Monsanto Settles Farmer Lawsuits over (Escaped) Experimental GMO Wheat

Organic Consumers ^ | 11/12/14 | Carey Gillam

[jonatron]

Monsanto Co said on Wednesday it reached a settlement with U.S. wheat farmers who sued the seed company over market disruption after unapproved genetically engineered wheat was discovered growing without oversight in Oregon.

Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" wheat, which was never approved by U.S. regulators and which the company said it stopped testing a decade ago, was found growing in an Oregon farmer's field in 2013. The company had said all the experimental grain was destroyed or stored away.

South Korea and Japan temporarily halted purchases of U.S. wheat after the announcement on fears the unapproved wheat, engineered to withstand Roundup herbicide, might have contaminated U.S. wheat supplies.

Monsanto did not admit liability, but agreed to pay $250,000 to wheat growers' associations, including $100,000 to the National Wheat Foundation, and $50,000 each to the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, the Oregon Wheat Growers' League and the Idaho Grain Producers' Association.

It will also pay $2.125 million into a settlement fund for farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho who sold soft white wheat between May 30, 2013, and Nov. 30, 2013.

Monsanto will reimburse plaintiffs' counsel for a portion of their out-of-pocket costs and fees associated with the litigation.

[PCPOET7]

slap on the wrist

[Alex Murphy]

Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" wheat, which was never approved by U.S. regulators and which the company said it stopped testing a decade ago, was found growing in an Oregon farmer's field in 2013. The company had said all the experimental grain was destroyed or stored away....Monsanto did not admit liability, but agreed to pay $250,000 to wheat growers' associations, including $100,000 to the National Wheat Foundation, and $50,000 each to the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, the Oregon Wheat Growers' League and the Idaho Grain Producers' Association. It will also pay $2.125 million into a settlement fund for farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho who sold soft white wheat between May 30, 2013, and Nov. 30, 2013.

Whut a coinkydink - I was just mentioning this on Friday:
Popular weed killer deemed “probable carcinogen” by UN (glyphosate, e.g. “Roundup”)
Unapproved genetically modified wheat from Monsanto found in Oregon field

[Dacula]

Worse than that... A slight tap on the hand a stern, go to your room.

[jonatron]

Thank you for those links. In this article, I put a link on the words "R0und Up" to the recent W.H.O. statements concerning the likely carcinogenic nature of glyph0sate. The approval of "R0und-up Ready" crops means all your food gets sprayed with R0und-up.

This is a topic that deserves attention from both the Left and Right wing - from everyone who farms and/or eats.

[Cold Heat]

I would not get too excited about a report from WHO.

[bgill]

More like a pat on the head and a tsk, tsk, we’re sorry but you have to make some sort of show so you’ll be charged pocket change which your accountant can flip over into a charitable contribution come tax time.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Parking meter fine!

[Slambat]

“This is a topic that deserves attention from both the Left and Right wing - from everyone who farms and/or eats.”

Mind me ask why? They spray current crops with fertilizer
and insecticides now. And what is it about GMO’s that is so
bad? Got a link that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that
all GMO’s are bad and tell me what the process actually is
that they use to “genetically modify” these crops.

[jonatron]

Glyphosate Classified Carcinogenic by International Cancer Agency, Group Calls on U.S. to End Herbicide's Use and Advance Alternatives"

[Mase]

Classified as carcinogenic? Sounds scary. Do you drink coffee? There are 600 or so chemical compounds in roasted coffee beans and about 200 of them haven't even been identified. Of those that are known, many are carcinogens. Like roasted meats? If so, you are consuming benzene every time you eat them. Do you think benzene is carcinogenic? Like your bacon crispy? If so, you create a nitroso compound that is (at least the last time I looked) the most powerful carcinogen known to man every time you cook it.

If you fear carcinogens, you should be very careful of what you eat. Potatoes contain solanine and arsenic. Lettuce, carrots and grapes have caffeic acid. Be sure and avoid nuts (aflatoxin), bread (acetaldehyde, acrylamide) and mushrooms (hydrazine). Orange juice has limonene which is an active ingredient in paint stripper.

Keeping up with the Organic Consumers website is not high on my list of priorities, but I wonder if they're aware that GMO wheat was FDA approved as safe for human consumption way back in 2004. I would also like to know if they find it unusual that GMO wheat hadn't been seen anywhere in the decade leading up to this find. This is especially curious since wheat pollen, unlike other pollens, can't travel more than a few feet. But I'm sure these sorts of things are of little concern to the anti-science advocates at the Organic Consumers Association where the good folks are busily focused on campaigning for health, justice, sustainability, peace, and democracy.

I always go to these kinds of people when I want legitimate science. You?

[jonatron]

You’re free to spray some round up on your bacon if you like.

[Mase]

That would be just as stupid as arguing that spraying roundup to kill weeds creates toxic food. To some, even the most basic chemistry makes their brain hurt.

I suppose that's why they use the Organic Consumers Industry as a source for information. Conservatives certainly benefit from joining hands with organizations dedicated to CAMPAIGNING FOR HEALTH, JUSTICE, SUSTAINABILITY, PEACE, AND DEMOCRACY. Who needs all that pesky science nonsense when you've got social justice, peace and sustainability to focus on?

Good thing we can rely on the hippies to feed us!

[Slambat]

“Glyphosate Classified Carcinogenic by International Cancer Agency, Group Calls on U.S. to End Herbicide’s Use and Advance Alternatives”

“However, IARC’s new classification of glyphosate as a Group 2A “probable” carcinogen finds that glyphosate is anything but safe. According to IARC, Group 2A means that the agency is probably carcinogenic to human based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.”

“probably carcinogenic to human”

“But the U.S. regulatory agencies have ignored questions about its hazards and its necessity in crop production.”

Ever heard of man made global warming. Yea it’s a hoax too.