Private sector incentive to develop HT crops is obvious. If chemical companies can develop crops that tolerate herbicides they manufacture, they can increase the market for their chemicals. HT research is not limited to the private sector. EDF and NWF staff have found that, in 1989, USDA was already funding 46 projects to increase herbicide tolerance in crops. Proponents of HT crops argue that they will be environmentally beneficial because they will allow farmers more herbicide options.
Farmers can choose to replace older, more dangerous herbicides with newer, less dangerous ones.
Private and public sector researchers are developing plants that tolerate compounds such as atrazine and 2,4-D, which leach into groundwater and are possible carcinogens. Some of the newer compounds, such as bromoxynil, are turning out to be hazardous. HT plants are also being developed to promote herbicide use outside conventional agriculture. USFS researchers have already developed HT poplars. Unfortunately, herbicide treatment of forests changes plant species composition and reduces the ability of the forest to support wildlife.