Pigs eat soybeans, gain weight and add muscle. That muscle eventually becomes pork, which humans eat as pork chops, pork tenderloin and sausage.

Why it matters: Genetic modification technology can increase the nutritional value of foods but consumer acceptance remains an issue.

A European company has found a more direct way of turning soybeans into pork.

Moolec Science, which has headquarters in Luxembourg and business operations in the United States and South America, has developed a genetically modified soybean that contains pork protein.

“The animal protein reached a high expression level up to 26.6 per cent of total soluble protein in soy seeds, four times higher than initially projected,” Moolec said in a news release.

A photo on Moolec’s website shows the difference between its soybeans and standard soybeans. The inside of the Moolec bean is pink, compared to the white or creamy colour of traditional soybeans.
Moolec has branded its novel soybeans as Piggy Sooy.

“(This) represents tangible and visual proof that Moolec’s technology has the capacity to achieve significant yields in plants to produce meat proteins. With this ground-breaking achievement, Moolec consolidates its position as a category creator,” said chief executive officer Gastón Paladini.

Company scientists inserted pork protein DNA into the genetic code of soy to create the Piggy Sooy beans.

“Each protein is selected to add value in terms of targeted functionality like taste, texture and nutritional values,” the company said. “We grow crops keeping original plant proteins including animal ones. We scale (production) by using traditional farming techniques.”

Moolec went public earlier this year. It is now trading on NASDAQ Capital Markets, a platform for early-stage companies.

Its researchers have been working on the technology for more than a decade, but adding pork protein to a soybean plant is highly novel and there could be technical barriers to commercialization.

For instance, it doesn’t mention how the pig protein DNA affects the agronomic performance of soybeans.

Regulatory issues could be a much larger obstacle.

Some crop science companies and most public crop breeders have abandoned genetically modified crops because of the cost and time required for approval.

It can take years to register a crop trait developed with GM technology. There’s also the massive cost of human health and environmental safety testing for GM crops, which can run into the tens of millions of dollars.

Because of regulatory challenges, crop scientists and innovators have shifted to other technologies that are easier to commercialize.

“The plant breeders are going to (use) the most efficient technology to develop the traits of interest that farmers or the food industry are demanding,” Stuart Smyth, agri-food innovation and sustainability enhancement chair at the University of Saskatchewan, said in 2020.

Moolec is not deterred by the regulatory reality of GM crops. It openly promotes the benefits of GM technology.

Its website includes the following line: “Do we develop GMOs? Yes.”

For now, Moolec is focusing on the North American market.

– This article was originally published at The Western Producer.

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Farmers have for decades planted GM corn, which protects against insects and herbicides, with seeds sold by companies such as Bayer, Corteva and ChemChina’s Syngenta.

But as believers in a free market, some say the U.S. should agree to sell Mexico non-GM corn, rather than deepen a trade dispute over the proposal, and note they could earn a premium for growing more conventional corn.

“I’m all for free and fair trade,” said Fred Huddlestun, who grows GM corn and soybeans at Yale, Illinois. “When they get to the point they’re pushing somebody to buy something they don’t want, then I have concerns about that.”

Mexico is the largest buyer of U.S. corn and the proposed restrictions threaten to disrupt some of the nearly $5 billion of corn the U.S. ships to Mexico annually, or 95 per cent of Mexico’s total corn imports (all figures US$).

Mexico said in February it would ban GM corn for consumption by people, backpedaling from previous plans that clouded the future of imports for livestock feed, the destination of the vast majority of its imported corn.

Supporters of the policy say GM corn can contaminate Mexico’s age-old native varieties and have questioned its impact on human health.

The Biden administration says restrictions would violate the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and last month requested trade consultations with Mexico in the first formal step toward a request for a dispute settlement panel under the pact. U.S. officials met with counterparts in Mexico last week.

Mexico’s proposed restriction on corn for human consumption is expected to affect white corn imports, used primarily for tortillas, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on March 30 that he expects the administration will “ultimately compel” Mexico to reverse its policy. The restrictions are not supported by science and fail to adhere to a rules-based trading relationship, he has said.

Industry groups including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), which represents biotech companies, and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) have lobbied U.S. officials to oppose Mexico’s proposals.

