Lauren Quinn
University of Illinois
It has been a quarter-century since corn and soybeans were engineered to withstand the withering mists of the herbicide glyphosate. Initially heralded as a “silver bullet” for weed control, the modified crops and their herbicide companion were quickly and widely adopted across corn- and soybean-growing regions of North America. In the years that followed, though, weeds targeted for eradication quietly fomented a rebellion.
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Lauren Quinn is a media-communications specialist for the University of Illinois-College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Visit aces.illinois.edu for more information.
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