| Rogue GMO Wheat... and the USDA Doesn't Know Where It Came From
Tell the USDA to Stop GMO Field Trials! Dear Indiana,
A few weeks ago, the USDA quietly announced that unapproved GMO wheat had been found growing at a Montana State University research center.
The very same day, they released a report on a similar incident from last year — GMO wheat was discovered by a farmer in Oregon, even though it was never approved. Their report said that they don't know where this GMO wheat came from. Tell the USDA if they can't keep track of these GMO crops, they shouldn't allow them to be planted!
GMO crops that have not yet been approved for sale are being grown all over the country in "field trials." But since these crops don't stay put — because their pollen gets picked up in the wind and is blown to a neighboring field or because a heavy rain washes away the crops — these unapproved crops show up again and again where they don't belong.
The USDA is responsible for keeping track of these experimental crops. But not only is the USDA unable to keep track, they are also lax with companies that are breaking the rules. Since 2010, the USDA has only issued two penalties, despite sending out nearly 200 notices to companies not following the rules for field trials. The USDA can't control these GMO crops and can't ensure that they won't end up in our food system, so they shouldn't allow field trials at all.
The consequences of these rogue GMO crops popping up outside of test sites aren't all known: these crops haven't been approved for commercial production because the USDA doesn't know what impacts they might have on human health or the environment. We do know that these GMO crops are causing real problems for farmers who aren't even involved in the field trials. The discovery of GMO wheat in Oregon caused farmers to lose their export markets. Farmers and consumers should not be at risk because of these runaway GMO crops.
Since the USDA can't control whether these GMO crops end up outside the trial areas, and they aren't enforcing the rules that are meant to keep our food safe, the USDA must put a stop to field trials of GMO crops before more incidents like this occur.
Thanks for taking action,
Caitlin Seeley George
Online Organizer
Food & Water Watch
act(at)fwwatch(dot)org  | 
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