Second Discovery of Unapproved GM Wheat in the U.S.

 14 October 2014
 

THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE

  

Unapproved genetically modified (GM) wheat developed by Monsanto has recently been found growing at a research facility of Montana State University, which ended field trials on it over a decade ago. This is the second such finding of GM wheat, following the discovery of another unapproved Monsanto GM wheat variety in an Oregon farm last year. Both varieties are resistant to Monsanto’s herbicide, Roundup. (See Items 1 and 2). 

GM wheat has not been approved for commercial release anywhere in the world. The Oregon discovery resulted in countries like South Korea and Japan temporarily stopping imports of U.S. wheat and there are concerns that the Montana incident will trigger the same reaction. Several Oregon farmers sued Monsanto for failing to protect the market from contamination and the parties have agreed to a settlement. “Genetic contamination is a serious threat to farmers across the country,” says Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Center for Food Safety.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its final report on the Oregon case. While admitting that it did not know how the contamination occurred, it has dismissed it as an “isolated incident” and declared that the GM wheat was not found in commercial supplies. It is currently investigating the Montana event. (See Item 3). 

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Item 1

USA: UNREGULATED GM WHEAT FOUND IN MONTANA
Mary Clare Jalonick, The China Post
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/art/food/2014/09/28/418168/Unregulated-GM.htm

Item 2

USA: UNAPPROVED GM WHEAT FOUND IN MONTANA
by Carey Gillam, Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/26/us-usa-monsanto-wheat-idUSKCN0HL23J20140926

Monsanto Co's experimental genetically engineered wheat, never approved for sale, has been found growing in a second U.S. state, and regulators said on Friday they could not explain how the plants escaped field trials that ended almost a decade ago.

Item 3

USDA ANNOUNCES CLOSE AND FINDINGS OF INVESTIGATION INTO THE DETECTION OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED WHEAT IN OREGON IN 2013

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/2014/09/pdf/ge_wheat.pdf

After conducting a thorough and scientifically detailed investigation into the detection last year of genetically engineered (GE) wheat growing in a single field on a single farm in Oregon, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has concluded that the presence of the GE wheat appears to be an isolated incident. The GE wheat found on the Oregon farm was developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, also known as Roundup.