The 'Monsanto Company' () is a
multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the
herbicide glyphosate, marketed as "
Roundup". Monsanto is also by far the leading producer of
genetically engineered (GE)
seed, holding 70%–100% market share for various
crops.
Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces ''Roundup Ready'' soybean seed for the commercial market. In March
2005, it finalized the purchase of
Seminis Inc, making it also the largest conventional seed company in the world. It has over 16,000
employees worldwide, and an annual
revenue of US$7.344
billion reported for
2006.
[1]
Monsanto's development and marketing of
genetically engineered seed and
bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation and political
lobbying practices, have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the
anti-globalization movement and
environmental activists. While other chemical and biotech multinationals face similar criticisms, Monsanto tends to be targeted more routinely and more strongly. Some
activists have referred to Monsanto's products as
frankenfoods.
History of Monsanto
Monsanto was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, by
John Francis Queeny, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. He funded the start-up with his own money and capital from a
soft drink distributor, and gave the company his wife's maiden name. The company's first product was the
artificial sweetener saccharin, which it sold to the
Coca-Cola Company. It also introduced
caffeine and
vanillin to Coca-Cola, and became one of that company's main suppliers. In 1919, Monsanto established its presence in
Europe by entering into a partnership with Graesser's Chemical Works at
Cefn Mawr in
Ruabon,
Wales to produce
vanillin,
salicylic acid,
aspirin and later
rubber.
In its second decade, the 1920s, Monsanto expanded into basic industrial chemicals like
sulfuric acid, and the decade ended with Queeny's son Edgar Monsanto Queeny taking over the company in 1928.
The 1940s saw Monsanto become a leading manufacturer of
plastics, including
polystyrene, and
synthetic fibers. Since then, it has remained one of the top 10 US chemical companies. Other major products have included the herbicides 2,4,5-T and
Agent Orange),
aspartame (
NutraSweet), bovine
somatotropin (
bovine growth hormone; BST), and
PCBs. Also in this decade, Monsanto operated the
Dayton Project, and later
Mound Laboratory in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the
Manhattan Project, the development of the first
nuclear weapons and, after 1947, the
Atomic Energy Commission. In
1947, an accidental explosion of
ammonium nitrate fertilizer loaded on the
French ship ''S.S. Grandcamp'' destroyed an adjacent Monsanto
styrene manufacturing plant, along with much of the port at
Galveston Bay. The explosion, known as the
Texas City Disaster, is considered the largest
industrial accident in US history, with the highest death toll. As the decade ended, Monsanto acquired American Viscose from England's Courtauld family in 1949.
In 1954, Monsanto partnered with German chemical giant
Bayer to form
Mobay and market
polyurethanes in the US. In the 1960s and 1970s, Monsanto became the leading producer of
Agent Orange for US Military operations in
Vietnam.
1980 saw Monsanto establish the ''Edgar Monsanto Queeny'' safety award
[1] in honor of its former CEO (
1928–
1960), to encourage accident prevention.
Monsanto scientists became the first to
genetically modify a plant cell in 1982. Five years later, Monsanto conducted the first field tests of genetically engineered crops.
Through a process of mergers and spin-offs between 1997 and 2002, Monsanto has made a transition from chemical giant to biotech giant. Part of this process involved the 1999 sale by Monsanto of their
phenylalanine facilities to Great Lakes Chemical (GLC) for $125 million. In 2000, GLC sued Monsanto because of a $71 million dollar shortfall in expected sales.
With the dawn of the new millennium in 2001, retired Monsanto chemist
William S. Knowles was named a co-winner of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, which was carried out at Monsanto beginning in the 1960s until his 1986 retirement.
Throughout 2004 and 2005, Monsanto filed lawsuits against many farmers in Canada and the U.S. The lawsuits have been on the grounds of
patent infringement, specifically the farmer's sale of seed containing Monsanto's patented genes–which require the farmer initial purchase of the seed and its technology–unknowingly sown by wind carrying the seeds from neighboring crops. These instances began in the mid to late 1990s, with one of the most significant cases being decided in Monsanto's favor by the
Canadian Supreme Court. By a 5-4 vote in late May of 2004, that court ruled that "by cultivating a plant containing the patented gene and composed of the patented cells without license, the appellants [canola farmer Percy Schmeiser] deprived the respondents of the full enjoyment of the monopoly." With this ruling, the Canadian courts followed the U.S. Supreme Court in its decision on patent issues involving plants and genes.
