GM Wheat: Potential Advantages

Monsanto’s Attempt at the Research and Marketing of GM Wheat

In the past five years alone, there have been gigantic advances in the way food is produced. On one end of the spectrum, there is a larger than ever demand for organically grown foods which has led many farmers away from the high-technology ways of the modern farmer. But, as with any trend, there are those who look at the downside of the issues of organic farming. The majority of farmers just cannot produce organic crops efficiently. Those who choose to avoid the trend of organic crop production are seeing more and more alternatives as the years go by. Many genetically modified crops have become viable in the market by trial and error and this process is still going on to this day when it comes to a genetically modified form of wheat.

In 2002, an agricultural company named Monsanto turned to the U.S. and Canadian governments for approval of their heavily controversial strain of genetically modified wheat (1). Their strain of GM wheat was developed to resist the herbicide Roundup, thus reducing costs to the producer and purportedly increasing crop yields. After many years of research on the strain, the project was scrapped due to fierce resistance in 2004. The uncertainties about the potential benefits proved to be too great to be overcome by Monsanto. Although genetically modified wheat stands to provide several benefits to farmers, there is a substantial amount of opposition to its production and implementation.

Advantages to Farmers in Producing GM Wheat

The production of wheat has been vital to the United States and Canada for decades. The market for North American wheat in Europe and Asia has been essential to the American agricultural economy. In recent years, however, the wheat industry has been suffering from a decline in its crop yield because of disease and loss of acreage (2). The obvious solution to this problem was the development of a genetically modified form to downsize these problems. From the farmer’s perspective, the news of Monsanto’s Roundup ready strain of wheat seemed promising.

The most obvious benefit of producing a Roundup ready strain of wheat was that the farmers would save a great amount of stress when using herbicides. They would be able to spray a whole wheat field without concerning themselves about damaging untargeted plants. This would, in turn, stand to save the farmer money by minimizing the number of defective plants. The adoption of Monsanto’s GM wheat would also save the farmer money by allowing them to buy only one variety of herbicide for their wheat fields (which would also bring double the business to the producers of Roundup, Monsanto). At the time, neither farmers nor Monsanto could conceive the massive resistance the strain would encounter.

Organizations and Groups Who Oppose Production of Roundup Ready Wheat

Many parties associated with agriculture have come out against the production of Roundup Ready wheat. In their opinions, the risks associated with the product vastly outweigh the benefits to the farmers. The opposition to this new crop was headed by many organizations and individuals who feel the same way about the subject.

One of the main opponents of the GM strain is the Organic Consumers Association. They stand for the production of crops without using commercial, inorganic chemicals to aid in the growth of the crop (3). This trend is becoming increasingly popular with consumers who are presently more aware than ever before about the products modern farmers use to grow their crops. Due to political and sociological changes in thought about the issue of chemical use in food production and agribusiness corporation monopolies, the movement by organic producers and consumers is growing in strength every day.

Another organization that opposes genetically modified wheat is the Western Organization of Resource Councils. They believe that GM wheat implementation will threaten the economy and environment of the Northern Great Plains (4). Since the beginning of Monsanto’s project, they, too, have been among the most outspoken groups against the issue. Agricultural organizations, however, are not the only groups who stand together against GM wheat.

Organizations of farmers, who were supposed to be the party to benefit from the new wheat strain, have also come out against Monsanto’s GM strain. This was probably the last group of people from whom Monsanto anticipated resistance. On June 5th, 2003, the National Farmers Union of Canada sent a report to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (5). The report was a culmination of their determinations of the negative effects on the federal approval of Roundup ready wheat. Their list included nine points of why Monsanto’s application should, in their eyes, be rejected. Now that you know a few of the groups who oppose the current GM strain, here are some of the reasons why.

