Many people may not know this, but wheat has not been approved as a genetically modified crop. The wheat we now eat (or don’t eat, for those of us on a gf diet) is a hybrid created variety – modified by plant breeders who cross breed compatible types of plants in an effort to create a plant with the best traits of both parents.
Through continual hybridization, wheat now contains more gluten and less protein than wheat once did. This is why so many of us have reactions when we eat anything with wheat, due to the high gluten levels it now contains.
GM Wheat In The US
Genetically Modified Wheat is wheat that has been genetically modified with the DNA of another plant or animal. From 1998 through 2005, Monsanto ran trials of GMO wheat in 16 states with more than 100 field tests. But according to GMO Compass, a database of every genetically modified plant, no genetically modified wheat was being grown anywhere in the world.
Screenshot of wheat in GMO Compass Database
Genetically Modified Wheat Found In Oregon
Recently, farm workers in Oregon were trying to kill some wheat plants that grew in between harvests. But when the farmers sprayed the wheat with a herbicide, the plants did not die. The wheat was sent to Oregon State University for testing. The tests confirmed that the wheat was genetically modified wheat.
There are three possibilities as to how the Roundup-resistant wheat plant could be found growing in a field in Oregon:
- Monsanto released their seed illegally onto the market
- Somehow the seed escaped during a field test years ago
- The GMO wheat developed from those original field tested plants crossing over to conventional ones via pollination (i.e. “biopollution”)
GMOs Contaminating Our Food Supply
Are GMOs contaminating our seed and food supply? This has been a consideration anti-GMO activists have voiced since GMOs were first introduced into the environment. Now that a GMO Pandora’s box has been opened, is it even realistic to doubt that biopollution is not a strong possibility?
And also, it’s important to note that US courts have ruled that even if a farmer’s plants are accidentally pollinated by Monsanto’s GM seed, the resulting seeds and plants are the property of Monsanto. (Monsanto actually allots $10 million each year for investigating and suing farmers who are not paying royalties.)
Are There Other GM Crops Out There?
The news of genetically modified wheat being found made me wonder, what other genetically modified crops are out there that we don’t know about? And is it possible that some of these genetically modified crops are contaminating foods we’re eating that are causing so many issues for those of us with food allergies, sensitivities and intolerances?
Additional Information on GMOs:
Robyn O’Brien – A Mom Crusading To Clean Up The Food Supply
What Are Genetically Modified Foods?
Should a GFCF Diet for Those with Autism Also Be Free of GMOs?
Follow A GMO and Gluten Free Diet for Quicker Recovery
