Another case of genetically modified wheat in the US

The US Department for Agriculture (USDA) reported the find of unapproved genetically modified wheat on an unplanted field in the US state of Washington. The wheat was modified to be resistance against the herbicide Roundup. They stated that there were not indications that the wheat had entered the food chain.

A Bayer spokeswoman admitted to the news agency Reuters that the site had previously been a testing site of its subsidiary Monsanto. In the in the 1990s and 2000s, Monsanto had developed glyphosate-resistant wheat there, but they stopped the experiments in 2004. The USDA has yet to find out why wheat reappeared after 15 years. A spokesperson by USDA told the news agency UPI that they are expecting results of the investigation in the next six to nine months.

Further finds of GMO wheat from old Monsanto experiments

In recent years there were several cases in which genetically modified wheat from old Monsanto experiments was found. These include, for example, finds in 2013 in Oregon, 2014 in Montana and 2016 in Washington. In 2018, herbicide-resistant Monsanto wheat eventually appeared in the Canadian province of Alberta. Both in 2013 and 2018, Japan and South Corea hat stopped wheat-imports from the US – this resulted in financial losses running into millions. So far, there were no similar reactions to the recent discovery.

Read also:

Illegal genetically engineered eggplants on Indian fields

In the Indian state Haryana, a small farmer has illegally planted genetically modified eggplants. Environmental activists fear that this is not an isolated case and demand decisive action from the authorities – so far without success.

Trump plans to facilitate approval of genetically modified organisms in the U.S.

President Donald Trump has ordered the revision of the regulations for approvals of genetically modified organisms (GMO). According to the agency Bloomberg, his aim is to speed up the approval process for GMOs in agricultural products, reduce development costs and increase investments in agricultura biotechnology.

U.S. organic sales over 50 billion dollars

Sales of organic food and natural products increased in the USA in 2018. This was announced by the Organic Trade Association. The figures in detail.