Argentina Becomes First Country to Approve GMO Wheat

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This article originally appeared in Presence Marketing’s November 2020 Newsletter

By Steven Hoffman

Among the first countries in the world to use genetically modified (GMO) crops, including soybeans, corn and cotton, on a large scale in agriculture, Argentina on October 9, 2020, announced it has now become the first nation to approve the use of GMO wheat. The move prompted criticism from Argentina’s agriculture export industry, reported Reuters.

The country approved HB4, a wheat variety genetically engineered to be drought resistant and developed by agricultural biotechnology company Bioceres SA, based in Argentina. 

To date, no other country has approved the importation or production of GMO wheat, due to consumer concerns, as wheat is grown primarily for human consumption. According to Reuters, Bioceres said it will only begin marketing the GMO wheat once it is approved for import by Brazil. Brazil is currently the largest importer of wheat produced in Argentina.

“I will not plant HB4 wheat, and I would not recommend that anyone else does, until it has been approved by importing countries. It seems risky in the sense that we could end up with crops that no one wants to buy,” Francisco Santillan, who manages a number of farms in Argentina, told Reuters.

Dave Green, EVP of the Wheat Quality Council, a U.S. trade group, told Reuters, “I don’t hear anything about GMO wheat efforts here. None of our export customers want any.” 

Argentina is one of the world’s largest producers of GMO soy and it is among the nation’s leading exports. However, the BBC reported in 2014 that massive synthetic pesticide use in the country as a result of the explosion of GMO agriculture may be linked to skyrocketing rates of cancer and birth defects in the country.