Monsanto Panics as Oregon GM Wheat Scandal Spreads Worldwide

[Cebu_4_2]

Monsanto Panics as Oregon GM Wheat Scandal Spreads Worldwide http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/gm-wheat.jpg (http://sustainablepulse.com/2013/05/30/monsanto-panics-as-oregon-gm-wheat-scandal-spreads-worldwide/aybgx1/)
May 30, 2013 in Sustainable Agriculture (http://sustainablepulse.com/pulse/pulse-news/pulse-news-sustainable-agriculture/), by Admin (http://sustainablepulse.com/author/henry/) Share with
USDA INVESTIGATING DETECTION OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) GLYPHOSATE-RESISTANT WHEAT IN OREGON
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced Wednesday that test results of plant samples from an Oregon farm indicate the presence of genetically engineered (GE) glyphosate-resistant wheat plants. Further testing by USDA laboratories indicates the presence of the same GE glyphosate-resistant wheat variety that Monsanto was authorized to field test in 16 states from 1998 to 2005. APHIS launched a formal investigation after being notified by an Oregon State University scientist that initial tests of wheat samples from an Oregon farm indicated the possible presence of GE glyphosate-resistant wheat plants. There are no GE wheat varieties approved for sale or in commercial production in the United States or elsewhere at this time.

APHIS have now provided an FAQ document on the Oregon GM Wheat crisis – find it here! (http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/faq_brs_ge_wheat_detection.pdf)
As a result of the USDA announcement Japanese authorities have canceled a tender offer to buy wheat from the US and other governments worldwide have threatened to stop all US wheat imports.
The EU Commission has asked the United States how to test for unapproved GM Wheat, a spokesman said, adding that incoming shipments would be tested and blocked if they contained the strain.

Friday Update: South Korean millers have suspended imports of U.S. wheat and some other Asian countries have stepped up inspections.
Meanwhile, Monsanto were amazingly quick to try and throw water on the fire - especially for them as they usually take a while to send out press releases (http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/monsanto-statement-on-usda-gm-wheat.aspx) on important stories – Maybe they really are panicking?
The detection of this wheat variety does not pose a food safety concern. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed a voluntary consultation on the safety of food and feed derived from this GE glyphosate-resistant wheat variety in 2004. For the consultation, the developer provided information to FDA to support the safety of this wheat variety. FDA completed the voluntary consultation with no further questions concerning the safety of grain and forage derived from this wheat, meaning that this variety is as safe as non-GE wheat currently on the market.“We are taking this situation very seriously and have launched a formal investigation,” said Michael Firko, Acting Deputy Administrator for APHIS’ Biotechnology Regulatory Services, “Our first priority is to as quickly as possible determine the circumstances and extent of the situation and how it happened. We are collaborating with state, industry, and trading partners on this situation and are committed to providing timely information about our findings. This situation is unacceptable and USDA will put all necessary resources towards this investigation.”
The Plant Protection Act (PPA) provides for substantial penalties for serious infractions. Should APHIS determine that this situation was the result of a violation of the PPA, APHIS has the authority to seek penalties for such a violation including civil penalties up to $1,000,000 and has the authority to refer the matter for criminal prosecution, if appropriate.
APHIS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ FDA work together to regulate the safe use of organisms derived from modern biotechnology. APHIS regulates the introduction (meaning the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release/field testing) of certain GE organisms that may pose a risk to plant health. EPA regulates pesticides, including plants with plant-incorporated protectants (pesticides intended to be produced and used in a living plant), to ensure public safety. EPA also sets limits on pesticide residues on food and animal feed. FDA has primary responsibility for ensuring the safety of human food and animal feed, as well as safety of all plant-derived foods and feeds.

[vacuum]

So basically monsanto is now totally ignoring the fda and other government agencies and selling whatever unapproved GMOs they want to whoever they want whenever they want.

