community Prosperity/Poverty in United States Counties: Use of the Enterprise Dependency Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, February.
    12. Lea Primožič & Andreja Kutnar, 2022. "Sustainability Communication in Global Consumer Brands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    13. Sicheng Zhang & Rui Zhao & Kening Wu & Qin Huang & Long Kang, 2021. "Effects of the Rapid Construction of a High-Quality Plough Layer Based on Woody Peat in a Newly Reclaimed Cultivated Land Area," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Jayson Beckman & Maros Ivanic & Jeremy Jelliffe, 2022. "Market impacts of Farm to Fork: Reducing agricultural input usage," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1995-2013, December.
    15. Rafał Nowak & Małgorzata Szczepanek & Joanna Kobus-Cisowska & Kinga Stuper-Szablewska & Radomir Graczyk & Karolina Błaszczyk, 2024. "Relationships Between Photosynthetic Efficiency and Grain Antioxidant Content of Barley Genotypes Under Increasing Nitrogen Rates," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-21, October.
    16. Dayakar Peddi & B. Suresh Reddy, 2023. "Analysis of Irrigation Enhancement, Crop Diversification and Farm Profits: Evidence from Telangana State," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 28(2), pages 189-206, December.
    17. Francesco Polese & Luca Carrubbo & Francesco Caputo & Debora Sarno, 2018. "Managing Healthcare Service Ecosystems: Abstracting a Sustainability-Based View from Hospitalization at Home (HaH) Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-15, October.
    18. Oana Țugulea, 2017. "City Brand Personality—Relations with Dimensions and Dimensions Inter-Relations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-22, December.
    19. Maria Iglesias-Mendoza & Akilu Yunusa-Kaltungo & Sara Hadleigh-Dunn & Ashraf Labib, 2021. "Learning How to Learn from Disasters through a Comparative Dichotomy Analysis: Grenfell Tower and Hurricane Katrina Case Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Julian M. Alston & Philip G. Pardey, 2020. "Innovation, Growth, and Structural Change in American Agriculture," NBER Chapters, in: The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, pages 123-165, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    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:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2337-:d:503352. 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.