Genetically engineered wheat, developed by Monsanto but not approved for sale, was confirmed growing in the wild for the third time in a little more than three years, said the Agriculture Department, this time in a fallow field in Washington state. The USDA said it was testing all of the wheat harvested on the farm, and that so far, none of it carried the GMO trait.
While they stressed the safety of the U.S. wheat supply, neither the USDA nor Monsanto had an explanation for how the GMO wheat ended up on the farm. The operator noticed 22 stalks of wheat that survived spraying with the weedkiller Roundup in an unplanted field. Monsanto said it conducted a limited number of field trials of Roundup-tolerant GMO wheat in the Pacific Northwest from 1999-2001.
The recent discovery could revive questions about USDA supervision of field trials of GMO crops and the adequacy of operating rules for seed companies. Researchers are supposed to restrict experimental crops to test plots, eradicate stray plants and police the site against “volunteer” plants as well as keeping strict control of the seed. The USDA said it has stepped up its oversight of GMO field trials in recent years.
The USDA never found the source of Monsanto-developed GMO wheat that turned up in a field in eastern Oregon in April 2013 — like the Washington state discovery, all volunteer plants. “After exhausting all leads,” the USDA declared the incident “an isolated occurrence,” and closed the investigation on Sept. 26, 2014.
On the same day, the USDA announced that a different strain of GMO wheat had been found growing as volunteer plants at the Southern Agricultural Research Center, a Montana State University research farm in Huntley, in the south-central part of the state. The USDA said it would treat the MSU incident as a compliance issue at a field trial site. GE wheat field trials were conducted at the center from 2002-03.
The Oregon case disrupted exports of U.S. spring wheat, with Japan and South Korea temporarily suspending purchases. This time, South Korea said it would step up quarantine measures on U.S. wheat, reported Reuters. The Washington Grain Commission, a state agency, said it did not anticipate major disruptions in wheat exports, said the Associated Press.
Monsanto has developed a test for the GMO strain found in Washington state, and the USDA said it had validated the test so that wheat importers could use it if they wish. GMO wheat is not approved for sale or cultivation anywhere in the world.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” said the USDA, its agency in charge of biotechnology “is testing the farmer’s full harvest for the presence of any GE material. The farmer’s harvest is complete, and it continues to be held while USDA completes tests of the grain. So far, all samples continue to be negative for any GE material. If any wheat tests positive for GE material, the farmer’s crop will not be allowed in commerce.”
Neither the identity of the farmer who discovered the GMO wheat nor the farm’s location were released. Wheat is grown in the southeastern part of Washington state.
“Decades of research have demonstrated that transgenic crops are as safe and nutritious as their traditional counterparts,” said Monsanto. “The U.S. wheat supply chain continues to provide safe and high-quality wheat for both domestic and foreign markets, and there is no evidence that glyphosate-tolerant wheat is in the seed supply or grain commerce.”