[Serpo]

(NaturalNews) It has already begun: Japan has just cancelled a large contract to purchase U.S. wheat. "We will refrain from buying western white and feed wheat effective today," Toru Hisadome, a Japanese farm ministry official in charge of wheat trading, told Reuters.

As many readers well know, I predicted precisely this scenario just yesterday in a Natural News article warning about the consequences of genetic pollution. There, I wrote, "All wheat produced in the United States will now be heavily scrutinized -- and possibly even rejected -- by other nations that traditionally import U.S. wheat. This obviously has enormous economic implications for U.S. farmers and agriculture."

Now we're already seeing the result: the ditching of U.S. wheat by world nations that want nothing to do with GMOs.

Monsanto is a ticking time bomb for U.S. agriculture
This proves, without any question, that Monsanto's genetic experiments which "escaped" into commercial wheat fields are now going to devastate U.S. wheat farmers. Expect the floor to drop out on wheat prices, and watch for a huge backlash against the USDA by U.S. farmers who stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars on this.

As the USDA has now admitted, Monsanto's GMO experiments from 1998 - 2005 were held in open wheat fields. The genetically engineered wheat escaped and found its way into commercial wheat fields in Oregon (and possibly 15 other states), causing self-replicating genetic pollution that now taints the entire U.S. wheat industry.

"Asian consumers are keenly sensitive to gene-altered food, with few countries allowing imports of such cereals for human consumption," writes Reuters. It continues:

Asia imports more than 40 million tonnes of wheat annually, almost a third of the global trade of 140-150 million tonnes. The bulk of the region's supplies come from the United States, the world's biggest exporter, and Australia, the No. 2 supplier.

Another incredible Monsanto achievement: the genetic contamination of the U.S. wheat supply
Nice job, Monsanto. You've managed to spew your genetic pollution across the fields of innocent U.S. farmers who are now going to lose huge sums of money due to the reject of U.S. wheat by all the other world nations that refuse to feed their populations GMO.

And a big thumbs up to the USDA, too, for screwing U.S. farmers by green-lighting open-field GMO experiments that we all warned were going to result in runaway genetic pollution. The USDA, of course, is the official cheerleading squad for Monsanto's criminal "science" that we all know is a total fraud. How do these scientists now suggest this self-replicating genetic pollution be put back into the black box from which it emerged?

It can't be done, of course. So now the entire future of the U.S. wheat supply is at risk thanks to Monsanto and the USDA. Nice one, folks. Score another victory for the scumbag destroyers in Washington D.C. and the greed-driven executives at our favorite corporation, Monsanto.

And remember: Genetically modified wheat is only the beginning. Monsanto has no doubt unleashed genetic pollution across many other crops as well. We're now living in an age where Monsanto is essentially ejaculating its patented seed across all the farms of America, then claiming to "own" the contaminated crops. What a wonderful image of corporate responsibility and service to humankind. I can't wait to see what other U.S. crops will be rejected by world nations due to Monsanto's genetic pollution.

Sources for this story include:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/30/us-wheat-asia-idUSL3N0EB1JC...

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040572_Japan_GE_wheat_genetic_pollution.html#ixzz2 V62CJZYP

[Serpo]

Farmer feeds GMO corn to his pigs: they all become sterile.

http://12160.info/video/farmer-feeds-gmo-corn-to-his-pigs-they-all-become-sterile

[Ponce]

And the water from the sky tax law did not pass but they are thinking of imposing it anyway.......big fight ahead, how about those who have water rights from over fifty years ago?......as a matter of fact I have two of them, one when the property was larger and another one whe it became only one property.

V

[Son-of-Liberty]

Any farmers contaminated by Monsantos wheat should have a pretty good lawsuit this time. Hard for them to claim intentional patent infringement when the wheat was never supposed to be released.

Any farmer that loses money (pretty much any farmer growing wheat in the US )due to this can and should sue the bastards. I hope they go bankrupt.

