Industrial Harvest

One of the questions I get asked about the most when I talk about this project is whether the wheat I’m about to buy (more on all of that very soon) will be GMO.  So far, I’ve been able to confidently say no – Monsanto was persuing GMO wheat a few years back, but stopped after widespread concern from farmers and others about the impacts of GMO crops.  Plus, the wheat gene is hexaploid, a more complex genetic structure than is found in corn or soy, which apparently makes developing a GMO wheat crop a little more complicated. 

So, I was a little startled and had a small moment of panic when my dad sent me this article this morning:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idAFN0410612420100504?rpc=44
Bottom line is that GMO wheat is still a few years out, but Monsanto re-started their GMO wheat efforts last year and several other ag / chemical companies (Dow, Syngenta, DuPont, Limagrain) are researching it as well; its release is seen as “inevitable.”