Dive Summary:
- During a Wednesday conference call, Monsanto Co. representatives said the strain of unapproved, genetically modified wheat found last month on an Oregon farm was an isolated occurrence.
- The company says it is waiting on samples from the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Oregon farmer to test for the exact variety of wheat that carried the gene, and it is considering reasons including accidental or deliberate mixing of seeds and sabotage for the strain's emergence.
- The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has 15 investigators working on the investigation, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the primary interest right now is alleviating overseas markets' concerns and that he would not address the sabotage speculations.
From the article:
... Representatives for Monsanto Co. said during a conference call that the emergence of the genetically modified strain was an isolated occurrence. It has tested the original wheat stock and found it clean, the company said.
Sabotage is a possibility, said Robb Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer.
"We're considering all options and that's certainly one of the options," Fraley said. ...