[Glass]

So who's lining up their wheat futures for the open today? Markets are closed here in Oz but I would of thought, Aussie wheat futures would be looking good about now.

[Glass]

Couldn't find one of the links in post #3 but found this instead.


UPDATE 1-S.Korea says finds no GMO in initial tests of U.S. wheat

* Initial tests of Oregon wheat are negative -S.Korea food ministry

* Final results on imports from around U.S. due on Weds

* S.Korea millers last week suspended U.S. wheat imports pending tests
SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - South Korea (http://www.reuters.com/places/south-korea) has not detected genetically modified wheat in initial tests of imports of the grain and flour from Oregon, after news last week that a rogue strain of the crop had been discovered in the U.S. state spooked buyers globally.
Korean millers on Friday suspended imports of U.S. wheat until the final results of government tests on shipments from around the United States, now expected on Wednesday.

The wheat found in a northeast Oregon field in late April was developed by biotech giant Monsanto Co more than a decade ago but never put into commercial production.
The discovery of the long-forgotten strain prompted Japan (http://www.reuters.com/places/japan) to shun wheat from the Pacific Northwest at its weekly tender on Thursday, while some Asian countries ramped up inspections and the European Union said it would step up testing.
"Although our preliminary test result shows no genetically modified wheat was found, we are aiming to test all samples of wheat and flour imported from the U.S.," said an official at Korea's Ministry of Food and Drugs.
South Korea - which last year sourced roughly half of its total wheat imports of 5 million tonnes from the U.S. - has also raised quarantine measures on U.S. feed wheat.

The U.S. has embraced genetically modified crops such as soybeans and cotton, however, genetically modified wheat has never been approved in the United States, or anywhere else in the world.

Link to story (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/03/wheat-korea-usa-idUSL3N0EF08O20130603)

[Cebu_4_2]

I read today that the wheat in question is referred to as dwarf wheat. http://www.shesugar.com/autoimmune-diseases/dwarf-wheat-another-arrow-back-americans/


According to Dr. Hyman (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/wheat-gluten_b_1274872.html?ref=email_share) in the Huffington Post:
“The history of wheat parallels the history of chronic disease and obesity across the world. Supermarkets today contain walls of wheat and corn disguised in literally hundreds of thousands of different food-like products, or FrankenFoods. Each American now consumes about 55 pounds of wheat flour every year. ”


Dr. Hyman points out that these changes have occurred to one of our primary food sources over the past 50 years. Wheat is now a different grain than it was for our ancestors- who were much healthier in many respects than today’s population. It is no surprise then to see the increase in diagnosis of wheat intolerance, wheat allergies and celiac disease. Nor is it a surprise to see increases in a plethora of autoimmune diseases, obesity and diabetes.


and


Dr. Hyman outlines these three important points about the dwarf wheat we currently consume:



It contains a Super Starch — amylopectin A that is super fattening.
It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.



I think I will again try to cut back on glutton and corn related products.

[Serpo]

This flour tastes a bit nutty and tastier than normal flour

Spelt and Spelt Flour By Shereen Jegtvig (http://nutrition.about.com/bio/Shereen-Jegtvig-13251.htm), About.com Guide
Updated May 31, 2013
About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board (http://www.about.com/health/review.htm)

See More About

whole grains (http://nutrition.about.com/lr/whole_grains/190970/1/)
wheat (http://nutrition.about.com/lr/wheat/190970/2/)
spelt (http://nutrition.about.com/lr/spelt/190970/3/)



An Old Grain:Spelt is similar to wheat in appearance, but it has a tougher husk, which may help protect the nutrients inside the grain. The official name of is Triticum aestivum var. spelta. It was originally grown in Iran around 5000 to 6000 B.C., but it has been grown in Europe for over 300 years, and in North America for just over 100 years. It's often used as a feed grain for animals; however, it has gained popularity as a dietary grain due to its nutty flavor, high protein and nutrition content.
Some people claim they can eat spelt even though they're sensitive to wheat. That may be true, but it actually has more protein than wheat, and the protein contains gluten (http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionglossary/g/Gluten.htm), so it's not suitable for a gluten-free (http://nutrition.about.com/od/foodfun/f/glutenfree.htm) diet. If you're sensitive to wheat or other grains, you should speak to your health care provider before eating spelt.

