The truth about oats – are Australian Oats Genetically Modified?

For those of you who are particularly time poor – the short answer is No.

If you have a little more time up your sleeve, read on. The longer answer is:

No oats (regardless of their country of origin) are genetically modified. How can we say this with such confidence you ask. Well there simply isn’t enough oats grown in the world to warrant the expense of the research and development of oat GM varieties. On the global scene, oats are considered as a minor crop. In fact, over the past decade, the acreage dedicated to oats around the world has dropped by 58% because they aren’t as efficient or as cost effective to grow as many of the other major grain crops. This is a real shame given that oats are one of the most nutritious of the big grains. Oats are loaded with protein and are quite famous for the belief that they reduce the risk of heart disease. Not only are they a nutritious start to the day, oats help to lower the bad LDL cholesterol levels without lowering your good cholesterol.

Another reason is that oats have 6 chromosomes so their genome is massive. That means that developing GM varieties would be very expensive and tricky. So the humble oat is left out in the cold when it comes to research – from a consumers point of view this means that oats are going to remain in their traditional form for a long time to come.

So, if you aren’t in favour of GM – rest assured that the oats you put in your brekkie bowl have zero risk of being GMO’s.