Tell Food Companies to Reject GMO Wheat!

Post written by Friends of the Earth.

What if you found out the wheat in your bread, pasta, and cereal was genetically engineered and sprayed with a TOXIC herbicide? 

This could soon become our reality if we don’t act. A new kind of genetically engineered (GMO) wheat was just approved in the U.S., and we need to stop it before it enters our food system.

This new GMO wheat – called HB4 – is engineered to tolerate glufosinate, a highly toxic herbicide banned in the European Union because of its links to reproductive and developmental harm. It has been linked to miscarriage, stillbirth, and birth defects. If this wheat is grown, glufosinate could be sprayed directly on wheat crops, likely leading to higher residues in everyday foods like bread, pasta, and cereal. Pregnant people, children, farmworkers, and frontline communities would be most at risk. 

SIGN ON NOW: Tell companies to reject glufosinate-tolerant GMO wheat before it enters our food system and can’t be taken out!

Nearly half of U.S. wheat is exported, yet many of our major trading partners won’t accept GMO wheat. That means even small contamination incidents could shut down exports and threaten wheat farmers’ livelihoods – even farmers  who never plant it. This new GMO wheat could put our health, environment, and food security on the line. 

This isn’t progress. It’s a repeat of the same failed, pesticide-intensive farming that already threatens pollinators like bees, pollutes water, and traps farmers on a costly chemical treadmill. 

We still have a chance to stop this GMO wheat before it's commercially grown in the U.S. Tell companies that they should say NO to GMO wheat!

We don’t need GMO wheat. What we do need is organic farming and traditional plant breeding – approaches that protect people and the planet by transitioning us away from toxic chemicals. Together, we can protect our food, support farmers and farmworkers, and build a healthier, more just food system for all.