Non GM soy falling short in Japan

U.S. shift to GM crops hits home / Trading houses struggle to buy soybeans that don't alarm consumers

Sachio Nikaido, Toshio Kawamura and Hiroshi Ikematsu / Yomiuri Shimbun
Daily Yomiuri Online July 5th 2008



Daily Yomiuri reports that In Maumee Plain in Ohio, in the Corn Belt of the U.S. Midwest, Jeff Goetz pointed to a vast field of soybeans stretching out before him.

"Until last year, non-genetically modified soybeans were grown here," said Goetz, marketing director of The Andersons Inc., an Ohio-based company that collects and sells grain. "But since the beginning of this year, genetically modified soybeans have replaced ordinary soybeans."

This change in crops grown in the fields of the United States--the largest exporter of soybeans to Japan--could have repercussions on Japanese dining tables.

According to Daily Yomiuri, Japanese food makers are struggling to secure enough ordinary soybeans as food prices soar and U.S. farmers increasingly turn to GM soybeans. The surging prices enable farmers to rake in profits even with GM soybeans, which used to be less profitable than non-GM soybeans.