How Monsanto GMO wheat came to Colorado storage
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The revelation that the seed for the genetically engineered wheat was kept in a Colorado storage facility as recently as a year and a half ago comes as the U.S. government is investigating how the strain of experimental wheat wound up growing in an Oregon field.
The probe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture includes an examination of the handling of the GMO wheat seed that Monsanto directed be sent to the government-controlled National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Color., beginning in late 2004, according to Peter Bretting from the center for the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
David Dierig, research leader at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation, also said the matter was "under active investigation."
The National Center uses high-tech methods to extend the viability of seeds for decades, much longer than their viability in conventional storage. The facility took in at least 43 physical containers of Monsanto's so-called "Roundup Ready" wheat in late 2004 and early 2005, the documents show.
The material represented more than 1,000 different unique varieties or lines, according to the documents that Monsanto provided in a heavily redacted format. The documents were made up of correspondence between Monsanto and the Colorado facility. ■