For the first time, the Agriculture Department approved cultivation of genetically modified wheat in the United States on Tuesday, deregulating a drought- and herbicide-tolerant variety developed by an Argentine company. A U.S. wheat industry official said it would be years before the HB4 wheat from Bioceres Crop Solutions was successfully commercialized in the country because of the need to gain acceptance on the domestic front and by wheat-importing nations.
The wheat industry has hesitated to adopt genetic engineering of wheat out of concern that consumers might reject it. Unlike corn and soybeans, where production is dominated by GM varieties, wheat is a food crop that is directly consumed as bread, pasta, breakfast cereal, and bakery products. Four of every 10 bushels of U.S. wheat are exported.
“From a plant pest risk perspective, this modified plant may be safely grown and bred in the United States,” said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the USDA agency in charge of plant biotechnology. The HB4 wheat was no more likely to turn rogue than other cultivated plants, said APHIS, so it was not subject to USDA regulation.
Two years ago, the FDA determined HB4 wheat was safe for human consumption, “a key step toward commercial enablement in the United States,” said Bioceres at the time.
American wheat leaders welcomed the prospect of a drought-tolerant variety — Bioceres says HB4 “has been shown to increase wheat yields per acre by an average of 20 percent in water-limited conditions” — while saying that for the crop to have a future in the United States, it needs broad global approval.
“A drought-tolerant trait offers more stable, sustainable production,” said Oklahoma wheat grower Michael Peters, past chairman of export promoter U.S. Wheat Associates (USW). “At the same time, it is important that customers who have specific purchase preferences understand the industry supports their ability to purchase the type of wheat they want. That remains our policy after more than 16 years.”
In a policy statement adopted in 2008, USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) conditioned their support of GM wheat on steps that include approval of the grain by “major wheat export markets” for food and feed use, adoption of international tolerances for tiny amounts of GM wheat among shipments of traditional varieties, and development of rapid tests to identify GM wheat. The USW and NAWG said a major wheat export market is any customer that buys at least 5 percent of U.S. wheat sold overseas.
USW trade director Peter Laudeman said it would take years for Bioceres to complete the additional steps to successfully commercialize HB4 wheat in America.
The HB4 trait has tremendous potential — particularly for growers in Kansas who in 2023 had the smallest crop since 1996 “due to drought,” said NAWG board member Kyler Millershaski, a Kansas farmer.
The United States is the fifth largest wheat exporter in the world; the leaders are Russia, the EU, Canada, and Australia. Farmers in Brazil and Argentina are growing HB4 wheat. Food safety regulators in Australia and New Zealand have approved the variety.