Jim Hagedorn, the CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro, has admitted publicly on several occasions that the current system of lawn care is unsustainable. We’re applying too many fertilizers, made from fossil fuels, and too much water, an ever-precious resource. He and I actually agree on that point – even if we don’t agree on whether or not the weed and insect killers he sells are dangerous.

We also don’t agree on how to limit the water and the fertilizer. Folks like us in the organic lawn care world advocate a natural approach, utilizing natural fertilizers and soil amendments that are derived from sustainable sources. Their use, in turn, vastly reduces the need for water.

Hagedorn, on the other hand, would prefer to genetically modify all grass plants so they grow shorter, more slowly and require less water. In his vision of the lawn future, the only necessary weed killer would be Roundup, which his genetically mutant grass would resist and therefore survive when the Roundup is sprayed.

These new genetic traits, made possible through the ever-expanding breakthroughs in bio-tech gene gun technology, are a no-brainer to Hagedorn, who has invested tens of millions of dollars along with his partners at Monsanto.