Mexico is drawing a “safety distinction” between corn used for food and animal feed without material scientific justification, the groups told Biden in a letter praising Washington’s step toward a settlement panel.

On Tuesday, BIO said the U.S. should launch the formal dispute process “without delay” if consultations do not produce a science-based outcome.

But some U.S. farmers say the U.S. should back off.

NCGA has appeared intent on “ramming potential unwanted grain down our trade partners (sic) throats,” Matt Swanson, a farmer who grows non-GM corn, wrote on Twitter.

Companies like Bayer have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing GM crops and defending the safety of GM foods. Four companies sell more than 75 per cent of corn and soybean seeds, according to data cited by USDA.

‘Worth my while’

U.S. farmers have long had a conflicted relationship with seed companies. Growers benefit from yield-improving and pest-killing agricultural technology, but some are unhappy with consolidation in the sector and the amount of sway the companies have over U.S. agriculture.

“It seems to me like the secretary and this administration are not standing up for all farmers,” said Greg Gunthorp, an Indiana pork and poultry farmer who feeds non-GM corn to livestock to produce premium meat products. “What they’re really standing up for is the big companies.”

Bayer said it works with BIO, NCGA and other groups to promote the need for a science-based regulatory system. NCGA said GM corn is safe and it will fight all illegal trade barriers for farmers.

Some sector experts have warned Mexico’s restrictions, if implemented, could prompt other countries to seek bans.

Though there is no hard data on U.S. farmers’ opinions, Reuters spoke to about 10 growers and grain traders who said the U.S. should not require Mexico to continue importing GM corn.

Other growers worry about the extra work required to grow non-GM crops, instead of GM grain, and the potential for a new government in Mexico to eventually change the policy again. But many would consider growing more non-GM corn, if the price were right.

“You need to make it worth my while,” said Illinois farmer Dave Kestel, who grows GM corn and sells seed for Corteva. “Twenty per cent premium would probably be the minimum.”

— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek; additional reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Cassandra Garrison in Manhattan, Illinois.

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Canada requested the talks on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg, a day after the U.S. requested formal trade consultations over its objections to Mexico’s plans to limit imports of GM corn and other agricultural biotechnology products.

“Canada will always work with the U.S. and Mexico to strengthen our trade relationship and grow a clean, green agriculture sector,” a spokesperson for Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement.

The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade (CUSMA) “has the ability to hold technical consultations to better understand how our policies are to be implemented under this agreement,” the spokesperson said, without explicitly confirming the report.

Mexico plans to regulate GM corn for human consumption, which U.S. officials say puts some US$5 billion of U.S. corn exports to Mexico at risk and could stifle biotechnology innovation.

Canada, however, is not a major corn exporter and Ottawa is concerned overall about Mexico putting arbitrary prohibitions on agriculture produced using biotechnology, Bloomberg reported.

It is also concerned about Mexico’s lack of respect for the CUSMA trade pact, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for Mexico’s economy ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

Mexico says GM seeds can contaminate the country’s age-old native varieties and has questioned their impact on human health. U.S. officials have criticized Mexico’s plans as not being science-based and warn that any restriction of genetically modified corn could morph into an all-out trade dispute under CUSMA.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Cassandra Garrison in Chicago.

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The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the request for technical talks after months of informal discussions with Mexican officials over their plans to ban GMO corn for human consumption failed to satisfy U.S. trade officials.

The consultations are the first formal step toward a U.S. request for a dispute settlement panel under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade (CUSMA) that could ultimately lead to retaliatory U.S. tariffs if no resolution is reached.

The dispute could further strain U.S.-Mexico relations. U.S. officials say it puts some $5 billion of U.S. corn exports to Mexico at risk and could stifle biotechnology innovation at a time of high food inflation as increasingly severe weather threatens crop production (all figures US$).

“Mexico’s policies threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade and they will stifle the innovation that is necessary to tackle the climate crisis and food security challenges if left unaddressed,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

“We hope these consultations will be productive as we continue to work with Mexico to address these issues.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said in a statement that it viewed the U.S. request as seeking a solution in a “co-operative way,” and would use the consultations to show that its policies have caused no trade harm.

