TAKE ACTION: USDA Approves GMO Wheat: Tell General Mills To Reject It
On August 27, 2024, President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said U.S. farmers could grow a GMO wheat variety that’s genetically engineered to soak up glufosinate, a pesticide that is 500 times more toxic than glyphosate and has been banned in the European Union since 2013. Glufosinate exposure is associated with low-birth-weight babies. The USDA didn’t conduct a scientific review or offer opportunity for public comments before announcing its decision. That’s because of the GMO deregulation that President Donald Trump pushed through in 2020. The glufosinate-tolerant wheat could become the first GMO wheat grown in the U.S. So far, its reach is limited to Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. In addition, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, and Indonesia allow GMO wheat to be imported for food and feed. If this crop is integrated into our food system it would dramatically increase the load of agro toxins in the diet of Americans. As a major buyer of wheat in the US, we are asking General Mills to lead the way and pledge to reject this newly approved Genetically Modified wheat. Who’s behind this disaster? It’s an Argentine company called Bioceres that’s traded on the New York Stock Exchange and counts Monsanto (Bayer) among its investors. Eaters around the world have revolted at the idea of glufosinate-soaked GMO wheat with successful campaigns including “Not In Our Wheat” and “Bread without Poison.”