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Why guayule is good for your wallet and the environment

By: Jason Lancaster


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Daily we receive the message from the media that green is good. We, as consumers, maintain that green buildings, green cars, green plastic and now even green rubber should be the focus. With products such as latex rubber made from a desert plant called guayule becoming more common, this is proving easier and easier to do.

Most rubber is derived from hevea, a para rubber tree product. Native to Brazil, para rubber trees were transplanted to Southeast Asia where they have been bred carefully to increase hevea production. Today, most rubber comes from this region of the world, with the synthetically produced balance from petroleum. While most rubber is inherently organic, it's true that it's not necessarily "green"-at least not as green as guayule.

The benefits of using environmentally-friendly rubber derived from the guayule plant are simple to see, beginning with proximity. Whereas guayule can be grown in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, hevea, the other natural source of latex rubber, must be grown in tropical climates. Because of reduced fuel usage, since guayule is grown so close to home, the cost to the environment is lower than importing hevea-based rubber from overseas.

Guayule's location presents a second green benefit. Guayule, unlike the common hevea rubber produced from the para rubber tree grown in tropical areas, is a tremendously hearty plant. It does not require any chemical pesticides to keep its health because it's naturally resistant. Para rubber trees are tremendously susceptible to leaf blight, so they require chemical pesticides to remain healthy. Chemical pesticides have been associated with various health and environmental risks, so guayule's natural pest resistance is significant.

Guayule can be used as an ethanol feedstock; a third green attribute. Guayule is not a food source, unlike corn, which is commonly used to make ethanol, and therefore does not impact the world's food source in availability or price. The food supply in the market, in some situations, has been impacted by the demand for corn to produce ethanol. Since guayule is not a food source, that's not an issue.

Finally, guayule is an excellent source of hypoallergenic natural rubber latex. Hevea latex allergies are a serious issue-it's estimated that 10 percent of the U.S. population has a latex allergy. Currently, most hypoallergenic latex is derived from petroleum-based synthetic rubber. Obviously, a natural source of hypoallergenic rubber is fundamentally superior to rubber synthesized from petroleum.

Throughout the 20th century, guayule gained popularity because of import restrictions, leaf blight decimation, and common latex allergies among health care providers. Although more rubber can be produced from a single para rubber tree than a guayule plant, the locale, energy-producing potential, hypoallergenic qualities, and overall greenness of the guayule plant is unbeatable.

Now the question is how do green-conscious consumers support this product? Local farmers in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, along with the Yulex Corporation, are working to produce the crop and manufacture latex products from it. Finding ways to support these entities is a sure way to invest in the success of the environment and the affordability of guayule produced rubber products.

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Author Jason Lancaster is a devotee of emerging biotechnology agriculture. You can learn more about guayule at GuayuleBlog.com.



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