Unapproved genetically modified wheat from Monsanto found in Oregon field

Washington Post ^ | May 30, 2013 | Steven Mufson

[Ron C.]

Japan, the largest market for U.S. wheat exports, suspended imports from the United States and canceled a major purchase of white wheat on Thursday after the recent discovery of unapproved genetically modified wheat in an 80-acre field in Oregon.

How the altered crop made its way to the Oregon field remains a mystery. The strain was developed by Monsanto to make wheat resistant to the company’s own industry-leading weed killer. Monsanto tested the type of altered seed in more than a dozen states, including Oregon, between 1994 and 2005, but it was never approved for commercial use.

Yet the Agriculture Department reported that recent tests identified the strain after an Oregon farmer trying to clear a field sprayed Monsanto’s herbicide, Roundup, and found that the wheat could not be killed.

The report rattled U.S. wheat markets. In addition to Japan’s action, the European Union, which imports more than 1 million tons of U.S. wheat a year, said that it was following developments “to ensure E.U. zero-tolerance policy is implemented.” It asked Monsanto to help detection efforts in Europe.

[Texas Fossil]

Eincorn Wheat is still available and is reported to have been cultivated for at least 7500 years.

Turkey Red Wheat has been used in Kansas as far back as 1874. It was imported from Russia before that time. That seed is still available.

Texas Red is similar variety and it is still maintained in the USDA germplasm pool. I know, because they shipped me germplasm for it.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I’d eat it unless it was engineered to turn out something like cyanide

[Myrddin]

Check out this article on Silencing genes in wheat. Apparently, it silences genes in humans too...with a deadly consequence.

[HiTech RedNeck]

hush mah mouf... er, genes

[acapesket]

CDC= Centers for Disease Creation
FDA=Federal Drug Administration

[Black Agnes]

Hybrid tomatoes like our grandmothers grew aren’t ‘genetically modified’ in the same way as the roundup ready soy or the Bt corn. The hybrid tomatoes all had tomatoes as ancestors. And all their descendants will be tomatoes. Just maybe not the SAME tomatoes.

The ‘genetically modified’ soy, corn, canola and sugar beet crops have had genetic code from another species entirely added artificially in a lab. These resulting varieties would never have existed prior to the 1970’s and the discovery of how to diddle genomes.

Gregor Mendel would have probably thrown Holy Water on the ‘genetically modified’ stuff.

So if your kin is growing ‘genetically modified’ tomatoes then some part of that ‘tomato’ genome isn’t from a tomato. It’s from another species.

[Texas Fossil]

Because the wheat is doused regularly with roundup.

Why would you put RoundUp on wheat? It kills 99+% of wheat varieties. RoundUp is used for controlling weeds in the off season using NoTill methods. But never applied to the wheat.

[caww]

Well that’s enough reading to scare the living crap out of anyone!

[KittenClaws]

I'm with you on this. Absolutely. It's crazy when you really think about it. How much control the " controllers" actually have. What we see, hear, ingest, even our conversation. We talk about what we can all see, not what we all know.

[caww]

......”some part of that ‘tomato’ genome isn’t from a tomato. It’s from another species”.....

Meaning exactly what? Another plant type of something altogether different?

[MarMema]

Not really. Apparently because of GMO crops the farmers are using much higher amounts of pesticides.

We eat only organic and hope for the best.

[Black Agnes]

Don’t ask me. Ask whoever decided to put the resistance gene in there to begin with...

Which is how we got this article.

[Black Agnes]

Yes. Probably. Which is to say I doubt your friend meant to say ‘genetically modified’ when they were speaking of their likely plain old hybrid tomatoes.

[Black Agnes]

The biggest creep factor for me is all the wackjob population control nuts who are heavily invested in this technology. You will never convince me it’s because they want to see all seven billion of Earth’s inhabitants live long, healthy and fertile lives.

If you’ve got the room, grow your own. Even a couple zucchini plants, peppers and tomatoes will lessen the amount of food you’re purchasing from questionable sources.

[Texas Fossil]

Japan banned ALL Genetically Modified Seed.

This is not about RoundUp resistant wheat seed.

[Black Agnes]

I don’t blame Japan one bit.

As I mentioned upthread. My kids aren’t allowed to eat GMO food. And they eat organic meat and eggs as well. Hubby and I try to do the same but it’s expensive. The kids come first.

[Myrddin]

An old, but fairly broad study of glyphosate. It's a PDF paper, so you need Acrobat reader or evince on Linux to read it.

[ElkGroveDan]

splicing in genetic parts from foreign organisms is the biological equivalent of saying, "hold my beer and watch me do something really cool!" Nobody knows what genetic repercussions will manifest over the next 20-100 generations of these plants and how it might spread to similar plants, which could touch off other unforseen repercussions.

I'm sure it concerns you, but really that argument is the same one that greenies use against all technology, "Who knows what might happen?" Actually there is a vast knowledge base on plant genetics and there are no "mysteries" about genetic modification. It's far more likely that some dangerous plant mutation could pop in the wild from the trillions of genetic mutations that occur around the world every day from cosmic ray particles streaming in from outer space.

[TiaS]

You mentioned “mad wheat”, maybe it could become LSD — no, it was rye seed that caused an entire town in France to go crazy. Could become a new weapon of mass destruction — keep a close watch on Monsanto’s monkey business.

[familyop]

Some folks here have mentioned bees carrying pollen. Winds carry it, too. There are also other vehicles (e.g., ourselves).