In 2007, the historical records for soybean yield and price in Argentina were reached, to some extent due to the sharply escalating biofuels demand. Nevertheless, if more genetic-resistant weeds appear, the benefits derived from the model could be lost. Results highlight the socio-economic impacts and responses associated with invasive species affecting agro-biodiversity. They indicate that no preventive strategies are deployed against the invasion of johnsongrass. Instead, the reactive measures are based on "gene-stacking" that allows the use of still more glyphosate or new combinations of herbicides, thus combining the pesticide treadmill with a novel "transgenic treadmill".
The article also evidences the need to further analyse how policies in other regions affect the management of a biodiversity issue, for instance the EU Directive 2003/30/EC (8 May 2003) on the promotion of the use of biofuels for transport. Therefore, this study has policy relevance also for the European Union. The EU is a large importer of soybeans from Argentina. European awareness of the local impacts of imported soybeans (as feedstuffs and/or agro-fuels) should not focus only on deforestation. It should take the findings of this study into account.