\n left in the soil nor wheat pollen flow serve as reasonable
\n explanations behind this reported detection,\u201d<\/i> the biotech
\n giant said in a news release Friday<\/span>.\n<\/p>\n
\n The company claims that even if the wheat seed had been left in
\n the ground, it would not have survived longer than one or two
\n years in the soil. Monsanto also states that its seed varieties
\n could not have possibly traveled across the state, since 99
\n percent of wheat pollen is deposited within 10 meters of the
\n plant.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis report is unusual since our program was discontinued
\n nine years ago, and this is the only report after more than 500
\n million acres (200 million hectare) of wheat have been
\n grown<\/i>,\u201d the company said in its statement.\n<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Demonstrators](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/4e\/20\/00\/monsanto-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Since May 29, the US Department of Agriculture\u2019s Animal and Plant
\n Health Inspection Service has conducted a multi-state
\n investigation to determine how the GM wheat reached the Oregon
\n farm.\n<\/p>\n
\n A local farmer discovered it after dousing his field with
\n Monsanto\u2019s \u201cRoundup Ready\u201d pesticide and realizing that some of
\n the wheat plants were resistant to it. He alerted the USDA, which
\n soon determined that the herbicide-resistant wheat crop was the
\n same variety Monsanto tested nearly a decade ago.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n The USDA never approved the strain, and environmentalists have
\n expressed deep concern about potential health risks involving the
\n mysterious GM crop. The finding has already had a detrimental
\n impact on US trade: Japanese authorities last week announced that
\n they would suspend imports of US wheat.\n<\/p>\n
\n Shortly after the announcement, wheat for July delivery fell by
\n 8.25 cents to $6.945 per bushel on the Chicago Board Trade.\n<\/p>\n
\n ![\"David](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/1f\/4e\/20\/00\/monsanto-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n And Monsanto\u2019s asserted bewilderment serves as no comfort to
\n those concerned about the presence of unapproved GM crops in the
\n US, particularly foreign importers who fear that the GM variety
\n may have been present in their crop purchases.\n<\/p>\n
\n A USDA spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday<\/span> that there \n Genetically modified wheat has not been approved for commercial \n A team of 15 investigators is continuing its probe into the
\n are \u201cno indications that there is any GE wheat in
\n commerce<\/i>.\u201d But if investigators find any more of the
\n unapproved wheat variety growing on US farms, the agriculture
\n industry could take an even harder hit.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n growing, and Asian and European buyers have expressed little
\n interest in it, which in large part influenced Monsanto\u2019s
\n decision not to market the GM crop after testing it.\n<\/p>\n
\n mysterious crop\u2019s emergence \u2014 a phenomenon that Monsanto says it
\n cannot explain.\n<\/p>\n