The Mexican government has previously described Washington’s disagreement with its policies as politically motivated.

The U.S. has previously threatened to take the issue to a trade dispute panel under the trilateral agreement with Mexico and Canada over the plan, which would ban genetically modified corn for human consumption.

The U.S. and Mexico have also been in talks since July to resolve a separate dispute over Mexico’s state-driven energy policies, which USTR says discriminate against U.S. companies.

‘Not grounded in science’

Washington will do whatever is necessary to ensure U.S. farmers and exporters have “full and fair access” to the Mexican market, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

“We remain firm in our view that Mexico’s current biotechnology trajectory is not grounded in science, which is the foundation of (CUSMA).”

The consultations are requested under CUSMA’s chapter on food safety, which requires a science-based approach to national regulations.

USTR officials declined to speculate on potential retaliatory measures that could be taken under CUSMA enforcement rules if the dispute remains unresolved, saying they were focused on the consultations leading to a satisfactory outcome for both countries.

“The core resolution that we’re seeking really is transparent and predictable access to the Mexican market — to be able to continue to export the types of products that we have exported for decades, and that Mexico recognizes the safety of these product,” one of the USTR officials told reporters.

Mexico’s limits on genetically modified corn threatens “serious harm to U.S. farmers and Mexican livestock producers,” the official added.

USTR said the United States exported $28 billion in agricultural goods to Mexico in 2022, with about $43 billion in ag imports from Mexico.

Corn for food use comprises about 21 per cent of Mexican corn imports from the United States including both white and yellow corn, a representative from the National Corn Growers Association said, citing U.S. Grains Council data.

The corn growers’ lobby group called on the USTR to expedite the process under CUSMA.

“Mexico’s position on biotech corn is already creating uncertainty, so we need U.S officials to move swiftly and do everything it takes to eliminate this trade barrier in the very near future,” said NCGA president Tom Haag.

USTR’s move won praise from a number of U.S. lawmakers who have been clamoring for the Biden administration to take a harder stand on the issue.

“I’m grateful USTR has chosen to take a stand for American trade and begin the dispute process with Mexico over its ridiculous GMO corn ban,” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, himself an Iowa farmer, said in a statement.

— Reporting for Reuters by David Lawder and Rami Ayyub in Washington and Tom Polansek and Cassandra Garrison in Chicago; additional reporting by Adriana Barrera and Raul Cortes in Mexico City; writing by David Lawder.

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The move, approved in a government decree, eliminates January 2024 as the date for the country to forbid GM corn for animal feed and industrial use, a statement by the economy ministry said.

Amid a brewing dispute over the possible disruption of billions of dollars worth of corn trade, U.S. officials and farmers had called for clarity on the ban from Mexico. The latter buys about 17 million tonnes of mostly GM yellow corn from the U.S. annually, most of which is used for animal feed.

Mexico said it still plans to revoke and refrain from granting new authorizations for GM corn for human consumption, which the decree defined as flour, dough or tortilla made from the grain. The ban does not apply to GM corn used in the industrial manufacturing of products like cosmetics, textiles and paper, the decree said.

About 18-20 per cent of the corn Mexico imports from the U.S. is white corn, used in food products like tortillas, according to sector experts.

Under the decree, the new measures were to take effect Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the economy ministry did not immediately respond to a question about whether Mexico would begin revoking authorizations of GM corn for human consumption on Tuesday.

The decree also said Mexico will revoke authorizations and permits to import, produce, distribute and use the herbicide glyphosate, a plan it has had since late 2020. A transition period would be in effect until March 31, 2024.

Health authority COFEPRIS will be responsible for authorizations of GM corn to be used as animal feed or in industrial manufacturing processes, subject to supply availability. It will also conduct scientific studies with counterparts from other countries to investigate the health impacts of consuming GM corn, Mexico’s decree added.

Mexico and the U.S. have been at loggerheads over an original decree issued by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2020 that sought to phase out imports of GM corn and glyphosate by January 2024.

U.S. officials have threatened to take action under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) over the potential disruption of the corn trade.