As of February of 2005, Monsanto has patent claims on breeding techniques for pigs which would grant them ownership of any pigs born of such techniques and their related herds.
Greenpeace claims Monsanto is trying to claim ownership on ordinary breeding techniques.
[2] Monsanto claims that the patent is a defensive measure to track animals from its system. They furthermore claim their patented method uses a specialized insemination device that requires less sperm than is typically required.
[3]
In 2006, the Public Patent Foundation filed requests with the
U.S. Patent Office to revoke four patents that Monsanto has used in patent lawsuits against farmers. In the first round of reexamination, claims in all four patents were rejected by the Patent Office in four separate rulings dating from February through July 2007
[4]. Monsanto has since filed responses in the reexaminations.
Spin-offs and mergers
Through a confusing series of transactions, the Monsanto that existed from 1901–2000 and the current Monsanto are legally two different corporations. Although they share the same name, corporate headquarters, many of the same executives and other employees, and responsibility for liabilities arising out of its former activities in the industrial chemical business, the agricultural chemicals business is the only segment carried forward from the pre-1997 Monsanto Company to the current Monsanto Company. A timeline follows:
1985: Monsanto purchases
G. D. Searle & Company. In this merger, Searle's aspartame business became a separate Monsanto subsidiary, the NutraSweet Company.
1997: Monsanto spins off its industrial chemical and fiber divisions into
Solutia. This transfers the financial liability related to the production and contamination with
PCBs at the Illinois and Alabama plants. In January, Monsanto announced the purchase of Holden's Foundations Seeds, a privately-held seed business owned by the Holden family along with its sister sales organization, Corn States Hybrid Service, of Williamsburg and Des Moines, Iowa, respectively. The combined purchase price totaled $925M. Also, in April, Monsanto purchases the remaining shares of Calgene.
1999: Monsanto sells Nutrasweet Co. and two other companies.
2000: Monsanto merges with
Pharmacia and
Upjohn. Later in the year, Pharmacia forms a new subsidiary, also named Monsanto, for the agricultural divisions, and retains the medical research divisions, which includes products such as
Celebrex.
2002: Pharmacia spins off its remaining interest in Monsanto, which has since existed as a separate company: the "new Monsanto." As part of the deal, Monsanto agrees to indemnify Pharmacia against any liabilities that might be incurred from judgments against Solutia. As a result, the new Monsanto continues to be a party to numerous lawsuits that relate to operations of the old Monsanto.
Sponsorships
Monsanto has been the corporate sponsor of many attractions at
Disneyland and
Walt Disney World.
At Disneyland they include:
★ Hall of Chemistry
★ Fashions and Fabrics through the Years
★ House of The Future
★ Adventure Thru Innerspace
And at Walt Disney World they included:
★ Magic Eye Theatre
★ Circle Vision 360
All attractions that the company has ever sponsored were located in
Tomorrowland.
Corporate governance
Current members of the
board of directors of Monsanto are:
Frank V. AtLee III,
John W. Bachmann,
Hugh Grant,
Arthur H. Harper,
Gwendolyn S. King,
Sharon R. Long,
C. Steven McMillan,
William U. Parfet,
George H. Poste,
Robert J. Stevens.
Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in
US government agencies such as the
FDA and
EPA and even the
Supreme Court. These include
Clarence Thomas, Michael Taylor,
Ann Veneman and Linda Fisher. Linda Fisher has even been back and forth between positions at Monsanto and the
EPA.
Donald Rumsfeld reportedly earned $12 million from increased stock value when
G. D. Searle & Company was sold to Monsanto in 1985.
[5]
Environmental and health record
Monsanto has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being the "potentially responsible party" for 56 contaminated sites (
Superfund Sites) in the United States.
[6] Monsanto has been sued, and settled, multiple times for damaging the health of its employees or residents near its Superfund Sites through pollution and poisoning.
[7][8] [9] In 2004 The Wildlife Habitat Council and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Performance Track presented a special certificate of recognition to Monsanto Company during WHC's 16th Annual Symposium.
