Monsanto For the Record

Cotton in India

During field monitoring of the 2009 cotton crop in the state of Gujarat in western India, Monsanto and Mahyco scientists detected unusual survival of pink bollworm to first-generation single-protein Bollgard cotton. Testing was conducted to assess for resistance to Cry1Ac, the Bt protein in Bollgard cotton, and pink bollworm resistance to Cry1Ac was confirmed in four districts in Gujarat - Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagarh and Rajkot. Gujarat is one of nine states in India where cotton is grown. To date, no insect resistance to Cry1Ac has been confirmed outside the four districts in Gujarat.

Academic Research Agreements

In June 2009, corn entomologists from public universities and the U.S. government met with representatives of the country's seed companies — including Monsanto — in Ames, Iowa. The topic of the meeting, coordinated by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), was academic research; specifically, how to strike a balance between the seed companies' desire for well-designed scientific studies and the public scientists' desire to conduct hassle-free research on transgenic seed.

Sorting Out The Facts Behind Stacks

For over a decade, one choice that farmers consider when they select next year's seed is whether to use a "stack." Although every plant naturally contains thousands of genes and is a highly complex "stack," in this article we will focus just on genes that have been inserted into a seed using biotechnology. The new genes, which typically come from another plant or microbe, are inserted in order to convey a special characteristic or trait, like the ability to resist certain insects. These biotechnology trait "stacks" are now widely planted around the world.

The NewLeaf Potato

In 1995, Monsanto completed U.S. regulatory authorizations for NewLeaf™ potato, a Russet Burbank potato improved using biotechnology to provide protection from the Colorado potato beetle. Canadian authorization was completed in 1996.

Answering Department of Justice Questions

Monsanto has received questions from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this year regarding competition in the seed industry. These questions come at a time when the DOJ and U.S. Department of Agriculture are studying the agricultural industry. We are answering these questions and will continue to do so.

Genuity™ Roundup Ready^® Sugarbeets

On September 21, 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement for Roundup Ready sugarbeets. This ruling focused on the process used by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in deregulating Genuity™ Roundup Ready^® sugarbeets, and in no way questioned the safety or benefits of Genuity™ Roundup Ready^® sugarbeets. The judge ruled USDA will be required to prepare a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement. Until now, only the plaintiffs (Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance, Sierra Club and High Mowing Organic Seeds) and USDA had a direct role in the initial "merits" phase of the case. Growers, processors, seed companies and tech suppliers will be able to play a more active role in late October during the next phase of the proceedings. Judge White's decision has no immediate effect on growers producing biotech sugarbeets or on the processors. Genuity™ Roundup Ready^® sugarbeet growers may harvest their crops and process them as usual.

Food Safety

Opponents of GM crops often describe them as "untested" and "unsafe." This is simply untrue. To better illustrate this, we have broken the very broad question of GM crop safety into a number of sections that, together, better address the testing and safety of GM crops.

Innovation and the Competitive Seed Market

There has recently been increased attention to Monsanto’s role in the agricultural seed market. There is no question Monsanto is the recognized industry leader in biotech traits. Anti-biotech activists, and more recently our competition, have worked very hard to portray our success as resulting from anti-competitive behavior. Nothing could be further from the truth.