KANSAS CITY,
Mo. (Reuters) - A loaf of bread could soon become controversial.
From university
laboratories to U.S. government-run greenhouses, research is moving
forward to bring the first genetically modified (GMO) wheat to
market as early as 2003.
The goals
are noble -- to make wheat production more efficient and robust
for farmers and to make wheat better for bakers and more nutritious
for consumers.
But success
may also open a new front in the global debate over the safety
of genetically modified foods as biotech wheat makes its way into
staples like bread, crackers and pasta.
``There is
this fear of unleashing genes into the food supply and into the
environment,'' said Jim Peterson, a wheat breeder at Oregon State
University, which recently signed a deal with Monsanto Co. to
develop a gene-altered wheat. ``Until we can have a gene that
has true consumer benefits, we are going to have some trouble
with acceptance.''
Wheat is the
second-largest food grain grown in the world -- corn is the first
-- and is the top grain traded internationally, making it subject
to intense global scrutiny.
That fact,
combined with a swarm of protests in the United States, Europe
and Asia over fears that GMO crops might harm human health and
the environment, have many in the wheat industry more than a little
nervous.
GMO advocates
say the technology is safe, but so far, the market is unconvinced.
``'If you
grow GMO wheat, we will not want to buy it.' That's what we're
hearing from our customers,'' U.S. Wheat Associates spokeswoman
Dawn Forsythe said. ``They're saying 'we see where it is helpful
for your farmers, but what does it do for us, and why should we
buy it?'''
Forsythe said
that the top importers of U.S. wheat, including Egypt and Japan,
have already said they want nothing to do with GMO wheat.
Science Faces
Fierce Protests
Despite the
concerns, Oregon State and three other U.S. universities have
recently agreed with Monsanto, the leading player in advancing
genetically modified grain varieties, to develop and bring to
market a ``Roundup Ready'' spring wheat as early as 2003.
The deals
with Oregon State, Washington State University, South Dakota State
University and the University of Minnesota would bring little
direct benefit to consumers, who know spring wheat mainly as the
chief ingredient in bagels and rolls.
But farmers
could theoretically save on production costs with the herbicide-tolerant
strain.
Monsanto is
also in discussions with other universities for research into
different wheat classes, such as hard red winter wheat, another
bread staple.
Monsanto,
which has been the subject of many anti-GMO protests, became a
unit of U.S.-Swedish drug firm Pharmacia Corp (NYSE:PHA - news)
in March. Company officials declined to discuss the issue other
than to confirm that the company was currently in the research
phase of developing Roundup Ready wheat.
The work in
GMO wheat comes amid a global firestorm of controversy that is
complicating efforts to promote modified corn, a quarter of the
U.S. crop, and soybeans, which make up more than half of the soybeans
that American farmers produce.
Protesters
have vandalized and burned biotech university laboratories in
the United States, started a riot at an international biotechnology
industry meeting in Italy, and ambushed a U.S. cargo ship in Wales
carrying genetically modified soybeans.
In addition
to fears of damage to health and environment, some GMO opponents
also say companies pushing the technology want to control the
food supply.
Wheat Farmers
Worry
Similar opposition
could be lying in wait for wheat, a crop that amounted to $3.7
billion in U.S. exports last year and is one of the United States'
top agricultural export products.
And all of
the controversy has wheat farmers in a bind. GMO wheat could help
boost their bottom line, or it could leave them with bins full
of unmarketable grain.
``Wheat farmers
would like to embrace the technology but they also are concerned
about their export markets, which account for 50 percent of total
U.S. wheat production,'' said Darrell Hanavan, head of a biotech
committee of the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S.
Wheat Associates.
``Farmers
are asking 'Is it going to be accepted?' We don't know the answer
to that,'' Hanavan said.
Many in the
wheat industry are working on strategies for segregation so U.S.
wheat customers won't have to worry about GM0 wheat mixed in with
non-GM0 wheat. But no clear plan has been defined yet.
Meanwhile,
a growing sentiment says the solution to market acceptance is
likely to be found in products that directly benefit consumers,
rather than farmers or large corporations.
As far as
wheat goes, that day is a long way off, according to Ann Blechl,
a geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S.
Agriculture Department.
Blechl is
now working on GMO traits to give consumers wheat with improved
protein for bread and pasta, eliminating the nutritional need
for meat and bean proteins, as well as wheat with better baking
characteristics.
``In the present
political climate I don't know how close we'll ever get to bringing
these things to market,'' she said.
University
of Minnesota wheat breeder Jim Anderson, one of those working
on the new GMO spring wheat, is also less than optimistic: ``I
don't know that anybody wants to be first with this, and have
to test the waters.''
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