Sunday, June 2, 2013

Asia concerns spread due to rogue US wheat

Seed Daily via AFP: Japan and South Korea suspended some imports of US wheat Friday as American regulators investigated the discovery in an Oregon field of rogue wheat genetically engineered to resist Monsanto herbicide.

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.

GE 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....

A wheat field, shot by Maxdrobot, public domain

No comments: