Genetically modified wheat — created when scientists
insert genes from one plant species into another plant
to make a variety more resistant to blights, herbicides,
or insect damage—is a major issue for Asian and
European countries and, by extension, the U.S. market.
Japan and South Korea have resisted buying crops and
products that contain genetically-modified organisms.
These countries require labeling of such products. China,
which has its own research program for GMO crops, requires
a safety review for GMO imports. The Chinese Ministry
of Agriculture recently issued approval for several varieties
of GMO corn, soybeans, and canola (Jiang and Gifford
6 ).
Several U.S. consumer groups have also raised objections
to GMO products.
In May 2004, Monsanto, the U.S. industrial giant that
is the largest supplier of genetically modified seeds,
abandoned plans to introduce modified wheat, despite
having spent years and millions of dollars on research
on a genetically modified spring wheat that could have
been sprayed with the company’s Roundup weed killer
without killing the wheat. Monsanto’s move was
a reaction to strong opposition from European and Japanese
governments and consumers (The Guardian).
Many American farmers also have opposed modified wheat
because they fear that the introduction of GMO wheat
would cause strong overseas markets to collapse. The
United States exports half of its huge wheat production,
meaning billions are at stake. Many U.S. farmers also
fear the introduction of modified wheat because cross-pollination
or mixing during storage would contaminate non-GMO crops,
making them unsaleable. Such mixing has occurred with
corn, canola, and other crops.
The issue has not been put to rest, either, with Monsanto saying it hoped that
the World Trade Organization would rule that the European Union boycott of modified
wheat is illegal.
Proponents of GMO research, assert that it can be done safely and that genetic
improvement can bring great benefits.
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| Wheat in Shaanxi province, China. photo by S. Willis |
To increase understanding of wheat in general, the
Kansas Wheat Commission is helping fund a project to
map the wheat genome, work being led by Kansas State
University. The farmer-funded commission, which promotes
Kansas wheat at home and abroad, also supports research
into genetically modifiying wheat. The goal is to generate
more food for a hungry world, said David Frey, Administrator
of the Kansas Wheat Commission. “If we’re going to use an acre the best we can, we need to get more
yield from it,” he said (Interview, David Frey).
Levels of genetically modified organisms can be measured in parts per billion,
making wheat shipments susceptible to tainting from modified soybeans or corn
that had been shipped in the same rail car or truck, Frey said. “They’ve detected genetically modified substances in wheat, and we
don’t even have genetically modified wheat, it comes from the other grains,” Frey
said. That’s why he favors Japan’s approach, which allows a minimum level
of modified organisms instead of zero.
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