The new U.S. agriculture trade chief last week told Reuters that he had given Mexico until Feb. 14 to respond to a request to explain the science behind Mexico’s planned bans.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday the U.S. is “disappointed” in Monday’s announcement from Mexico. “The U.S. believes in and adheres to a science-based, rules-based trading system and remains committed to preventing disruptions to bilateral agricultural trade and economic harm to U.S. and Mexican producers.”

The National Corn Growers Association, a U.S. industry group, also expressed concern over Monday’s decree.

“Singling out corn — our No. 1 ag export to Mexico — and hastening an import ban on numerous food-grade uses makes (CUSMA) a dead letter unless it’s enforced,” said the group’s president, Tom Haag.

— Reporting for Reuters by Cassandra Garrison and Adriana Barrera in Mexico City, Leah Douglas and David Lawder in Washington and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; writing by Valentine Hilaire.

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The world’s top soybean buyer is trying to lower its heavy reliance on imports of the oilseed as the pandemic, growing trade tensions and increasing climate disasters raise concerns about feeding its 1.4 billion people.

In its annual rural policy blueprint, known as the “No. 1 document,” the State Council, China’s cabinet, reiterated a recently stated goal to boost grain production capacity by 50 million tonnes, from current production of more than 650 million tonnes.

It will seek to raise corn yields, further support wheat farmers and “vigorously” promote rapeseed production, as well as lesser known oilseed crops such as camelina, state news agency Xinhua reported.

It will also speed up the commercialization of biotech corn and soybeans, according to the document.

No time frame was provided for the launch of GMO corn and soybeans, but many in the market expect a launch this year.

The document said China will fully implement a campaign to reduce soymeal rations in feed, another move to lower its reliance on soybean imports.

However, it acknowledged the role played by trade, and said it will “implement the diversification strategy of agricultural product imports thoroughly.”

The document also outlined plans to protect soil and conserve water, while strengthening controls on the use of arable land.

It also called for further development of indoor farms, with plans to explore building such facilities in the Gobi and other deserts.

— Dominique Patton is Reuters’ chief commodities correspondent in Beijing.

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After meeting with Mexican officials on Monday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said Mexico’s decree could violate the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade pact.

Lopez Obrador looked to assuage those concerns during a regular news conference on Tuesday, saying the ban was focused on genetically modified yellow corn for human consumption.

“Our position is not closed off,” he said.

Mexico is one of the biggest buyers of U.S. corn, with U.S. farmers sending about 17 million tonnes of corn to Mexico annually.

U.S. farmers have been particularly concerned about the threat of a ban on GMO yellow corn for livestock feed.

But Lopez Obrador indicated GMO corn for feed would continue to be allowed after the decree comes into force, although it remained unclear exactly how that will work or for how long that exception might last. That corn would be subject to an annual permit from Mexico’s health regulator COFEPRIS, he said.

“We offered to extend the term to two years, in the case of yellow corn used for (livestock feed),” Lopez Obrador said without expanding on when that extension would start and end.

Neither did Lopez Obrador specify whether Mexico still planned to reduce overall yellow corn imports by about half in 2024, which a top Mexican official told Reuters last month.

Mexico’s GMO corn ban has been plagued by confusion over how it will be implemented.

Supporters of the ban argue genetically modified corn could contaminate Mexico’s native varieties.

Mexico’s agriculture ministry declined to comment. A spokesperson for the president did not respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. has called for clarity and warned of severe economic fallout from a ban.

“Since biotech corn accounts for 90 per cent of American-grown corn, blocking any imports using this safe and environmentally friendly technology would not only be a major blow to the Mexican people and the economy, but it would be hard on American farmers and rural communities,” said Jon Doggett, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association, representing U.S. farmers.

Lopez Obrador added he wanted health authorities in both countries to assess the impact of GMO corn on human health.

Mexico and its northern neighbors are already in dispute resolution talks over Lopez Obrador’s energy policies, which the U.S. argues violate the trade pact.

Raul Urteaga, a former Mexican official and founder of consulting group Global Agrotrade Advisors, said the meeting with U.S. officials on Monday suggested a trade dispute with Washington over corn might be imminent.

“Why risk another potential trade dispute that looks like Mexico is going to lose?” Urteaga said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Dave Graham, Raul Cortes, Kylie Madry and Cassandra Garrison.

