Andy Serwer asks Hugh Grant about how his leadership and strategy have propelled Monsanto from a company with single-digit to triple-digit stock prices in five years. Hugh answers questions  about whether genetically modified foods, which Sewer said some critics refer to as “Frankenfoods,” are safe.

Hugh discusses the focus of the company by demonstrating how its efforts are intended to meet the needs of farmers in providing food, fuel and fiber in the 21st century.  He gives an in-depth answer to one of today’s hot topics: should corn be used for biofuels?  When asked if he thinks there is a food shortage in Egypt, Hugh said he believes there is. He says the key reasons for the food shortage include rising petroleum fuel costs, increasing desire for more meat and protein in diets in countries such as China and India where the standard of living is improving, and weather developments, particularly droughts. Biofuels play a role, but not the major role. He said the demands for food are driving the need for industry and NGOs to work together in new, innovative says so that the demand for both food and fuel can be met. According to Hugh, the food and fuel question is going to be around for some time.

When Andy Serwer asks, “Are we running out of arable land?” Hugh responds with a greater challenge: “Do we have enough water?” Hugh talks about Monsanto’s drought-tolerant technology, designed to increase yields without increasing acres, while needing less water. What about the science behind the drought-tolerant seeds? Hugh prefers to talk about what’s more important – his dedication to working with partners to donate this vital agriculture technology to sub-Saharan Africa at the same time it’s rolled out to farmers in the U.S. Midwest.

Hugh is asked if he thinks agriculture in Africa is moving backwards and why – and how a company in St. Louis makes a difference. Hugh agrees that Africa has moved in the wrong direction, but more important than the “why” is the future direction in Africa. He uses Monsanto’s work with the Millennium Villages project in Malawi as an example of a new way of creating sustainable solutions in Africa. Later, Hugh takes his first question from the audience – about why Monsanto sometimes sues its own farmer customers.