text: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co.'s new genetically modified potato. But one of the company's oldest business partners — McDonald's — hasn't. 
   
   The fast-food giant says it doesn't use genetically modified potatoes, the Idaho Statesman reported (http://is.gd/VLciDK ). 
   
   "McDonald's USA does not source GMO potatoes, nor do we have current plans to change our sourcing practices," the company said in a statement. 
   
   The USDA this month gave Boise-based Simplot permission to begin commercial planting of its new spud, called the "Innate" potato. The company altered the potato's DNA so it produces less acrylamide, which is suspected to be a human carcinogen. Potatoes naturally produce the chemical when they're cooked at high temperatures. 
   
   The potato is also engineered to resist bruising. 
   
   Simplot is a major supplier of french fries, hash browns and other potato products for restaurant chains like McDonald's. 
   
   This isn't the first time the fast-food industry has resisted GMO potatoes. More than a decade ago, Monsanto brought its bug-resistant "New Leaf" line of genetically modified potato to market. Buyers, led by the fast-food industry, rejected the Monsanto spud, and it was pulled from production due to lack of business. 
   
   Simplot spokesman Doug Cole didn't address the company's plans to sell to the fast-food industry or the dehydrated potato industry, which both have urged growers against planting GMO potatoes. But Cole said the fresh potato market would embrace Innate. 
   
   Consumers will be receptive to the reduced sugars and potential carcinogens, Cole said. Because only 400 test acres of Innate varieties were planted and harvested this fall, production can't ramp up until after the 2015 harvest, he said. 
   
   Rupert potato grower Duane Grant said he's been told by buyers in the dehydrated potato industry not to plant the GMO potatoes. But he hopes to line up willing buyers so that he can plant the biotech potatoes and reap the higher yields that come with their reduced bruising, he said. 
   
   Consumers will be more receptive to Simplot's potato than Monsanto's because it benefits them, not just growers, he said. 
   
   The key for Simplot and for growers, Grant said, will be convincing the food industry, which is worried about consumer backlash, to trust the product. 
   
   "Brand equity is extremely important to quick-serve restaurants," Grant said. "They will avoid conflict whenever possible in order to protect equity of their brand name." 
   
   ___ 
   
   Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com ||||| Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter 
   
   Washington, D.C.— “This week McDonald’s, one of the largest fast food chains on the planet, told an agriculture news service that it would not use the J.R. Simplot Company’s Innate GMO potato. This victory for consumers is another indication that the food industry recognizes that consumers do not want to eat GMO foods. Many parents are already limiting the amount of fast food that their children eat, and GMO french fries would give them another reason to pass by the golden arches. Over the past year, Food & Watch submitted over 90,000 petitions urging McDonald’s to reject GMO potatoes. 
   
   “While we cannot speak to the rest of McDonald’s practices, this decision marks a milestone in the movement to protect consumers from the potential dangers of GMO foods. McDonald’s is a global leader in fast food sales and is a major purchaser of potatoes in the United States. 
   
   “Consumers spoke, and McDonald’s listened. We now urge competing fast foods chains such as Burger King to follow its lead.” 
   
   Contact: Kate Fried, Food & Water Watch, (202) 683-4905, kfried(at)fwwatch(dot)org.
target: – A major Idaho potato producer has won some love from the FDA for its genetically modified spud, but don't look for the "Innate" potato in the deep fryers at McDonald's anytime soon. As the Idaho Statesman reports, the fast-food giant—a longtime major buyer of Boise-based JR Simplot Co.—is taking a pass. "McDonald's USA does not source GMO potatoes, nor do we have current plans to change our sourcing practices," it says in a statement. The Innate potato, which got the FDA OK earlier this month to begin planting commercially, contains fewer sugars and asparagine—which can convert to acrylamide, a carcinogen—than normal potatoes; it also bruises less easily, notes the AP. It's not the first time a GMO spud hit the fast-food industry with a thud, notes the Statesman; Monsanto suffered a similar fate a decade ago with a bug-resistant potato it ultimately yanked over lack of demand. Meanwhile, Food & Water Watch calls the move a "major victory for consumers," with director Wenonah Hauter adding that "while we cannot speak to the rest of McDonald's practices, this decision marks a milestone in the movement to protect consumers from the potential dangers of GMO foods." Hauter urges Mickey Dee's competitors to likewise snub the Innate potato.