The global population continues to increase. This is not a secret. It is predicted that the world will contain 9.7 billion people by 2050.1 Unfortunately, the area of land that can be used for agriculture in the world is not growing at the same rate as ours. This poses significant challenges to farmers who are responsible for providing top-quality food for Canadians, and other people worldwide.
Canada is currently the fifth-largest exporter of food globally.2 Canadian farmers are expected to play a crucial role in supplying the world the food that it needs. Not only will they have to cater for more people than they ever have before, they’ll have to manage it all while having to fight off diseases and pests which threaten their crops. They will also have to deal with erratic shifts in the weather, and make sure that their farms are solid and healthy for the next generation of farmers to come.
Farmers will require 70 percent more food production by 2050 to keep up with the rising population. *Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. How to Feed the Planet in 2050
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations , How to provide for the world’s population by 2050
This growing demand is too much for farmers to handle on their own. The good news is that current technology, including herbicides such glyphosate, and other tools, can assist farmers in managing herbicides more efficiently and effectively which will result in a sustainable and reliable food supply.
What is glyphosate? How is it used?
グリホサート Glyphosate, a versatile and non-selective herbicide, has been used by land managers, gardeners, and farmers around the world for more than forty years. Glyphosate works by blocking an enzyme that plants, specifically undesirable weeds, require to develop. These enzymes are not present in humans or animals.4 Therefore, when applied properly, glyphosate is not a risk to either.5
Glyphosate can also be used for other reasons beyond agriculture. It is used by municipalities in urban green areas to safeguard wildlife and people from harmful weeds.6 It is also employed on railways to ensure that conductors are clear and to stop fires.
Recently, attention has been focused on glyphosate’s usage in our modern lives and how it’s utilized. While it’s important to be aware of what is in our food and drinks, it is important to note that more 160 global health regulatory authorities, including Health Canada have agreed that glyphosate when used correctly is safe for consumption by humans.
Canadians can be helped to better understand glyphosate, its uses, and the importance it plays in the process of producing food as well as sustainable agricultural practices. グリホサート グリホサート It can help alleviate concerns about this method, which is one of many tools used by farmers to make sure that everybody has access to safe, affordable and easily available food.
What is the reason to use glyphosate for agriculture?
Glyphosate based herbicides have many benefits for farmers, customers as well as the natural environment. It is crucial to efficient weed-control, a secure food supply, environmental sustainability and sustainable weed control. Let’s look at each of these benefits in more depth.
In the world, farmers are losing between 30-40% and 40% of their crops due to diseases, pests, and weeds.9 According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) the losses could increase by a third if crop protection techniques aren’t used. It’s a tragic loss particularly for farmers, especially when you consider that those crops are their livelihood.
Farmers are able to depend on the tools they depend on each year. Glyphosate is a chemical that can be applied to plants that have glyphosate tolerance. This is a proven method of controlling the destructive weeds.
Crops and. weeds–the fight of their life
A farmer’s crops must compete with up to 30,000 species of weeds in search of space, water, nutrients and light.9 Glyphosate gives crops an opportunity to fight.
Canadians and consumers across the globe, reap the benefits of plentiful and cheap food options.
This is causing a rise in the risk of food insecurity. グリホサート Canadians may be paying 55% higher for food if they don’t have modern farming techniques like Glyphosate.
The food we love will be harder to come by. グリホサート Because of plant science However, farmers will be able cultivate sustainably more of our favourite staple foods for many years to be.
Glyphosate isn’t just used to control weeds and keep affordable products at the supermarket however. It aids farmers in caring for the land that Cherilyn Jolly Nagle who is an Saskatchewan farmer calls “their most important asset”, which is their land.
Make sure that we have food we love on tables
Farmers can prosper with the help of crop protection tools such as glyphosate are employed to guard their crops from disease and pests.
42% more grain, similar to wheat and corn
72% more fruit
83% more vegetables and potatoes12
The benefits are evident. But is it safe to use?
Simply simply put simply, yes. Like every other pesticide, it is best to use in accordance with the instructions on the label. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) checks crops for pesticide residue and makes sure that farmers use the product correctly. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency, (PMRA) offers regulatory guidelines, product submission evaluations, approvals (or rejections) and is one of the most rigorous evaluation processes around the globe.
While regulatory agencies ensure that farmers use herbicides approved by the FDA in a safe manner, farmers and manufacturers have a significant role to play in making sure glyphosate has been applied correctly and in a safe manner to avoid any harm to the natural environment, animals as well as human people.
The combination of technological advancements and precision agriculture lets farmers use data to make precise applications for glyphosate. This includes how much and where to apply it.
When it comes to the residue of pesticides, it’s very rare for glyphosate residue to be detected on food and, at limits detected, to cause harm. CFIA makes sure that farmers use herbicides effectively and in a safe manner and keep within the set limits for residue.
Glyphosate is a component of sustainable farming practices.
Glyphosate is used by farmers as part of integrated pest and weed management methods. This means that they are using more than herbicides to manage the growth of weeds. Glyphosate lets farmers use conservation tillage and no-till methods that will benefit the long term health of soil, air and the environmental.
– The elimination or reduction of plowing/tilling of land
Reduction of CO2 emissions
– Capturing carbon within the soil
Improve soil health
– Reducing water runoff and limiting erosion13
“No pesticide regulatory authority across the globe currently thinks that glyphosate poses an hazard to health at the moment.” – Health Canada (January 11, 2019).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. How to provide for the whole world in 2050
Ensuring Canadian farmers have the equipment, tools and resources they require to meet the ever-growing demand for food supplies of a growing population is more crucial than ever before.
Farmers will continue to ensure that our food secure and plentiful by following sound agricultural, food safety and pest management methods. Glyphosate, however, isn’t the only tool they’ll use to ensure Canadians have access to affordable, nutritious food for the next generation.