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	View Edit Domain: GreenBio Title: * Body: After Monsanto announced its plan to revisit gm wheat last year, having received the support of an international farmer's coalition, a worldwide movement opposing the yet-to-be developed grain product is growing.<br /> <br /> Ottawa, ON - The Canadian Biotechnology Network (CBAN) issued a press release Tuesday highlighting the growing movement against genetically modified wheat. So far, 233 farmer and consumer groups in 26 countries have said no to the wheat. Opposition to gm wheat is particularly strong in Japan. In the release, CBAN's Coordinator Lucy Sharratt said<br /> <br /> "Widespread farmer and consumer resistance defeated GM wheat in 2004 and this global rejection remains strong, as demonstrated by today’s statement." <br /> <br /> Monsanto spent under $5 million developing its gm round-up ready wheat, but scrapped the product in 2004 after consumers around the world voiced their opposition to the product. But last year, shortly after nine organizations representing wheat growers in Canada, the United States and Australia officially declared support for Monsanto's gm wheat, Monsanto purchased a biotech facility in Montana specifically for the purpose of developing gm wheat. The company spent $45 million purchasing WestBred.<br /> The farmers who support the development of gm wheat say they want drought tolerant strains of seed stock, that also provides a high yield - and does not need as much fertilizer, which is exactly what Monsanto says it is working on. They say this type of gm wheat is years away from being ready for the market.<br /> The wheat market is huge. The grain is consumed all around the world, in breads and cereals, and also in products most consumers aren't aware of, such as beer and other alcoholic spirits. With Chinese, Egyptian, Australian and German companies developing drought tolerant gm wheat products, Monsanto, the world's biggest biotech seed company wants a piece of the action.<br /> Seed companies would obviously benefit from the development of a new commercial product that is accepted by consumers. However, farmers are predicted to be benefactors of a gm wheat that is drought tolerant, because they will not experience the same level of crop losses as they would otherwise. The key is consumer acceptance of gm grains. What most consumers may not be aware of is that they likely already consume gm corn or soy beans, or animals fed gm corn, because in many countries, labelling of gm foods is not required.<br /> Gm wheat opponents point to the recent Canadian contamination of non-gm flax with a gm flax variety that is not grown in Canada, saying the backlash experienced with the flax will be worse for gm wheat. Flax is not the only seed contaminated with gm seeds. It has become increasingly difficult to segregate gm seeds from non-gm stock. In fact, last December, the German-based Bayer, which is working on developing a gm wheat, was ordered by a court to compensate two U.S. rice growers for contamination of their non-gm rice crops with gm rice being grown in test plots.<br /> For those who would like an opinion other than anti-gmo organizations, a recent analysis of the impact of a commercially grown gm wheat in the United States was released in late January. Dr. Neal Blue concluded that the United States would likely suffer a further erosion of its global market share in wheat products should a gm wheat product be produced. <br /> <br /> Copyright ©2010 digitaljournal.com<br /> Captcha: Please Enter Code : * Time Zone: * Select the time zone Vocabularies Newsletter: Domain: Show summary in full view Input format Filtered HTML Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. Full HTML Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. news_filter Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. More information about formatting options			Related Articles Groups reject GMO wheat Mexican Progress on Biotech Crops Don't ignore benefits of GM, says chief scientist Is Monsanto's BT Corn Losing Its Pop? Debate over GM wheat ignites once again Making Poisonous Plants and Seeds Safe and Palatable: Canola... Corn Gene Helps Fight Multiple Leaf Diseases Monsanto blocks research on GMO safety, harasses scientists GM varieties on agenda in wheat development deal Increased crop yield through better insight in molecular net... Top GreenBio Articles

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