FARMERS PUSH FOR ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT INTRODUCTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2003

CONTACT:
Helen Waller, Montana wheat farmer: 406-485-3490
Tom Wiley, North Dakota wheat farmer: 701-489-3498
Dr. Robert Wisner, 515-294-7318, e-mail: wisner@iastate.edu
Brandy Hinkle, WORC: 406-252-9672


Billings– Groups representing wheat farmers from across the country are 
asking the federal Animal Plant Health Inspection Service to take a hard 
economic look at genetically modified wheat before the agency clears the 
way for its commercial introduction.

In a petition submitted to APHIS today, the Dakota Resource Council, 
Northern Plains Resource Council, Family Farm Coalition, Northern Plains 
Sustainable Agriculture, and the region-wide Western Organization of 
Resource Councils asked APHIS to prepare a full EIS focused on the economic 
impacts of its introduction, as opposed to the typical “environmental 
assessment.”

“I’m as interested in technological innovation as any farmer, but I also 
need to protect the value of my crop,” said Tom Wiley, a North Dakota wheat 
farmer, speaking on behalf of WORC. “We need an economic impact statement 
so that we can make sure we’re not stepping over dollars to get dimes. 
Simplified weed control isn’t worth losing our valuable export markets.”

Deregulation of Roundup Ready wheat by the federal Animal Plant Health 
Inspection Service is the only barrier to the commercial introduction of 
Monsanto’s genetically modified hard red spring wheat. The majority of U.S. 
hard red spring wheat is exported to countries whose buyers have said they 
will not buy genetically modified wheat.

Shipping and storage systems are not currently equipped to keep genetically 
modified grains separate from other varieties. Wheat farmers fear that the 
commercial introduction of genetically modified wheat could result in 
economic hardship for all American wheat farmers.

A report prepared by grain-outlook specialist Dr. Robert Wisner, University 
Professor of Economics at Iowa State University, backs up farmers’ fears. 
According to Wisner’s report, the price of hard spring wheat could drop by 
about one-third if a genetically modified variety is introduced 
commercially into Montana or North Dakota in the next two to six years.

“Every available indicator of foreign consumer demand points to a high risk 
of GM wheat rejection in export markets,” said Dr. Wisner.

Monsanto, a multinational biotechnology company, has publicly announced 
plans to introduce genetically modified wheat into Montana, North Dakota 
and other states by 2005, and has applied to USDA to deregulate its 
“Roundup Ready” wheat, which is genetically engineered to resist the 
herbicide Roundup. Once the genetically modified wheat is deregulated, 
Monsanto will be free to grow and sell the wheat throughout the United States.

The USDA petition and a copy of Dr. Wisner’s report are available at 
www.worc.org.