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Monsanto Co said on Wednesday it reached a settlement with U.S. wheat farmers who sued the seed company over market disruption after unapproved genetically engineered wheat was discovered growing without oversight in Oregon. Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" wheat, which was never approved by U.S. regulators and which the company said it stopped testing a decade ago, was found growing in an Oregon farmer's field in 2013. The company had said all the experimental grain was destroyed or stored away.

Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, and its brethren of global biotech crop developers are spreading the word that as far as the safety of their genetically modified grain goes, the science is solidly on their side. The message of "settled" science has become the rallying cry for defenders of the crops and food commonly referred to as GMOs as they push back against consumers, environmentalists, lawmakers and others who want the crops labeled, restricted or banned.

DuPont Pioneer, one of the world's largest seed companies, is refusing to give up on efforts to cultivate genetically modified crops in Chinese fields in the face of regulatory hurdles, even as rivals pull back. The Iowa-based agricultural seed and chemical unit of DuPont this autumn harvested its first test crops of GMO corn in China in six years after lengthy efforts to win government approval for the new field trials.

The defeat of twin measures in Oregon and Colorado that would have required labeling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients sets the stage for a battle over the issue in the nation's capital, both sides of the debate said on Wednesday. The Oregon measure lost 49 to 51 percent, according to unofficial results reported by the Oregon Secretary of State's Office on Wednesday, while voters in Colorado rejected labeling by a margin of 66 percent to 34 percent.

With U.S. approval for Dow AgroSciences' package of chemicals and new genetically engineered crops now in hand, the Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N) unit faces a major obstacle to a $1 billion market opportunity: Chinese import barriers. The Asian nation has become a major buyer of U.S. corn and soybeans in recent years, but has also shown mounting reluctance to accept some genetically modified crops grown by U.S. farmers. China for the last year has been rejecting U.S. corn shipments containing traces of a type of GMO corn developed by Syngenta AG SYNN.VX.

With less than a week before voters in two U.S. states weigh measures to require labeling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients, labeling supporters were hoping for victory but planning for defeat. Fresh polling showed support for the Oregon GMO labeling law waning in the face of a well-funded onslaught of advertising from labeling opponents, and pro-labeling Colorado campaigners still could not muster enough money for television ads to counter thousands of ads by labeling opponents.

A coalition of U.S. farmer and environmental groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to overturn regulatory approval granted last week for an herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, argues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not adequately analyze the impact of one of the new herbicide's active ingredients, 2,4-D, before granting approval on Oct. 15 to Dow's Enlist Duo herbicide. The groups are asking the court to set aside the EPA's approval.

Opponents of GMO food labeling proposals on the ballot next month in Oregon and Colorado have contributed roughly $20 million for campaigning against the proposed laws, nearly triple the money raised by supporters of the initiatives, campaign finance reports show. Both measures would require labels on foods made with genetically engineered crops, which are common in the United States. Voters in Colorado and Oregon weigh in on the issue in mid-term election voting on Nov. 6.

U.S. regulatory approval on Wednesday for a Dow AgroSciences herbicide to be used with new genetically modified crops outraged critics, who say the approval violates environmental law and will create a host of problems for people and animals. The Environmental Protection Agency gave final approval to Dow's Enlist Duo herbicide developed to be used with Dow's Enlist GMO corn and soybeans. The herbicide is approved immediately for use in six states, and the EPA is evaluating expansion to additional states.

The Environmental Protection Agency gave final approval on Wednesday to a new herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences that has faced broad opposition, ordering a series of restrictions to address potential environmental and health hazards. EPA said it was applying "first-time-ever restrictions" on its approval of the herbicide, called Enlist Duo, which is designed to be used with new genetically modified crops developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical.