Monsanto undeterred as biotech wheat debate persists
Reuters, 05.27.03, 4:30 PM ET
By Carey Gillam KANSAS CITY, Mo.,
May 27 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co. (nyse: MON - news - people) said
Tuesday it will continue to seek regulatory approvals for the world's
first genetically modified wheat despite allegations that the controversial
product could devastate Canadian wheat exports. Monsanto believes
its bid to win deregulation of its Roundup Ready wheat in Canada
and the United States has "tremendous support," said Monsanto spokesman
Michael Doane.
The regulatory review process should answer questions and concerns
about the product's safety and efficacy, Doane said. "People want
to know it is safe. We're going to stay on course and continue to
look for those regulatory approvals," Doane said. Doane's comments
followed Tuesday's plea by the Canadian Wheat Board for Monsanto
to withdraw its application to test herbicide resistant wheat in
Canada. The CWB is one of Canada's largest exporters and is controlled
by western Canadian farmers. The CWB said the "Roundup Ready" wheat
would have a "devastating economic impact" on Canadian farmers because
foreign buyers opposed to genetically altered foods would shun Canadian
supplies.
The CWB's concerns echoed similar fears in the United States, most
recently underscored in March when a consortium of U.S. agricultural
and environmental groups filed a legal petition seeking a federal
moratorium on Monsanto's Roundup Ready wheat. But the regulatory
review is still under way. Some think Monsanto might have regulatory
approval in time to market its biotech wheat in 2004. But customer
acceptance remains a significant hurdle. That was underscored earlier
this month when the Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association (KOFMIA),
a major U.S. wheat customer, said it would boycott American supplies
if U.S. regulators approve biotech wheat varieties.
North American Millers' Association vice president Jim Bair said
Tuesday that concerns are so high about market disruption that Monsanto
should slow down the regulatory approval process to focus on customer
acceptance. "In this case the market acceptance is clearly lagging
behind regulatory approval. We think those two things need to happen
in tandem," said Bair. "Trying to force it onto the market .. is
merely a recipe for chaos." Other U.S. wheat industry leaders said
that Monsanto should continue to pursue regulatory approvals so
it could release the wheat variety in Canada and the United States
simultaneously, preventing either country from gaining an advantage
in the wheat export market. "Monsanto has assured us that they will
do this as a joint effort," said North Dakota Grain Growers executive
director Lance Hagan. "It would be economic suicide for them to
go back on that." U.S. Wheat Associates, which markets U.S. wheat
to foreign countries, also said customer acceptance remained an
obstacle to a successful launch of Monsanto's wheat. "U.S. Wheat
continues to strongly urge Monsanto and other technology providers
to ensure customer acceptance prior to commercialization," said
U.S. Wheat spokeswoman Dawn Forsythe. (Additional reporting by Randy
Fabi in Washington.)
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