Fact Sheet On Monsanto and Scott's Roundup Ready™ Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.)

1. Based on potential environmental effects associated with the deregulation and commercialization of Roundup Ready™ creeping bentgrass, the USDA is drafting the first ever Environmental Impact Statement for a genetically modified organism. USDA scoping document: Federal Register
   
   
2. Creeping bentgrass is used in many golf courses across the U.S. Roundup Ready™ creeping bentgrass is being modified to resist the herbicide Roundup®. It is the first wind pollinated, perennial, and highly outcrossing GMO crop developed for commercial use.
   
   
3. A recently published government study shows that the pollen from the modified creeping bentgrass can travel 13 miles. See study
   
   
4. Creeping bentgrass is an outcrossing species and is compatible with at least a dozen other wild species in the United States. Deregulating this product will allow frequent and recurrent gene flow between the modified and wild species.
   
   
5. If Roundup Ready™ creeping bentgrass is commercially successful and is widely adopted in the United States, the transgenes will be naturally introduced into related species.
   
   
6. Introducing the transgenes into related grassy species is likely to cause "superweeds" or resistant weeds that can withstand the overspray of Roundup® herbicide.
   
   
7. The creation of "superweeds" means we will need to use bigger quantities of weedkillers, not less!
   
   
8. Deregulation of the Roundup Ready™ creeping bentgrass will prove to be a huge problem for municipalities, counties, and other regions that have prohibited the planting of genetically modified organisms.

Read Environmental Commons' comment letter to the USDA.