Amaranth is a very ancient vegetable, now nicknamed executioner plant in the United States, where it is putting the GM crops of the multinational Monsanto in difficulty.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himAmaranth is a very old vegetable, now nicknamed executioner plant in the United States, where it is putting the GM crops of the multinational Monsanto in difficulty.
From industrial agriculture it is considered a weed while for Peruvians amaranth is as good as gold because its grains are a very nutritious and protein-rich food. We already told you about amaranth as a super resistant and nutritious plant a few years ago, but apparently this plant is still hindering the cultivation of GM soybeans.
Amaranth grows naturally near the crops of GM soy and it is so resistant that herbicides cannot eliminate it. For the spread of amaranth as a weed it seems that many farmers have had to abandon the fields cultivated with transgenic soy for at least 5000 hectares of land with another 50 hectares at risk in the US.
The phenomenon has spread to North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri where amaranth is hindering the cultivation of GM soybeans.
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In the United States, it is grown soia Ogm RoudUp Ready at Monsanto, that is, a variety of soybean genetically modified to resist the action of the herbicide RoundUp, which in this way should eliminate the weeds without damaging the soy plants. As early as 2004, farmers have realized that amaranth is able to resist glyphosate contained in the herbicide RoundUp and this has put in difficulty those who aim to expand the cultivation of genetically modified soybeans.
Read also: AMARANTH: THE "CEREAL" OF THE INCA AND AZTECH
Is amaranth a super herbicide resistant plant by nature? Probably not. Experts speculate that it may have happened a hybridization between herbicide resistant soybeans and amaranth plants. This goes against the claims of those who argue that hybridization is impossible for genetically modified plants.
Farmers who cannot eliminate amaranth with glyphosate find themselves forced to abandon their fields. Amaranth plants are very large and well rooted in the earth and it would be very expensive and painful to remove them by hand.
Read also: AMARANTH, FROM A SIMPLE WEED TO FUTURE FOOD?
Amaranth is native to the mountainous areas of Mexico and the Andes. It was a sacred plant for the Incas and now it is putting one of the most powerful multinationals in the world in difficulty.
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Not to mention that today amaranth, along with quinoa, is considered one of the foods that could to help alleviate the problem of hunger in the world for its nutritional characteristics, because it is a resistant and easy to grow plant.
The UN has already indicated amaranth as a plant with a high content of essential amino acids. The amaranth leaves are also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and mineral salts. Amaranth contains antioxidants and helps lower cholesterol.
The project was born to support amaranth Amaranth Future Food. It is funded by the European Union and aims to increase the use and production of amaranth to ensure food security and agricultural biodiversity. The production of Amaranth takes place thanks to farmers' cooperatives born in Nicaragua, Argentina and Europe and useful for identifying the best varieties among the different types of amaranth that exist in the world.
Marta Albè