In 2005, Monsanto admitted to bribing senior
Indonesian officials in order to evade environmental assessment and regulations. The company agreed to pay 1.5 million dollars in fines.
[10] Monsanto is the largest producer of glyphosate
herbicides through its popular brand, Roundup. Roundup has been a source of ongoing controversy, as researches in several studies have argued it causes cancer.
[11][12]
MON863 Liver and Kidney Toxicity
Maize
MON863 genetically engineered and approved for human consumption in Europe was shown to increase triglycerides in female rats by 20-40%, caused increased weight gain in female rats of 3.7%, a decrease in male rat weight of 3.3%, and increased certain indicators associated with liver and kidney toxicity. The study was conducted by Seralini, Cellier and Spiroux de Vendomois who reanalyzed Monsanto's own data. Monsanto's 90 day in-house food safety trial on rats was the only study conducted on the crop prior to approval for human consumption. Monsanto claimed that there were no significant differences between rats that ate GM maize MON863 and the control maize. Interestingly Monsanto tried to block access to the data from the scientific community interested in peer reviewing the data. Upon reanalysis, Monsanto's data showed significant differences between GE fed rats and controls.The data showed that MON863 causes liver and kidney toxicity as well as several other physiological changes.
[13]
"Terminator" seed controversy
Since 1998 Monsanto has been attempting to merge or purchase Delta & Pine Land Company. D&PL has been involved with a
seed technology nicknamed "Terminator", which produces plants that produce sterile seed to prevent farmers from replanting their crop's seed, rather than properly purchasing the seed from Monsanto for every planting. In recent years, widespread opposition from environmental organisations and farmer associations has grown, mainly out of the concerns that these seeds increase farmers' dependency on seed suppliers (having to buy these each year for seeding new crops).Whilst Monsanto faced considerable public outcry over the use of such technology, it officially acquired D&PL in June of 2007.
Legal issues
Monsanto is notable for its involvement in high profile
lawsuits, as both
plaintiff and
defendant. It has been involved in a number of
class action suits, where fines and damages have run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, usually over
health issues related to its products. Monsanto has also made frequent use of the courts to defend its
patents, particularly in the area of
biotechnology.
As defendant
In
1917, the US government filed suit against Monsanto over the safety of its original product,
saccharin. Monsanto eventually won, after several years in court.
It was sued, along with
Dow and other chemical companies by veterans for the side effects of its
Agent Orange defoliant, used by the US
military in the
Vietnam War.
[14]
In
2000, GLC sued Monsanto for the $71 million dollar shortfall in expected sales.
More recently, it lost a series of court decisions resulting in US$700 million in damages being awarded to thousands of residents of the town of
Anniston, Alabama that had been polluted over a period of years by Monsanto's
PCB byproducts. It was settled with the following judgment. Though the PCB production was outlawed in 1979 and Monsanto ceased production in 1977, it failed to clear up the levels of PCB already in the natural population, until detection by the federal Soil Detection Service. At their own initiative, the company dredged a few hundred yards of the contaminated Snow Creek and surrounding tributaries, but far from enough. After the truth was uncovered by the wider public, prompting swift investigations by the EPA and incinerators were introduced to burn large quantities of sarin and mustard gas produced by Monsanto
[2]. On
February 22 2002, Monsanto was found guilty of â€negligence, wantonness, suppression of truth, nuisance, trespass, and outrage.â€
On October 13th, 2004, the
European
plant variety rights on a conventionally-bred strain of soft-milling
wheat owned by
French company
RAGT Genetique were withdrawn at RAGT's request. The strain, called Galatea, was developed by
Unilever and purchased by Monsanto in
1998; RAGT purchased the strain from Monsanto in May 2004 along with Monsanto's European wheat and
barley business. Galatea is a cross between a European wheat strain and a conventional Indian variety
Nap Hal.
Greenpeace considers RAGT's withdrawal to represent a victory by Greenpeace over Monsanto and claim that they played a central role by proving that the variety in question was not the cross-bred strain described in the application but was really the traditional strain Nap Hal bred by Indian farmers, despite the contrary text of the application. RAGT says it withdrew its
plant variety rights for commercial reasons and Greenpeace played no role in its decision.
Also in 2004, the world's largest
agrichemical company,
Switzerland's
Syngenta, launched a US lawsuit charging Monsanto with using coercive
tactics to
monopolize markets.
