A few weeks ago (May 31st, 2013 to be exact), I posted this story:
Just wonderful - GMO plants in the wild in Oregon
Going to be an interesting lawsuit for sure - from the New York Times:Modified Wheat Is Discovered in Oregon
Unapproved genetically engineered wheat has been found growing on a farm in Oregon, federal officials said Wednesday, a development that could disrupt American exports of the grain.
The Agriculture Department said the wheat was of the type developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup, also known as glyphosate. Such wheat was field-tested in 16 states, including Oregon, from 1998 through 2005, but Monsanto dropped the project before the wheat was ever approved for commercial planting.
Now this -- from Reason Magazine:
Was the Biotech Wheat Found in Oregon Surreptitiously Sowed by Anti-GMO Activists?
Glibert Ross, who works with the American Council on Science and Health has published an op-ed today over at Canada's Financial Postsuggesting possible activist involvement:There is no other explanation for the Oregon discovery. Roundup is Monsanto's glyphosate herbicide or weed-killer, among the commonest used since 1974; a Roundup Ready crop means it is gene-spliced to be resistant to the chemical, while the target weeds are killed by it. Monsanto has strenuously denied having any RR wheat trials in Oregon over the past nine years, and tests of over 30,000 wheat specimens in that region in 2011 showed no evidence of the trait.
Considering that this could cause a problem with exports (some countries are knee-jerk against GMO foods and will not accept crops if there is even the faint suspicion of a potential taint), the financial impact could be quite large. Will this be investigated and the people brought to justice? There will be a lot of hacked-off wheat growers if this was willful sabotage.