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While corn and soy crops used predominantly to feed livestock are commonly planted with GMO seeds, consumers have long opposed GMO wheat for human consumption.

Bioceres says sentiment is changing with food prices soaring due to the Ukraine war, as genetically modified crops can survive drought and pests, reducing the risk of famine.

The FDA did not respond to a request for comment. The drought-resistant HB4 wheat would still need to be cleared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The FDA oversees the safety of food from new GMO crops before they enter the market, while the USDA reviews the impact on agriculture and the environment.

The FDA’s voluntary consultation process relies on crop developers’ own data, consumer advocates said.

The process can give comfort to food companies that may one day use the wheat, though the FDA relies on the company’s position that it is safe, said Greg Jaffe, biotechnology project director for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“It’s better than nothing,” Jaffe said.

Bioceres said the voluntary consultation program is a “key step towards commercial establishment in the United States” and that it is awaiting USDA approval.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which regulates genetically engineered crops, said it does not have a petition from Bioceres.

The USDA could exempt a GMO crop from regulatory review in as little as 120 days if officials determine it does not pose an increased risk for plant pests, said Bill Freese, scientific director for the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group.

Otherwise, a review could take more than a year, he said.

Bioceres said it plans to seek planting approvals next year in Australia, which has approved the sale and use of foods that contain HB4 wheat. Brazil is testing the variety.

– Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario in London and Caroline Stauffer and Tom Polansek in Chicago

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The move comes after Beijing last month proposed an overhaul of regulatory seed rules to pave the way for approval of GMO crops and as top policy makers urged progress in biotech breeding, seen as key to ensuring food security.

The three new corn products include ND207 produced by China National Tree Seed Corp and China Agricultural University, Zheda Ruifeng 8 made by Hangzhou Ruifeng Biotech Co and DBN3601T from Beijing Dabeinong Biotechnology Co, according to the notice posted on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The plan to approve the new corn varieties, along with seven new GMO cotton products, will be open for public comment until Jan. 17, the ministry said.

The DBN3601T corn is an upgraded variety from DBN9501 and DBN9936, two corn traits owned by Dabeinong Biotech, parent company Dabeinong Technology Group Co said in a statement.

Dabeinong will work with partners to get ready for the commercialization of the product, and prepare inventories of the variety, Dabeinong Technology said.

The new variety, combining traits from both DBN9501 and DBN9936, will have stronger resistance to a wider range of insects, especially the fall armyworm, according to a statement released on the company’s website.

Safety approval is seen as a major step towards commercialization of GMO crops, but it is still unclear when the new products will be ready for a market launch.

Beijing has so far not permitted the planting of GMO soybean or corn varieties, but it allows their import for use in animal feed.

Both Hangzhou Ruifeng, in which Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co Ltd owns 41.8 percent, and Beijing Dabeinong already own GMO corn traits approved as safe by the government.

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The ministry of agriculture and rural affairs published a draft document late on Friday proposing a series of amendments to several different regulations that cover GM crops.

The changes implement decisions by the Communist party’s powerful Central Committee and the cabinet on safe management of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, and development of a modern seed industry, according to the statement.

China’s leadership last year called for an urgent “turnaround” in the country’s seed industry, which is struggling with overcapacity and rampant infringement of intellectual property that has stifled innovation in the sector.

Top policymakers also urged progress in biotech breeding, widely seen as GM crops, and seen as key to ensuring food security.

Beijing has invested heavily in GM research and development for years but has been cautious about commercializing plants that enter the food chain and has never permitted planting of GM soybeans or corn even though they can be imported for use in animal feed.

Among the many proposed changes, a GM trait applied to an already approved hybrid would only need to undergo a one-year production trial before receiving approval, rather than going through the full round of trials needed for new varieties.

“I believe that this is a significant step for GMO commercialization,” said Han Gengchen, chairman of Origin Agritech, the first Chinese company to develop GM corn crops.

“It clarifies the procedures for GMO variety approvals and simplifies the process. It will accelerate GMO corn commercial production,” he told Reuters.

The proposals came after last week’s plenum, or closed-door meeting of more than 300 top leaders of the party’s Central Committee.

The draft is open to public comment until Dec. 12.

— Reporting for Reuters by Dominique Patton.

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