[3] There are several lawsuits going both ways between Monsanto and Syngenta.
As of September 20 2006, Monsanto is on trial in Carcassonne,
France, for having allegedly illegally imported, in 1999, 100 tonnes of soya seed contaminated with GM varieties. 50 tonnes were sold to 23 farmers by local agriculture suppliers. 50 tonnes were sent back to the USA.
As plaintiff
Since the mid-
1990s, it has sued some 150 US farmers for
patent infringement in connection with its GE seed. The usual claim involves violation of a technology agreement that prohibits farmers from saving seed from one season's crop to plant the next. One farmer received an eight-month
prison sentence, in addition to having to pay damages, when a Monsanto case turned into a
criminal prosecution. Monsanto reports that it pursues approximately 500 cases of suspected infringement annually.
In
2003, Monsanto sued Oakhurst Dairy in
Maine for advertising that its
milk products did not come from cows treated with bovine growth hormone, claiming that such advertising hurt its business. The president of Oakhurst responded by saying, "We ought to have the right to let people know what is and is not in our milk."
[15]
A high profile case in
Canada, ''
Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser'', went to the
Supreme Court level. Monsanto sued an independent farmer,
Percy Schmeiser, for patent infringement for growing
genetically modified Roundup resistant
canola. The case, begun in
1998, was portrayed in the media as a classic David-and-Goliath confrontation, with Schmeiser as the wronged little guy, facing the implacable Big Corporation. The Supreme Court decided in May 2004 that Monsanto's patent was valid, but rejected Monsanto's claim for damages. The court did not impose punitive damages on Schmeiser, which would not have been expected in a case involving a new question of law. The case did cause Monsanto's enforcement tactics to be highlighted in the media over the years it took to play out.
Monsanto has asked Spanish customs officials to inspect soymeal shipments to determine if they use Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" technology. Monsanto claims that 30% of Argentina's production uses black market-purchased Roundup Ready seed. Monsanto has petitioned to change the royalty collection system so that royalties are collected at harvest rather than upon purchase of the seed.
[4]
Related legal actions
In USA
In
1997,
Fox News reportedly bowed to pressure from Monsanto to suppress an investigative report on the health risks associated with Monsanto's
bovine growth hormone product,
Posilac. Posilac, a synthetic drug used to increase
milk production in cows, is banned in most
first-world countries, with the exception of the
United States, where it can be found in much of the milk supply. Fox pressured its reporters,
Steve Wilson and
Jane Akre, to alter their report, despite evidence that Monsanto had lied about the risks of contaminated
milk and
infected cattle. The reporters refused to comply, and were eventually fired. Wilson and Akre then sued Fox News in
Florida state court, claiming they could not be fired for refusing to do something that they believed to be illegal. In 2000, a Florida jury found in favor of the reporters, however this decision was overturned in 2003 by an appeals court, on a technicality in the interpretation of the
whistleblower's statute under which the original case had been filed, as fabricating the news is not actually illegal. The reporters' struggle with Fox News is ongoing. The findings in their original report were never directly challenged.
:''This story can be seen in the feature length documentary film
The Corporation''.
Monsanto vs
Andhra Pradesh Government in India
The state of
Andhra Pradesh,
India, at first resisted Bt cotton and later, as it proved immensely popular with farmers, has attempted to control its price. In 2005, after a commissions fact finding statement, the state agriculture minister barred the company from selling cotton seeds in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
[5]. The order was later lifted. More recently, the Andhra Pradesh state government filed several cases
[6]against Monsanto and its
Mumbai based licensee Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds, after they challenged the order directing the company not to charge a trait price of more than Rs. 900 per pack of 450 grams of Bt. Cotton seed.
[7][8].The
Andhra Pradesh State Government has also sought a compensation package of about Rs 4.5 crore (about 1 Million US$) to be paid by the company to farmers affected in some districts.
Criticism
In India
Monsanto has had a controversial history in
India, starting with the accusations of
terminator genes in its seed. There were angry demonstrations against the company. Later, its GM cotton seed was the subject of NGO agitation because of its higher cost. The company also faces increasing piracy of seed in India, with local farmers creating their own varieties.
