The Future of Weed Science

Robert L. Zimdahl

Keywords:

Ecology, Ethics, Agricultural ethics, Integrated Weed Management, Herbicides, Pesticides, History, Island Empire, Values, Weeds

Abstract:

Agricultural scientists, farmers, ranchers and the agriculture industry remain confident of their basic faith in the possibility of continued increasing production through the intelligent use of ever more efficient agricultural technology and research. Increasing production has been and remains the accepted way to achieve the moral obligation of feeding a growing population. Given that weeds are an obstacle to increasing food production, but not necessarily the only one, managing weeds in an integrated way is an important factor to consider in global agriculture. In this essay, I pose a number of questions concerning agriculture’s moral justifications and ethics, as concerns of widespread human impacts and environmental harm of agriculture are felt, along with public fear of technology and food quality standards.