Wheat Exports Suspended, Tested Thanks To GMO Wheat

Yikes, the unapproved GMO wheat scandal has already produced some casualties; AP reports that Japan has suspended imports of U.S. wheat after the discovery of the wheat in Oregon.

Japan reportedly imports some 90 percent of its wheat, about 5 million metric tons. Of that crop, 3 million tons are from the United States every year, an official told AP, making Japan one of the largest export markets for the U.S. wheat industry.

On Thursday, Japan cancelled orders of white wheat from the Pacific Northwest, as well as some feed wheat, as it awaits more information from the Agriculture Department. The country bans the import of all genetically modified foods, so as of now 25,000 tons of wheat have been suspended. "We will refrain from buying western white and feed wheat effective today," Toru Hisadome, an official told the Daily Mail.

In the meantime, the European Union has asked Monsanto for ways to test incoming shipments, planning to block any genetically modified wheat from entering their food supply, the Daily Mail reports.