World Grain - November 2022 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR
GM wheat still
faces uphill climb
T
iming is everything when launching
a product, and now appears to
be as good a time as any for the
makers of genetically modified wheat to
push for commercialization.
Grain markets have been destabilized
by a military conflict between two of the
world's biggest wheat producers and exporters,
an ongoing global pandemic, and
increased climate volatility. With less reliable
output in key wheat-producing countries
and demand for wheat-based products
steadily growing worldwide, it makes sense
to question whether conventional wheat
varieties alone will offer the yield potential
needed to meet future consumption targets.
At the forefront of the recent push to
commercialize GM wheat is Bioceres
Crop Solutions, a company based in Argentina
and the maker of HB4, a proprietary
drought-tolerant wheat variety that
already has been approved by Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Australia and New Zealand
for use in food and feed. However,
the only country in which HB4 wheat is
authorized for production and consumption
is Argentina, where five varieties
have been cleared for registration in the
current crop season. Bioceres is lobbying
Australia to approve planting of HB4
in 2023, and the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) recently concluded its
evaluation of HB4 and said it has no further
questions regarding the genetically
modified wheat's safety, which will serve
as a green light for Bioceres to seek planting
approval in the United States.
For nearly 30 years, most of the world's
corn and soybean crops, which primarily
are fed to livestock, have been genetically
modified. But GM wheat has been slower
to gain acceptance since it primarily is
consumed directly by humans in bread,
pasta and other processed products.
Although the preponderance of scientific
evidence points to GM crops being safe for
human consumption, there is still strong
resistance among a sizeable contingent of
global consumers, particularly in Western
6
Europe and Asia. These groups insist that
consuming GM grains may be harmful to
humans and are prepared to vigorously
protest the commercialization of HB4.
Wheat producers are understandably
intrigued by technology that boosts crop
production in drought conditions. The
case for GM wheat received a boost in
July when a team of scientists at the United
Kingdom's Rothamsted Research concluded
that global wheat production could
be doubled by the genetic improvement of
local wheat cultivars without increasing
global wheat acreage.
But even if that groundbreaking research
proves accurate, GM wheat still faces an
uphill climb. Farmers will still ask: Can I
sell it if I grow it? Offering an even more
tepid response is the global flour milling
community. Following the FDA's announcement
regarding HB4, the North
American Flour Millers Association said
that while GM varieties like HB4 have the
potential to boost global wheat supplies,
the association " supports consumers being
able to make food purchases based on their
personal preferences and supported legislation
requiring labeling of products that
contain bioengineered food ingredients. "
The European Flour Millers position
on the matter is even less nuanced. On its
website, EFM says: " The European flour
milling community will continue to supply
flour from conventional wheat. If genetically
modified wheats were to become available,
millers would have to be convinced of
their public acceptability and practical potential
for the consumers
before using them. "
Although the landscape
has improved
for GM wheat, gaining
widespread consumer
acceptance still appears
to be, at least for now, a hurdle that's probably
too high to clear.
Arvin Donley
Editor
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World Grain - November 2022

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