Monsanto suspends plans to release GM Wheat.

A win for opponents of GM foods.
Monsanto had spent six years and millions of dollars in developing Round-Up resistant wheat.
They have decided not to release it due to protests around the world opposed to Monsanto's tinkering with a key food crop as well as some growers expressing concern about it.

Yahoo

Even wheat industry leaders, who said biotechnology could lead to improved profitability for struggling wheat growers, warned Roundup Ready wheat could devastate exports of all U.S. and Canadian wheat.

Foreign buyers, including top U.S. spring wheat buyer Japan, have said they are unwilling to risk alienating their own customers by accepting biotech wheat supplies. Some said they would not buy any U.S. wheat at all if biotech wheat was approved because it might get mixed with the conventional wheat supplies.

Monsanto has said they will now focus on biotech cotton, soybean oil and other projects.

Good news.
I don't mind GM non-food crops but I don't like the idea of modified food crops.

[Edited on 11-5-2004 by AceOfBase]

GM wheat was a stupid idea in the first place. Wheat is a domesticated grass. If you save some of this year's produce, you can use it for seed next year. And for years afterward. American corn (maize) is different: The seed variety produces large kernels, but not stable descendants.
What this means is that a corn farmer must buy new seed corn (from a dealer) every year, but can plant his own wheat year after year. Any fool knows that what is free (even if poor quality) will be more profitable than monsanto's "uber-wheat" which you have to purchase from a licensed dealer. Every Year. At interest.
Yay for the farmer. Oz's scarecrow finally gets his brain! . . .

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

What this means is that a corn farmer must buy new seed corn (from a dealer) every year, but can plant his own wheat year after year. Any fool knows that what is free (even if poor quality) will be more profitable than monsanto's "uber-wheat" which you have to purchase from a licensed dealer. Every Year. At interest.

All about the almighty buck!

It's a good choice to stay away from GM wheat and other staple crops. Here's an article regarding GM corn and the possible effects it could have on Mexicos crops: (unfortunately the link isn't working anymore, damn yahoo)

OAXACA, Mexico - If left unchecked, modified genes spread by imported U.S. biotech corn threaten to displace or contaminate native ancestor varieties in Mexico, the birthplace of corn, a NAFTA watchdog group reported Thursday.

The study by the trilateral Commission for Environmental Cooperation said gene transfers could damage Mexico's vast storehouse of native corn, whose wild ancestral genes might one day be needed to help commercial crops overcome diseases or adverse conditions.

The report, presented at a corn symposium in the colonial city of Oaxaca, is still in draft form and must be approved during a commission meeting in June.

It does not provide data on the prevalence of genetically modified corn in the Mexican countryside, but Amanda Galvez, head of the Mexican government's interagency group on biosafety and genetically modified organisms, said a federally sponsored study had confirmed instances of massive gene transfer.

Also, a step in the right direction, Vermont is requiring GM seeds to be labeled, which is good for those who don't want to buy GM seeds, but don't know otherwise without labelling.

And, I suppose, not surprisingly, the UN is promoting GM crops. If I recall correctly, a bit more than a month ago, an African nation denied aid in the form of seeds because they were Gm. I think it was a good move, because it can affect the native crops.

Genetically modified crops could form part of the answer to world hunger, according to a United Nations report.

With the world population set to rise by two billion over the next 30 years, such crops could help meet food needs.

Drought and insect-resistant crops could boost yields and incomes, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says.

But it warns that biotechnology is no panacea and must focus on the needs of developing countries.

Global attitudes

The report comes days after the decision by US agri-chemical company Monsanto to stop marketing modified wheat because of consumer opposition.

Commercial resistance to a strain of wheat called Roundup Ready has been so strong the company has decided to shelve its original plans.

But the UN report suggests that although many Europeans are opposed to the idea of GM food on their plates, many in the developing world are not.

It cites a survey in which the majority of those questioned in India, Colombia and Nigeria believed the benefits of biotechnology outweighed its risks.

MORE HERE

Here's an interesting read on Africa and GM seeds/food:

Article

And here is an article on Angola rejecting GM seeds:

Angola rejects aid