Salad Daze

I have a large, organic (hopefully) vegetable garden, but I occasionally use Roundup around the edges to keep invasive grasses from creeping in. My understanding is that Roundup is relatively safe and breaks down almost immediately. What are your thoughts on this subject? I totally trust your judgment.

BETSY,
Michigan

Roundup is relatively safe—it’s not as bad as, say, depleted uranium—but that doesn’t mean you want to go pouring it on your pancakes. I’m more than happy to give you the information you seek regarding its toxicity; however, it’s your own judgment that should be the priority, not mine. Here are my thoughts, numbered in Finnish.

Yksi (1): Roundup is manufactured by Monsanto, a company responsible for transforming the face of agriculture through genetically engineered seed. Monsanto, which has become something of a poster child for coldhearted corporate evil, developed (and patented) seeds resistant to Roundup so that farmers could apply the herbicide to their fields willy-nilly with no fear of killing mature crops. The majority of soybeans grown worldwide is now genetically modified, despite a poor understanding of the possible long-term implications. Genetic drift is putting organic farmers out of business, traditional seed stocks are dying out, and meanwhile Roundup sales have risen and Monsanto is suing farmers for patent infringement—including farmers who never bought the “Round­up Ready” seeds but whose fields were infected through pollen drift.

Kaksi (2): If you’re applying chemical pesticides or herbicides on your garden, it is not an organic garden. Regular use of chemicals to solve a garden problem indicates a larger problem with the de­sign of your landscape. Chemicals should be a last and infrequent resort.

Kolme (3): Roundup is in Toxicity Category III (Caution); the categories are established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency via tests on rats. You can learn more than you would ever like to know about what this means by reading a lovely article from the Journal of Pesticide Reform, but I’ll briefly cover some of the highlights here.

Roundup was found on lettuce five months after it was applied.
Not the most healthful salad dressing —although it may be fat-free.