My summary: a farmer discovered rogue plants of wheat in his field that didnt die when sprayed with roundup. Subsequent testing by the USDA confirmed that it is a strain of wheat engineered by Monsanto and tested between 1998 and 2005. For some undisclosed reason, the testing ended and Monsanto never actually received a permit to produce the wheat. Nevertheless this wheat is growing wild, in Oregon, almost 10 years AFTER testing ended.
One of the arguments of proponents of genetic engineering is the claim that the genes can be contained. If this is true, it seems to totally invalidate that claim. This was controlled government testing, almost 10 years ago. No further release of the genes, and yet today it is growing wild in a farmers field.
There seems only 2 explanations:
1. Monsanto broke the law and kept producing and selling GMO wheat without government approval.
2. This is a verified by the government case of GMO wheat "escaping" government controlled testing and remaining in the wild for almost 10 years.
Either way... seems significant.
And then there is the attitude of our illustrious government officials at the USDA:
USDA officials confirmed they have received no other reports of discoveries of genetically modified wheat. Firko and Acting Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse said they have already been in touch with international trading partners to try and assuage any concerns.
"Hopefully our trading partners will be understanding that this is not a food or feed safety issue," Scuse said.
That last line... is quite disturbing.
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