Monsanto hit with class action lawsuits in mystery GMO wheat case
Published time: June 12, 2013 22:49
American Farmers have launched two class action lawsuits against biotech giant Monsanto following the discovery of unapproved genetically modified wheat growing in the Pacific Northwest. According to farmers, the companys negligence has ruined sales.
Though the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has never approved either the growing or sale of GMO wheat in the US, the agency began investigating its existence when an Oregon farmer found wheat growing in his fields that was resistant to Monsantos patented Roundup pesticide, known by its scientific classification as glyphosate.
That farmer sent samples of the Roundup-resistant wheat to Oregon State University, which conducted tests on them. OSU then contacted the USDA, which subsequently confirmed that the wheat was a GMO variety that Monsanto had been authorized to field test in 16 US states, including Oregon, from 1998 to 2005.
Surprisingly, the GMO wheat discovered in Oregon had somehow been growing over a decade after test crops should have been destroyed in 2001.
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- I was wondering who was going to pay for those
cancelled wheat orders......