Using Spelt:Spelt flour can replace whole wheat flour or whole grain flour in recipes for breads and pastries. Spelt pasta is available in regular and white varieties; the white spelt is lighter in color and texture because it is milled more finely. Spelt flour is available in health food stores and many grocery stores, or you can buy spelt grain in bulk (http://nutrition.about.com/od/recipesmenus/p/bulkfoods.htm) and use a kitchen grain grinder (compare prices (http://erclk.about.com/?zi=8/3JB0)) to make your own flour. Spelt doesn't always have to be ground into flour. You can also cook the grains and add them to side dishes, salads and cereals.
Nutrition Information for Spelt One cup of cooked spelt has 246 calories, 11 grams protein, 1.6 grams fat, and 51 grams carbohydrates, and 7.6 grams fiber. Spelt is also a good source of calcium (http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutrition101/g/calcium.htm), magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron (http://nutrition.about.com/od/mineralglossary/g/iron.htm), and manganese. It has vitamin E and B-complex vitamins too (especially niacin).
Spelt Recipes
Once you've tried spelt bread (http://nutrition.about.com/od/grainsandcereals/r/Spelt-Bread-Recipe-For-A-Bread-Machine.htm) and spelt pasta, you might want to try spelt in a few more recipes. These spelt recipes from About.com Cooking Guides are delicious and healthy:

Spelt and Roasted Squash Salad (http://cookingequipment.about.com/od/sidedishrecipes/r/SpeltSalad.htm)
Apple Spelt Bread (http://scandinavianfood.about.com/od/breadrecipes/r/Apple-Spelt-Bread.htm)
Spelt Summer Salad (http://scandinavianfood.about.com/od/fruitdishespreserves/r/Spelt-Summer-Salad-How-To-Make-A-Great-Salad-With-Scandinavias-Favorite-Grain.htm)

http://nutrition.about.com/od/grainsandcereals/p/spelt.htm

[Son-of-Liberty]

I read today that the wheat in question is referred to as dwarf wheat. http://www.shesugar.com/autoimmune-diseases/dwarf-wheat-another-arrow-back-americans/



and



I think I will again try to cut back on glutton and corn related products.

Do or do not, there is no try.

[BrewTech]

Time to invent a new beer style...

"Hefespelten"

If the grain retains its husk better than wheat, it could much easier to use in the brewhouse. If the extract yield is similar to wheat, it could be a viable alternative for conscientious brewers.

Apparently spelt is used often in traditional saisons. I'll have to look into this - fuck if I'm going to knowingly use Monsatan's GMO cereals in my beer.

[mamboni]

Quote for the OP article:

The detection of this wheat variety does not pose a food safety concern. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed a voluntary consultation on the safety of food and feed derived from this GE glyphosate-resistant wheat variety in 2004. For the consultation, the developer provided information to FDA to support the safety of this wheat variety. FDA completed the voluntary consultation with no further questions concerning the safety of grain and forage derived from this wheat, meaning that this variety is as safe as non-GE wheat currently on the market


What horseshit! The FDA cheerfully rubberstamped whatever swill pseudoscience Monsanto passed as safety testing, probably with bribes and kickbacks galore. This is a disaster - genetic pollution of the wheat stock. It will takes years to eradicate this strain from the gene pool. Obviously, pglyphosphate pesticides must be banned to eliminate any selection pressure favoring GMO wheat. This will probably mean lower crop yields, higher wheat prices and more starvation worldwide. The Monsanto board whould probably be taken outside and shot.