Posted January 13, 2014
Monsanto recently
announced that it was making progress on the development of herbicide-tolerant
wheat, advancing the possibility of biotech wheat being on the market,
according to a Reuters article available here.
Monsanto, a leading
developer of biotech corn, soybeans, and other crops, has been working on
developing wheat which is genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate, “the key
ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.”
“The grain industry and
the wheat industry…have remained very interested and supportive of biotech
advances,” said Monsanto Chief Technology Officer Robb Fraley. “A wheat farmer is also generally a corn and
soybean farmer and they understand the benefits of technology.” Fraley also said the company is “several
years away” from a biotech wheat product launch.”
The subject of biotech wheat has been controversial,
with recent lawsuits brought against Monsanto over genetically modified wheat
found in an Oregon farmer’s field. Lawsuits
were filed beginning in June after an Oregon farmer found glyphosate-tolerant
(“Roundup Ready”) wheat growing in his field.
Fifteen years ago, Monsanto conducted field tests for Roundup Ready
wheat, but it abandoned the project after it found that trading countries would
not accept the wheat. It remains unknown
how the wheat variety got into the Oregon field.
The lawsuits were recently consolidated by the U.S.
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and have been sent to U.S. District
Judge Kathryn Vratil in Kansas City. For
more information on the lawsuits, a recent post from this blog is available here.
Monsanto shares were up over 2%, nearly triple usual
trading volume last week, according to an article by Investors available here. Grainews also reported on the story here.
The National Agricultural Law Center offers a variety
of resources on biotechnology in its reading room on the subject available here. Resources include: major statutes,
regulations, a link to the Center’s biotechnology case law index,
administrative law decisions, Center publications, and Congressional Research
Service Reports.
