Imports of US wheat paused after GM find
Source: AFP |
June 2, 2013, Sunday
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JAPAN and South Korea have suspended some imports of US wheat as American regulators investigated the discovery of rogue wheat that was genetically modified to resist Monsanto herbicide in an Oregon field.
US regulators insisted that the wheat carries no risks but the outcome of the probe - namely finding out whether such wheat is growing elsewhere - could have a wider impact on world markets, with the US the biggest global exporter of wheat.
"No one wants genetically engineered wheat," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, recalling that massive opposition in 2004 led seed giant Monsanto to pull back from its bid to commercialize it.
Genetically modified wheat is not approved for commercial sale anywhere in the world, but some herbicide-resistant plants were found in April on an Oregon farm, triggering a government investigation, officials announced on Wednesday.
Market jitters ensued as Japan canceled a bid for 25,000 tons of US wheat and the European Union told its member states to test imports from the area, saying any genetically modified wheat would not be sold to consumers.
South Korea's millers' association also temporarily suspended purchases of soft white wheat from the United States, according to the US Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers which urged nations not to overreact.
"Because of the isolated nature of this discovery, there appears to be little scientific reason for governments to suspend US soft white wheat purchases," the groups said.
"The US Department of Agriculture made it clear that there is no evidence suggesting that this material has entered commercial supplies and that there is no health risk associated with it."
Monsanto's share price dipped 3.4 percent at US$101.59 on Friday after climbing for 10 days.
The altered wheat is glyphosate resistant, which means it contains a transgene that allows it to survive when a popular weed killer made by Monsanto, called Roundup, is sprayed on fields.
The GM wheat was tested at more than 100 sites in the United States from 1998 to 2005, but the last approved field trials in Oregon were in 2001, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Monsanto said it was cooperating with the probe and vowed to "conduct a rigorous investigation to validate the scope of and to address any presence of a Monsanto Roundup Ready event in commercial wheat seed."
The same GM technology is widely used in soybeans and maize in the US, allowing farmers to spray fields with weed killers without harming the crop.
The US Food and Drug Administration concluded in its 2004 review of Monsanto's research that the GM wheat variety was as safe as non-GM wheat on the market.
US regulators insisted that the wheat carries no risks but the outcome of the probe - namely finding out whether such wheat is growing elsewhere - could have a wider impact on world markets, with the US the biggest global exporter of wheat.
"No one wants genetically engineered wheat," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety, recalling that massive opposition in 2004 led seed giant Monsanto to pull back from its bid to commercialize it.
Genetically modified wheat is not approved for commercial sale anywhere in the world, but some herbicide-resistant plants were found in April on an Oregon farm, triggering a government investigation, officials announced on Wednesday.
Market jitters ensued as Japan canceled a bid for 25,000 tons of US wheat and the European Union told its member states to test imports from the area, saying any genetically modified wheat would not be sold to consumers.
South Korea's millers' association also temporarily suspended purchases of soft white wheat from the United States, according to the US Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers which urged nations not to overreact.
"Because of the isolated nature of this discovery, there appears to be little scientific reason for governments to suspend US soft white wheat purchases," the groups said.
"The US Department of Agriculture made it clear that there is no evidence suggesting that this material has entered commercial supplies and that there is no health risk associated with it."
Monsanto's share price dipped 3.4 percent at US$101.59 on Friday after climbing for 10 days.
The altered wheat is glyphosate resistant, which means it contains a transgene that allows it to survive when a popular weed killer made by Monsanto, called Roundup, is sprayed on fields.
The GM wheat was tested at more than 100 sites in the United States from 1998 to 2005, but the last approved field trials in Oregon were in 2001, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Monsanto said it was cooperating with the probe and vowed to "conduct a rigorous investigation to validate the scope of and to address any presence of a Monsanto Roundup Ready event in commercial wheat seed."
The same GM technology is widely used in soybeans and maize in the US, allowing farmers to spray fields with weed killers without harming the crop.
The US Food and Drug Administration concluded in its 2004 review of Monsanto's research that the GM wheat variety was as safe as non-GM wheat on the market.
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