An unapproved GM wheat crop may throw the US industry into disarray.

Japan, the largest market for US wheat exports, suspended imports from the United States and cancelled a major purchase of white wheat this week after the discovery of unapproved genetically modified wheat in an 32-hectare field in Oregon.

How the altered crop made its way to the Oregon field remains a mystery. The strain was developed by Monsanto to make wheat resistant to its own industry-leading weed killer, Roundup.

Monsanto tested the altered seed in more than a dozen states, including Oregon, between 1994 and 2005, but it was never approved for commercial use.

Yet the US Department of Agriculture reported that recent tests identified the strain after an Oregon farmer trying to clear a field sprayed Monsanto’s herbicide, Roundup, and found that the wheat could not be killed.

The report rattled US wheat markets. In addition to Japan’s action, the European Union, which imports more than a million tonnes of US wheat a year, said it was following developments ”to ensure EU zero-tolerance policy is implemented”. It asked Monsanto to help detection efforts in Europe.

The issue focuses attention on St Louis-based Monsanto, a $US56 billion company with more than $US13.5 billion in sales of seeds, services, weed killer and biotechnology to the agriculture industry.

In the face of mounting protests, including public demonstrations in multiple cities last weekend, the company has stood behind its other genetically modified products. Читати далі Japan spooked by wheat that wouldn’t die →