(Wine-Blog) - Since this is a wine blog, let’s start with whether or not wine is already genetically modified. From the Heartland Institute, by H. Sterling Burnett, a senior fellow for the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA). One of the most effective, widely used herbicides in the United States—known as 2, 4-D—has a serious drawback: It devastates grapes. That makes it very difficult to raise grapes in the Midwest, because 2, 4-D is widely used on popular staple food crops including corn and wheat, and it can harm grapes up to two miles away from its point of application. Scientists, however, report a minor genetic modification of Midwestern grapes can make them resistant to 2, 4-D. Gene Successfully Transferred