Monsanto To Pay $2.4 Million In Settlement To Farmers Over Genetically Modified Wheat

Monsanto, the global agricultural biotechnology company and the world's leading producer of genetically modified crops, will pay $2.4 million to settle a dispute with farmers in the Pacific Northwest over genetically modified wheat, according to The Associated Press.

U.S. wheat farmers reportedly filed a lawsuit against Monsanto after a genetically modified strain of the crop was discovered in Oregon in 2013, prompting Japanese and South Korean importers to temporarily suspend some orders, and European Union members to call for more rigorous testing.

In the United States, genetically modified wheat has not been approved, but an experimental strain of wheat was discovered last year, the full crop of which Monsanto had previously claimed to have destroyed.

Monsanto's settlement will direct $2.1 million to farmers in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who sold white wheat between May 30 and November 30 of 2013, and $250,000 to several wheat growers' associations.

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Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.