EIN News: Japan Blocks U.S. Wheat After Monsanto GMO Found; EU Weighs Action

WASHINGTON, May 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Just days ago protesters took to the streets in 52 countries and 436 cities around the world to denounce food and chemical giant Monsanto and its role in the genetic modification of food. Now, in an ironic twist of timing, Monsanto's experiment with GMO wheat is threatening billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural exports.

Japan, which imports more U.S. wheat than nearly any other nation, has canceled orders for white wheat from the U.S. Pacific northwest over fears that such wheat could be GMO contaminated.

The action came a day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported finding GMO wheat on a farm in Oregon. Monsanto had field-tested such wheat in 16 states, including Oregon, from 1998 through 2005 but dropped the project over concerns that it would endanger wheat exports.

The U.S. exported more than $8 billion in wheat in 2012, about half the total U.S. crop. Nearly all of Oregon's wheat is exported. The European Union said it would test incoming American shipments and block any containing genetically modified wheat.

EIN News, a leading media monitoring company, provides in-depth news about agriculture and GMO developments via many news sections, including:

Agriculture Industry Today-- http://agriculture.einnews.com/ 
Biotechnology News Today-- http://biotech.einnews.com/news/biotech-gmo  
Grain Industry News Today-- http://grainindustry.einnews.com/

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SOURCE EIN News