The Opposition’s Standing Ground

There are many consequences that opponents saw in developing Roundup resistant wheat. Ronald Triani, who works for Kraft Foods North America, summed up the situation of uncertainty by stating, “many, many people are not quite sure what the benefits are, and this, to us, presents something of a problem” (6). In the previously mentioned report by the National Farmers Union of Canada, these negative consequences were outlined in nine key points:

1. Market Loss- 82% of Canada’s foreign customers will not buy any genetically modified crops.
2. Lower Prices for Farmers- Demand for Canadian wheat will go down, along with wheat prices.
3. Destruction of a Viable Organic Industry-The Roundup ready strain of GM wheat will infiltrate organic wheat crops and make them essentially impossible to grow.
4. Increased Agronomic Costs- To alleviate the issue of crop contamination, the farmers would have to buy more chemicals to kill the unwanted GM crops.
5. Links Between Formulations of Glyphosate and Increased Disease- Fusarium is one of the most costly disease affecting wheat crops. The growing of Roundup ready wheat would significantly increase the amount of the Roundup chemical glyphosate, which has links in promoting the growth of the Fusarium disease.
6. Segregation of GM Wheat is Not Possible- Unwanted crop contamination is inevitable due to natural and manmade processes.
7. Environmental Risks- Wheat that is contaminated with Roundup ready wheat will produce a hybrid of the two seeds that is rendered sterile. The only alternative at that point is to produce the genetically modified wheat.
8. Who Decides?- The consumer consumers do not have enough information about the GM wheat and the producers will be suffer side effects from other farmers who do use the strain if it is not specifically banned.
9. Control of Our Food- The use of GM wheat shifts the control of food production more and more into the hands of the government instead of the people who are supposed to have a say in a consumer based economy (5).

Although the report was made by Canadian Farmers, the same points hold true in regard to the United State’s GM wheat circumstances.

Although many American farmers can see the benefits of the Roundup ready wheat, they are also concerned about contamination and lack of a Market. As mentioned before, much of the United States wheat exports go to Europe and Asia. Some countries on these continents will simply not buy genetically modified wheat. The president of the Montana Farmers Union, Brooks Dailey, states, “We’re very concerned about introducing genetically engineered wheat before we have a market.” (7) So, for now, the Roundup ready wheat is not favored by American farmers either.

The Future of Genetically Modified Wheat

For a future strain of GM wheat to be accepted into any market, it will have to provide more benefits for the farmer and the consumer. One benefit that farmers would like to see is improved resistance to disease. Fusarium is a disease in wheat in which the infected ears will either fail to produce grains or the grains will be stunted (1). Fusarium is one of the biggest diseases in modern farming. A Swiss company named Syngenta is currently researching a strain of wheat which would have a resistance to the Fusarium disease (8). To benefit the consumers, in the future, there could also be increased health benefits. The same idea has already been developed in GM rice so maybe it can be used in other GM products.
As of right now, there is not much public acceptance of GM wheat. For this to change there is going to have to be a lot of research done to make the benefits more favorable and to almost completely reduce the risks of growing GM wheat. It might take a while to happen, but it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be more and more GM food crops produced every year and, someday, GM wheat will be right there with them.

References

(1) “Crops: Wheat.” GMO Compass. March 31st, 2006. http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/grocery_shopping/crops/22.genetically_modified_wheat.html. November 13th, 2006.

(2) Smith, Ron. (2006). “Biotech Wheat Poised to Benefit U.S. Farmers.” Southwest Farm Press, 33 (8), 15-15.

(3) “Stop Genetically Modified Wheat.” Organic Consumers Association. www.organicconsumers.org/wheat/ . November 12th, 2006.

(4) “Genetically Modified Wheat.” Western Organization of Resource Councils. http://www.worc.org/issues/art_issues/gmwheat.html . November 12th, 2006.

(5) “Genetically Modified Wheat.” National Farmers Union of Canada. June 5th, 2003. http://www.nfu.ca/briefs/GM_wheat_brief_PDF.bri.pdf. November 12th, 2006.

(6) Lambrecht, Bill. “Can New Wheat Be Separated From the Chaff of Uncertainty?” Krafted: Genetically Krafted Foods. December 20th, 2003. http://www.krafty.org/articles/can_new_wheat_be_separated.htm November 13, 2006

(7) Monoson, Ted. “Grower’s Opinion Mixed on Genetically Modified Wheat.” The Billings Gazette. January 1st, 2004.

(8) Fallding, Helen. “New Wheat Tested In Manitoba Genetically Modified Variety Could Help Solve $100-M Fungus Problem.” The Winnepeg Free Press. September 18th, 2004. http://www.whybiotech.com/html/CA_News_100104.HTMl. November 20th, 2006.

December 2006