April 30, 2003

As Reported in the News
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology

Roundup Ready wheat is being developed at universities in Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, according to an AP report.

Mohammed Mergoum, a hard red spring wheat breeder at North Dakota State University, is one of the researchers working with the genetically modified wheat.

The GM wheat is grown in a separate greenhouse that's off limits to visitors. The seeds will soon be planted in test plots at undisclosed locations. These precautions are designed to prevent the genetically modified plants from crossbreeding with other wheat varieties, reports the AP.

"We are very careful," Mergoum said. "We try to grow that wheat where there is no wheat around it. We have to monitor that site at least two years. That means we go there every month and pull out and destroy anything that grows there."

Mergoum must have approval from the federal government to take seeds from the greenhouse to a field site. And the seed must be kept in a locked container.

Monsanto is seeking government approval to sell Roundup Ready wheat to farmers. But farmers aren't sure they want it.

Tom Anderson grows wheat a few miles south of Moorhead. He would save money by growing Roundup Ready wheat, because it would need fewer expensive herbicides to control weeds.

But Anderson hopes Roundup Ready wheat stays off the market - not because Anderson opposes genetically modified wheat. Instead, he doesn't want to lose important markets in Japan and Europe. Those governments say they won't buy genetically modified wheat.

"Every one out of two bushels on my farm has to go somewhere besides the United States," Anderson said. "It has to be exported in order to make this thing work economically on the farm. And it's already on the edge of not working."

Anderson said in the AP report that losing export markets would be a disaster for the United States wheat industry.

"We cannot release this stuff until this is generally accepted worldwide, or we're going to be shooting ourselves in the foot in the market," Anderson said. "I'm firmly 100 percent behind the research side of it, but we can't release this until we have worldwide acceptance in the marketplace. We just cannot
afford to do that." 

Monsanto, which owns Roundup Ready wheat, is in agreement.

Michael Doane, Monsanto's director of industrial affairs, said the herbicide-resistant wheat must be deemed safe by government regulators, and accepted by consumers, before it's released for general use.

"We don't want to sell seed to farmers that turns into grain that doesn't have a market," Doane said. "What we think is good for growers is also good for us. We've talked with a number of growers and reiterated our commitment to work with them to establish markets for the grain prior to introducing it. We think that's an important commitment, and one we'll honor."

According to the AP, Monsanto is taking a different approach with Roundup Ready wheat than with other GM crops it has released. The company is actively seeking input from traditional wheat farmers and organic growers.

Monsanto said it wants to establish a protocol to keep genetically modified wheat from mixing with traditional wheat varieties. But researchers say if GM wheat is widely planted, it will inevitably crossbreed with other wheat varieties. Crossbreeding is what frightens organic wheat growers.

Janet Jacobson, the president of Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society, said GM wheat could destroy the organic wheat industry.

"Organic consumers have made it pretty clear they don't want GMOs in their food," Jacobson said. "So if genetically modified wheat is released, contamination issues are inevitable. That means we probably won't be able to market organic wheat."

The stakes are huge in North Dakota, which is among the top states in the U.S. for wheat production. This year, North Dakota legislators considered a bill to ban genetically modified wheat, but the legislation was defeated.

A group of farmers has petitioned U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Venneman to consider the economic impact on farmers before approving Roundup Ready wheat. Monsanto says it has no timeline for releasing the wheat. The company insists it will not sell the herbicide-resistant seeds until the crop is accepted in markets around the world, according to the AP.

As Reported in the News is a weekday feature that summarizes one of the most interesting stories of the day, as reported by media from around the world, and selected by Initiative staff from a scan of the
news wires. The Initiative is not a news organization and does not have reporters on its staff: Posting of these stories should not be interpreted as an endorsement of a particular viewpoint, but merely as a summary of news reported by legitimate news-gathering organizations or from press releases sent out by other organizations.