Why don’t we have GMO oats?

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So, why are there no GMO oats? There are a bunch of reasons, but the main one is, not surprisingly, money. There simply aren’t enough oat farmers in the world, or enough oats grown, to create sufficient demand to justify the incredibly expensive research that goes into developing genetically modified seeds. . . .

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In a perfect world, that wouldn’t be the case. Oats are the most nutritious of the big grains. . . . The World Health Organization says they’re about as good a source of protein as meat, milk and eggs. . . .

Nevertheless, demand for oats has been falling for nearly a century. . . . That’s in part because oats aren’t a particularly efficient or profitable crop. . . .

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That’s just the kind of problem that could conceivably be solved by genetic engineering aimed at increasing yields. . . .

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And there’s another barrier: the oat genome itself. Commercial oats contain six chromosomes in their genomes, making them particularly difficult — and expensive — to modify. . . .

Read full, original post: Why There Are No GMO Oats (and Probably Never Will Be)