Some bits of good news, part one

From the Washington Post for May 11:

The Monsanto Co. yesterday scrapped plans to commercialize genetically engineered wheat, the biggest defeat yet for advocates of agricultural biotechnology - and a victory for skeptics who said the company was trying to foist on the world a crop it did not want or need.

Monsanto said it would indefinitely delay plans to commercialize Roundup Ready wheat, a product that three years ago seemed headed for quick approval in the United States and Canada. The company said it would cut most of the $5 million it spends annually to develop the crop.

The victory was the result of the work of an alliance of farmers concerned about the marketability of the crop and environmentalists opposed to genetic engineering. Monsanto (of course) denied that had anything to do with the decision, saying it was just a matter of "better opportunities elsewhere."

Right. And if you believe that, I have some genetically engineered bridges to sell you.

As the article notes, some GM (genetically-modified) crops have had market success, but they are not primarily food crops. And there is reason to hesitate about GM plants in general since so much remains unknown. Indeed, even the process remains much a hit-or-miss affair, with genetic modifications introduced in many cases almost randomly and then tests run to see what the results are. And the possible effects in the wild, where genetic material can at least in theory be spread far and wide, are little known and no better understood.

But I think what most galled me about Monsanto's GM wheat is that it was known as "Roundup-ready." That is, it wasn't designed to enable the plant to resist insects or blight or any such thing, but to withstand heavy applications of the powerful pesticide glyphosate, known commercially as Roundup.

No prizes for guessing who makes Roundup.