[9][10]. In 2003
Brazil followed suit with a similar protest in
Goias.
[11]
Child Labour
A subsidiary of Monsanto has been accused of employing child labour in the manufacture of cotton-seeds in India. The work involves handling of poisonous pesticides such as
Endosulfan and the children get less than Rs.20 (half dollar) per day.
[12] The company has refuted these claims on the basis that the children are not directly employed by the company.
Farmer Suicides in India
Frontline's "Seeds of Suicide: India's Desperate Farmers"
[13] has detailed some of the struggles facing the Indian farmer. The transition to using the latest pest-resistant seeds and the necessary herbicides has been difficult. Farmers have been lured to genetically modified seeds promoted by Cargill and Monsanto by the promise of greater yields, research has shown that these seeds have delivered on the promise provided increased income and increasing total Indian cotton production since their introduction. However there are a number of other factors other than the seeds, affecting a crop and for some farmers, these environmental factors have cost entire harvests, the blame for which has incorrectly been put on Monsanto. Resulting debts from such gambles with genetically modified seeds have led some farmers into the equivalent of indentured servitude and alarming suicide rates
[14] [15]. This problem has been exacerbated by current corporate influence in the government: whereas in the past government experts would give knowledgeable advice to farmers, now such positions are often filled by corporate representatives who receive incentives for promoting company products. Admittedly, it is not a system which keeps the farmers' best interest in mind.
In India Monsato's GM seed business is run by a JV - Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) India Ltd
[16] and markets its BT Cotton seeds under various names.The Andhra Pradesh government has registered a case against Monsanto for its high seed prices.
[17].
Toxic Dumping in Britain
Monsanto dumped toxic waste including Agent Orange derivatives, dioxins and PCBs in British landfill sites. According to the
Environment Agency it could cost up to £100m to clean up a site in south Wales. Several sites have come to light recently due to leakages and land being bought for housing developments namely at Groesfaen near Pontyclun and Glenfields in Caerffili.
[16]
See also
★
Roundup
★ ''
The Corporation''
★ ''
The Future of Food''
References
1. "Google Finance: Monsanto Company. Retrieved on January 6, 2007.
2. Greenpeace, 2 August 2005, "Monsanto files patent for new invention: the pig"
3. GM crop giant wants to patent a super-pig
4. Public Patent Foundation, "Monsanto Anti-Farmers Patents—Related Documents"
5. Rumsfeld Way
6. http://www.publicintegrity.org/Superfund/report.aspx?aid=854
7. Monsanto Held Liable For PCB Dumping
8. The Politics Behind the Scientific Debate on Dioxin
9. MONSANTO KNEW ABOUT PCB TOXICITY FOR DECADES
10. Monsanto fined .5m for bribery
11. A case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and exposure to pesticides
12. New Study Links Monsanto's Roundup to Cancer
13. New Analysis of a Rat Feeding Study with a Genetically Modified Maize Reveals Signs of Hepatorenal Toxicity, Gilles-Eric Seralini; Dominique Cellier; Joel Spiroux de Vendomois, , , Environmental Contamination and Toxicology,
14. Vietnam's war against Agent Orange
15. "Monsanto Sues Milk Producer For Advertising It Sells Hormone-Free Milk" Democracy Now, Headlines
16. Monsanto dumped toxic waste in UK
Bibliography
★
Monsanto's Official Website
★
Monsanto fined for bribery
★
SourceWatch on Monsanto
★
Petition against Monsanto
★
Hoover's Online: Monsanto Company Capsule
★
''Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser'', Federal Court of Canada decision
★
''Schmeiser v. Monsanto Canada Inc.'', Federal Court of Appeal decision
★
''Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser'', Supreme Court of Canada decision
★
Monsanto Buys Final Calgene Shares
★
Monsanto's part in Disneyland history
★
Monsanto BGH lawsuit
External links
★
Monsanto Watch
★
Monsanto vs Bees
★
Millions Against Monsanto
★
Photos of the Monsanto Plant after the 1947 Texas City Disaster hosted by the
Portal to Texas History
★
| Legislation, Politics, Science and Spin Behind Genetically Modified Foods
★
- The Monsanto stock chart
★
video: Monsanto/Fox News crushes story about dangers of bovine growth hormone
★
After killer cotton, killer brinjal?
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