Petitioners Urge General Mills To Reject GMO Glufosinate-Resistant HB4 Wheat

23,000 consumers have signed a Friends of the Earth petition urging General Mills and other major food companies to publicly reject a newly approved strain of genetically engineered (GMO) wheat that is resistant to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium. The European Union banned the use of glufosinate in 2018 due to reproductive toxicity risks.

HB4 wheat, developed by Argentine firm Bioceres Crop Solutions, received US approval for cultivation in 2024, but it is still in the pre-commercial phase. Breeding, field testing, quality evaluation, and seed production are expected to take another five to seven years before the seed is commercially available.

Friends of the Earth, Beyond Pesticides, and Green America are raising the alarm now to prevent the nation’s largest food companies from committing to the use of the GMO wheat seed that would cause breads, pastas, cereals, and other products produced from wheat to have residues from the toxic herbicide.

“At a time when consumers are increasingly concerned about pesticide exposure and its impacts on human health, maintaining public trust is essential for leading food companies,” said Sarah Starman, senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “General Mills has built its reputation on household brands that families trust. Publicly rejecting herbicide-tolerant GMO wheat would demonstrate that the company is responding to growing consumer concerns about chemical exposure in the food supply.”

Friends of the Earth published a report on HB4 wheat and concluded that the glufosinate-resistant wheat seed would bring “unnecessary risks to public health, farmers, and the environment while offering no independently verified benefits.” Wheat is one product in the US that has remained largely free of genetically-modified seeds, but the fields are typically sprayed with glyphosate before the wheat crop is planted.

Many of the export markets for wheat farmers reject GMO wheat, so a transition to the new glufosinate-resistant strain could cause economic harm to wheat farmers across the country. That includes organic farmers who would still continue to use non-GMO varieties, but genetic contamination is possible from nearby farms.

The report says that HB4 wheat “reinforces a chemical-intensive agriculture model” and that “no independent evidence supports manufacturer claims that HB4 wheat provides meaningful drought tolerance or improved yields.” While GMO and herbicide-intensive agriculture has become the status quo in the US, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested regenerative agriculture and a move away from pesticides is preferable for the health of Americans, especially children.

The European Union banned glufosinate in 2018 due to reproductive toxicity concerns based upon animal studies. Friends of the Earth evaluated the EPA assessment and determined glufosinate is 166 times more chronically toxic than glyphosate.

The MAHA report released in May 2025 states, “Pesticides, microplastics, and dioxins are commonly found in the blood and urine of American children and pregnant women—some at alarming levels.” The report also notes a range of possible health effects from glyphosate such as reproductive and developmental disorders, cancers, liver inflammation, and metabolic disturbances.

Despite these acknowledged health consequences related to chemical herbicide use, the 2025 MAHA report suggests there are mixed studies regarding the harms of these herbicides, and it is important to consider the impact regulations could have on American farmers who rely on chemicals. The report states, “Precipitous changes in agricultural practices could have an adverse impact on American agriculture and the domestic and global food supply.”

The USDA has pledged federal dollars to support the expansion of regenerative farming programs across the US, but the Trump administration has continued to support chemical-intensive agriculture through President Trump’s glyphosate executive order and support of Bayer’s recent Supreme Court victory.

As a result of the Supreme Court ruling, failure-to-warn claims can no longer be brought against pesticide manufacturers as long as they label the product in accordance with EPA guidelines. The HighWire has frequently reported about the conflicts of interest within the EPA, including Trump administration officials who met with Bayer executives last year to discuss the Supreme Court case. Bayer executives offered a “small thanks,” and the administration filed a supporting brief in the Supreme Court case several months after this meeting took place.

Secretary Kennedy has also supported alternatives to chemical pest and weed control, including laser zappers and UV light robots that can operate overnight. These tools are currently being used on a small scale for certain crops.

Like several other large food companies, General Mills has announced plans to utilize regenerative farming practices across thousands of acres in the Midwest. Friends of the Earth and the petition’s signers believe this regenerative farming commitment should include a rejection of the new GM wheat seed.

 “The thousands of consumers who signed this petition aren’t just asking companies to reject GMO wheat — they’re asking brands to uphold higher standards for food safety, environmental stewardship, and transparency,” said Dana Perls, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth. “General Mills and other food companies can be leaders by rejecting a crop designed to tolerate increased use of a hazardous herbicide that poses threats to our health and the environment and by investing in organic agriculture, which prohibits toxic pesticides like glufosinate.”

The US applies dozens of pesticides that are banned in other countries, including Europe. When the US does ban a pesticide, it is often years or decades after the same chemical was banned in Europe. The US has worse health outcomes and life expectancy than similar nations by nearly 4 years, although several other confounding factors contribute to the discrepancy.

Pesticides are detectable in air, drinking water, and food, and chronic low-level exposure has been associated with elevated risks of certain cancers, neurological conditions, endocrine disruption, and developmental issues. That association increases substantially for individuals who are exposed to pesticides occupationally.