Genetically Engineered Wheat Found in Unplanted Washington Field
Genetically Engineered Wheat Found in Unplanted Washington Field
(Bloomberg) -- Wheat plants genetically engineered to resist the Monsanto herbicide Roundup have been detected in a Washington state field, although there’s no evidence to suggest the grain has entered the food supply, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the discovery was made in an unplanted field, but didn’t identify where in the state it was found, USDA said late Friday.
The agency said it’s working with state regulators and industry groups to investigate the source of the wheat, which resists glyphosate, known commercially as Roundup.
Asian and European buyers have in the past halted purchases from entire regions when modified strains of unapproved wheat were discovered.
The U.S. has for many years embraced GE crops such as soybeans and cotton, but no such wheat varieties have been approved for sale or commercial production in the U.S.
“We cannot speculate or comment about any potential market reactions until we learn more from APHIS and have a chance to discuss the situation in more detail with overseas customers,” U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers said in a statement.
The groups said samples of the plants had been sent to USDA labs in Kansas City and Pullman, Washington, for testing.
After previous GE wheat finds in recent years the U.S. strengthened oversight of regulated field trials, and has requires permits for fields planted since the start of 2016.
An experimental strain of wheat developed by Monsanto was found growing in an unplanted field in Washington state, the USDA said in late July 2016. A farmer in that instance found 22 plants resistant to Roundup. Monsanto was acquired in 2018 by Germany’s Bayer AG.
In 2013, a farmer in Oregon trying to kill stray wheat with herbicide found several plants that survived the chemical. Scientists determined the wheat was a strain field-tested from 1998 to 2005 and deemed safe before Monsanto pulled the seeds from the regulatory approval process on concern that importers would reject the crop.
Last year, Japan suspended imports of Canadian wheat for a month after the discovery of genetically modified strains in Alberta, according to the nation’s agricultural ministry.
To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Geimann in Washington at sgeimann@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny
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