Unlicensed Monsanto GM-Wheat Found in Oregon
Oregon Farmer Discovered Unapproved Wheat Strain Growing
By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Wednesday that a non-approved strain of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) wheat has been found in a field in Oregon. The strain of wheat was never approved to be grown by the agriculture department. The discovery has prompted an investigation that’s now spanning several other states.
The GM-wheat was originally discovered by a farmer who saw plants starting to germinate in an area of a field where they weren’t deliberately planted by the grower. The producer sent samples to an Oregon State University lab on April 30, 2013, which tested positive for the glyphosate trait. The USDA launched a formal investigation into the matter. The USDA released a Q & A fact sheet on its investigation (see highlighted portion of Q & A).
According to the USDA, the GM wheat in question was the same strain tested by Monsanto eight years ago. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found no safety concerns after testing the product from 1998 to 2005, Monsanto withdrew its plans to follow through with the wheat strain and decided not to file an application for regulatory approval with the USDA.
Monsanto released a statement on its website saying “Monsanto will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to get to the bottom of the reported genetically modified wheat detection; there is no food, feed or environmental safety concerns associated with the presence of the Roundup Ready gene if it is found to be present in wheat.”
To date, there are no genetically engineered wheat varieties approved for use by the USDA.