Historically, 93% of pre-GMO alfalfa was grown without herbicides. So it’s a bit of a head-scratcher as to why GMO alfalfa, developed specifically for tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate (the key ingredient in Roundup) was developed at all.
If weeds weren’t a big problem in the first place, why bring unnecessary chemical inputs into alfalfa fields?
While glyphosate is an herbicide — designed to kill plants rather than animals — recent studies indicate it alters the gut flora of honey bees, potentially weakening them so they are more susceptible to other threats like viruses, mites, and predators.
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. The most familiar genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are modified with transgenic techniques, which have been available since the mid-90s.
