Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on agriculture: what the evidence says · JRE #2461

What the evidence says 01 / RECORD

Glyphosate use on U.S. corn rose sharply after glyphosate-tolerant ("Roundup Ready") corn was commercialized in 1996, and by the 2010s a large majority of U.S. corn acreage was planted with herbicide-tolerant varieties and treated with glyphosate at some point in the growing cycle, per peer-reviewed pesticide-use tracking. However, published USDA and peer-reviewed data do not report a 97% figure specifically for corn; herbicide-tolerant corn adoption and glyphosate-treated acreage have more commonly been cited in the 85-92% range depending on year and metric. The claim that corn "can't be produced without" glyphosate is inaccurate: non-genetically-engineered corn hybrids, conventional corn grown with alternative herbicides or mechanical weed control, and certified organic corn (which by definition excludes glyphosate) are all commercially produced in the United States. The core claim that glyphosate use in corn is widespread and increased substantially since the mid-1990s is well supported, but the specific 97% figure and the assertion of agronomic necessity are overstated.