Washington farmers sue Monsanto over GMO wheat

Soft white wheat is a variety popular with growers in the Pacific Northwest, where nearly 90 percent of the crop is exported to Asian markets for noodles and crackers.

"We farmers cannot stand idly by while companies like Monsanto destroy our export markets and our economy," said Tom Stahl, a fourth-generation Washington wheat farmer from Waterville.

Genetically engineered, experimental wheat was found growing in an 80-acre field in Oregon last week. The wheat was the same strain as one designed by Monsanto to be resistant to herbicides. It was tested in Oregon and several other states through 2005 but was never approved by the government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said the Oregon wheat is safe to eat and there is no evidence that modified wheat entered the marketplace. No genetically engineered wheat has been approved for U.S. farming.

Since the announcement of the discovery of the genetically modified wheat in Oregon, Japan — one of the largest export markets for U.S. wheat growers — suspended some imports. South Korea said it would increase its inspections of U.S. wheat imports.

Monsanto representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, the company called the emergence of the genetically modified strain an isolated occurrence and said it likely was the result of an accident or deliberate mixing of seeds.

In addition to Stahl, the Waterville farmer, the lawsuits filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Spokane name the plaintiffs as Joe Ludeman of Waterville, Dreger Enterprises of Creston, Wahl Ranch of Lind, and the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit group with an office in Portland, Ore., that promotes organic and sustainable agriculture and safe food practices.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.