Monsanto Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

This Monsanto Essay example is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic, please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.

The Monsanto Corporation, based in Missouri, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of agricultural inputs created with advanced biotechnology. Monsanto transformed from a predominately chemical company to a seed company focused on a few staple crops and royalties from patents. Using this strategy, Monsanto experienced rapid growth from 2003 to 2005, after roller-coaster gains since 1996 when it began commercial production of genetically modified (GM) seeds. Monsanto’s recent gains have not been homogenous around the globe-the company has reported economic losses in the United Kingdom. Monsanto’s greatest sales are in North America, followed by Latin America. The main crops, based on acreage, are soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola.

GMOS

Monsanto is a frontrunner in controversial genetic engineering. Transgenetic seeds are spliced with extra-genetic (foreign) information to create desired characteristics, such as drought resistance or pesticide tolerance. Monsanto officials suggest that they prepare genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to end world hunger. Critics charge that after a decade of GM crops, companies are still not able to demonstrate results to help the poor or reduce malnutrition. They argue that Roundup® Ready technology and similar chemical packages represent short-term problem solving.

Although use of this type of agricultural technology may reduce the necessity to till, and therefore reduce soil erosion, it also increases herbicide and pesticide use. The toxic chemicals in pesticides move up the food chain and their increased use creates a public health concern. Excessive use of herbicides could lead to resistant weeds. The impacts of GM crops on biodiversity are currently unknown, but they could spur significant loss of native species when genes drift to wild areas.

A segment of the public is concerned that transgenetic seed will become the sole agricultural option. To reduce this possibility, or at least stall the process, activists have repeatedly destroyed experimental GM plots, often by uprooting crops. GM critics also charge that it currently profits a small number of transnational corporations and increases their control over the food production chain. Large conglomerates often control seed supply as well as the purchase of agricultural harvests. Firms can now even stop a farmer from collecting seed from his or her own field.

Monsanto lawyers maintain a constant stream of litigation in global courts. The company has sued dozens of farmers for patent violations and won hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation. After years of court battles, there were mixed results in one of the most infamous cases that pitted Monsanto against an individual Canadian farmer named Percy Schmeiser. Monsanto Canada sued Schmeiser for patent infringement and eventually won the case, but he was not held responsible for reparations.

The elderly farmer grows canola on a large farm in the province of Saskatchewan. He did not sign a Grower’s Agreement or Technology Use Agreement with Monsanto for the use of Roundup® Ready canola found on his land. Schmeiser claims he acquired the genetically modified canola through a process of wind drift or cross-pollination. He saved his seeds, as he had done customarily, and planted a new generation. Patent law states that the offspring are the product of Monsanto. Thus, standing patent law does not sufficiently protect non-GMO farmers as they are restricted from planting any seed that becomes contaminated with bioengineered traits.

Control of Seed Patents

Monsanto is involved in extensive litigation over issues of intellectual property rights. In several countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, there have been growing incidences of seed smuggling. Although Monsanto requires the use of contracts that prohibit the sale of future seeds derived from seeds originally purchased from them, seed smuggling is widespread. Companies developing GMOs have the technology to create a type of terminator gene so that reproduction in subsequent generations is impossible; however, there is concern that such a trait could escape into the wild. Drift of modified traits also has the potential to contaminate surrounding conventional and organic agriculture. Recent studies suggest that genetic drift may occur at longer distances than previously thought. Further investigation is necessary.

Monsanto is one of the most visible seed biotech companies, but it is only one of many. Corporate rivals include Syngenta, Dupont, and Dow Chemical. Monsanto had an early advantage over others because it developed methods to “stack” seeds with more than one genetic trait. The company was able to patent traits to sell to other agribusinesses. Because other companies are currently developing competitive patents, Monsanto has recruited aggressively to gain the early advantage around the globe.

Monsanto’s rapid global expansion of seed sales has been tied to the strategy of creating economic dependence in new markets. The company introduces its technology at lower prices. Once producers have transitioned to Monsanto products as a cost-saving device, Monsanto raises its price, especially in countries without major competitors for similar products.

However, in locations where Monsanto is fighting for market share with other biotech companies, the firm is more willing to keep prices low. Corporate policies lead to questions of international justice because farmers in some developing countries pay more for seed traits than their counterparts in the United States. Large corporations with the ability to pay Monsanto’s prices may receive shortterm advantages from their ability to lower productions costs. The greatest savings often comes from labor costs, but greater mechanization in production also leads to a reduction in most agricultural employment.

Monsanto is one of the largest corporate lobbyists in the United States. A policy that the company very actively opposes is required product labeling with GMO use. Monsanto is a significant contributor to research and development in private companies and academic institutions. Long-standing support from some members of academia lends legitimacy to Monsanto’s GM seeds and chemical packages.

Monsanto’s herbicide called Roundup® was the world’s highest selling until the patent approval expired on the original generation. Subsequent generations of Roundup® Ready crops continue to be developed. Other well-known Monsanto products include recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBST) and the artificial sweetener Nutrasweet. Monsanto was also previously one of the producers of the defoliant Agent Orange and paid medical compensation to thousands of victims in South Korea. The company also paid to clean up dioxin and PCBs surrounding U.S. factories that produced the defoliant.

Bibliography:

Sue Branford, “When Even Monsanto Has Doubts,” New Statesman (March 2004);
Monsanto Corporation, monsantoag.com;
Maurizio Paoletti, Impact of Genetically Modified Organisms (Encyclopedia of Life Sciences, 2001);
Peter Pringle, Food, : Mendel to MonsantoThe Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest (Simon and Schuster, 2005);
Robert Schubert, “Farming’s New Feudalism,” World Watch (v.18/3, 2005);
Tatiana Serafin, “A Tough Row,” Forbes (v.176/10, 2005);
Pamela Sherrid, “Altered Waves of Grain,” S. News & World Report (v.134/9, 2003).