North American Farmers Wary Over
Monsanto's GE Roundup Ready Wheat

Grand Forks Herald
January 10, 2002

SEED COMPANIES, GROWERS CAUTIOUS WITH GM WHEAT;
GENETICALLY-MODIFIED VARIETIES COULD HAVE MARKETING
IMPLICATIONS

Mikkel Pates, Herald Staff Writer

FARGO

A launch of genetically-modified spring wheat varieties is on the doorstep
and could cause huge marketing implications for U.S. producers, said experts
addressing the North Dakota Wheat Commission in Fargo this week.
The implications are bigger than we think, said Rick Browne, a senior vice
president for Harvest States Cooperative, a major grain marketer based in
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.

Many major foreign customers for U.S. wheat simply don't want to eat GM
wheat products and there is no evidence that reliable, affordable separation
is possible in the marketplace. Browne told the group Tuesday there is every
indication that Monsanto is farther than they are saying in developing
Roundup Ready wheat. After the speech, he declined to say how soon he thinks
varieties will be launched. Roundup Ready means a crop will not be harmed by
Roundup brand weed killer, developed by Monsanto. The technology was created
through genetic modification - GM - in a class of science generally referred
to as biotechnology.

FINANCIAL RISK

BROWNE SAID U.S. FARMERS OR OTHER EARLY ADOPTERS
OF THE TECHNOLOGY MIGHT GAIN SOME SHORT-TERM
COST ADVANTAGE IN PRODUCING GM WHEAT VARIETIES.
BUT IF THEY FIND THEIR WAY INTO SHIPMENTS TO COUNTRIES
THAT DON'T WANT THEM, IT COULD DESTROY MARKETS FOR
DECADES TO COME.

Mark Buckingham, a spokesman for Monsanto, said Wednesday the company
is expecting to sell Roundup Ready spring wheat varieties in the range of 2003
to 2005 crop years in the United States, but will wait until they're sure
the product will meet with a receptive market.

That's our focus, more than any particular timeline, he said in a telephone
interview.

The company created an industry advisory committee in 2001, and probably
won't launch the technology until the latter part of that (time) range.

WORLDWIDE CONTROVERSY

SIMILAR GM TRANSFERS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO
THE UNITED STATES IN CROPS SUCH AS SOYBEANS,
CORN, AND CANOLA. WHILE U.S. CONSUMERS SEEM
TO CONSIDER GM CROPS SAFE, CUSTOMERS IN PLACES
SUCH AS EUROPE AND JAPAN ARE HIGHLY AVERSE
TO IT.

At Wednesday's meeting, Bert D'Appolonia, a former North Dakota State
University cereal chemistry professor and a consultant to the commission,
said his recent conversations with Japanese Food Agency officials told him
that country still doesn't want GM foods. If GM-free wheat products aren't
available, consumers there would probably revert back to rice, he said.
Browne said that while the United States is the world's leading producer in
corn, the wheat industry is more vulnerable to rejection by foreign
customers.

First, there is more competition in wheat production. Second, about 50
percent of U.S. wheat must be exported, while only 20 percent of the corn
is.

If GM varieties are introduced in the United States and then get into
shipments to customers that don't want them, it will be extremely costly to
all of us, Browne said.

He said before such varieties are launched it is imperative to go to the
countries that don't want them and find out what the acceptable tolerances
are.

NO FDA APPROVAL

BUCKINGHAM SAID GM WHEAT HAS NOT YET ACHIEVED
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL APPROVALS. BUT
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION WILL REQUIRE MORE THAN
THAT, HE SAID.

Previously, with most products, commercial launch has equated with
regulatory approval, Buckingham said. In the case of wheat, we don't regard
regulatory approval in the U.S. and Canada as our signal for launch.
We're making sure systems are in place around grain handling and marketing
acceptance, Buckingham said, but acknowledged his company is still working
on defining acceptance.