Report raises alarm over GMO wheat as it inches closer to US fields

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A genetically modified wheat under development in the US would increase the use of an herbicide that is linked to soil, water and fetal harm, according to a new report. 

The report, from the environmental organization Friends of the Earth (FOE), comes six months after agricultural organizations announced they are partnering to develop what would be the first genetically modified (GMO) wheat, called HB4, commercially available in the US. Proponents of HB4 say it is drought-tolerant and will bolster food security and help farmers grow wheat in a changing climate. 

FOE said that HB4 — which was approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2024 — would prompt more use of the herbicide glufosinate, which scientific studies have linked to premature births, impaired fetal development, kidney problems and disruption of the gut microbiome. HB4 is engineered to withstand glufosinate, which can be sprayed directly on the wheat and will only kill weeds. The FOE report also warns that HB4 could hamper US exports since not all importing countries accept GMO wheat, and it would harm US farmers that are not using GMO wheat by contaminating their fields. 

“If some farmers choose to grow this GMO wheat it actually imperils all wheat farmers because those wheat supply chains would not be segregated,” said Kendra Klein, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “So there’s the problem of the commingling of the GMO wheat and the non-GMO wheat.” 

“Climate resilient” wheat 

Previous GMO wheat attempts in the US — including from Monsanto for Roundup-Ready wheat — have not received approval. The USDA 2024 decision, which relied on industry studies, deregulated HB4 as the agency found no increased plant pest risk from its use.

“From a plant pest risk perspective, this modified plant may be safely grown and bred in the United States,” the USDA stated in its decision. The agency did not respond to requests for comment on the FOE report or ongoing HB4 development. 

At the time of the USDA decision, industry leaders said commercialization was still three to five years away. The Argentinian agricultural company Bioceres Crop Solutions and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation last September announced a partnership to develop HB4 as a “climate-resilient” wheat for use in the US. The press release said the two organizations would start breeding programs and, alongside industry partners, “develop, register, and commercialize new broad-spectrum herbicide formulations tailored for HB4 wheat.” It also said HB4 would be available to any public or private US wheat breeding programs through an open licensing model. 

“This is an important milestone for the wheat industry and sets the stage for long-term innovation in this important crop,” said Brad Erker, executive director at the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, in a statement. The Foundation did not return requests for comment on the FOE report or the status of HB4 development. 

Health concerns 

Glufosinate use is already on the rise in the US, where it is already used on GMO corn, soybeans, cotton and canola. Several major agricultural companies including Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Corteva manufacture formulations of the herbicide. 

HB4 would allow farmers to spray glufosinate directly onto the wheat since it would be tolerant of the herbicide, leading to much broader exposure since wheat forms a large part of many Americans’ diets. The US Environmental Protection Agency said it found “no human health risks of concern” in its 2024 registration of glufosinate. However, an agency assessment in 2022 said a primary effect of exposure is “inhibition of glutamine synthetase in the brain, which may be of significant concern for possible neurotoxicity.” The herbicide was banned in the European Union in 2018 over evidence that it had reproductive impacts on people exposed.

“In this moment when people are increasingly paying attention to pesticides and their impacts on our health, and their impact on the environment, it’s really concerning that an herbicide-tolerant wheat is being proposed,” said Klein, pointing to recent news and lawsuits about glyphosate — an herbicide widely used on GMO crops that has been linked to cancer.

HB4 is “replicating the deeply flawed and failed model of herbicide-tolerant corn and soybeans,” she added. 

In addition to human health concerns, glufosinate has been linked to disrupted soil microbial communities and pollinator harm.  

GMO contamination risk 

The US is the fourth-largest wheat producer in the world, with exports bringing in $6.3 billion in 2025. FOE warns that HB4 threatens this key market, as several countries that import US wheat, including Japan, Mexico and the Philippines, have not approved the sale of GMO wheat. Previous attempts to commercialize GMO wheat in the US have largely been rejected over similar trade disruption concerns. 

There’s also the risk that non-GMO wheat would be contaminated with HB4, leading to economic loss. For example, in 2013 Monsanto GMO wheat was found in Oregon and Montana, which led to Japan and South Korea suspending US imports and several other countries ramping up their testing of US wheat imports. Monsanto did not admit liability but later reached a settlement, paying $250,000 to several wheat growers’ associations and $2.1 million into a settlement fund for Washington, Oregon and Idaho wheat farmers.

“Almost half of wheat in the US is exported and so those export markets are really critical for farmers and this is not a theoretical concern,” Klein said. “There’s been commingling of GMO crops with non-GMO crops and export markets have temporarily shut down costing farmers millions of dollars.” 

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