LIFE FOR SALE: THE BIRTH OF LIFE SCIENCE COMPANIES - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 144

In the early 1980s Monsanto began testing genetically manipulated crops. Jerseyville, Illinois—a town
in the southwestern part of the state not far from St. Louis—became the front line for the first biotechno-
logy field trials in 1987, first with tomatoes and then with Roundup Ready soybeans.
In 1993 the FDA approved Monsanto's first biotechnology product—the artificial recombinant bovine
growth hormone (rBGH), which was created to increase milk production in cows. Although dairy cows
produce the hormone naturally, artificially elevating its levels increases milk production in a way that can
lead to mastitis in cows and may have detrimental effects on human health.
The NewLeaf potatoes, manipulated through the addition of a gene that repells the potato beetle, was
introduced in 1995. The GE potato flopped, however, and is no longer marketed. The seed was too expens-
ive for farmers, and consumer pressure on McDonald's, the largest single user of potatoes, to stop using
it in its french fries sealed its fate. People really didn't want to be guinea pigs for genetically engineered
food.
Monsanto responded to the consumer backlash by focusing more on commodities hidden in processed
food—canola; soy; corn; wheat; and a nonedible crop, cotton. Roundup Ready canola and cotton were in-
troduced in the mid-1990s and quickly took over market share. In 1996, Roundup Ready soybeans were ap-
proved. Commercializing GE soy had been on the Monsanto agenda since its biotechnology program was
initiated. Manipulating the genetic material of the soybean so that it could survive being doused with the
herbicide presented opportunities for vast profits from both products. Well-known Indian activist Vandana
Shiva called the control of the entire production process of plants from breeding to cultivation and sale the
hijacking of the global food supply.
Soy is a versatile crop grown widely in the United States for protein and oil that is used in a broad range
of food products, animal feeds, and industrial products, so controlling its production was a harbinger of
the changing landscape for farming. Today, 80 percent of soybeans are genetically modified, and Roundup
Ready is responsible for generating 40 percent of Monsanto's profits. Shiva laments, “Soybeans and soy-
bean products are being pushed as global substitutes for diverse sources of foods in diverse cultures. They
are being promoted as substitutes for the diverse oilseeds and pulses of India and for cereals and dairy
products worldwide.” 15
Next, Roundup Ready corn was approved and commercialized in 1996. And Monsanto was the first
company to introduce stacked traits in corn—the combination of more than one trait like resistance to corn
borer insects and Roundup Ready.
In 1998 Monsanto won a bidding war to acquire the DeKalb Genetics Corporation, enabling the com-
pany to quickly put genetically engineered seeds into the hands of a large number of farmers, since DeKalb
controlled 11 percent of the corn seed market at that time. The purchase of the large corn seed company
Holden, also in 1998, gave Monsanto a dominant position in the corn seed market by the end of the cen-
tury.
Continuing its marathon of biotech deals, Monsanto and Empresas La Moderna, a Mexican biotechno-
logy company, signed a collaborative agreement with Mendel Biotechnology enabling the two companies
to obtain exclusive access to Mendel's technical capabilities and genomics for corn, soybeans, and several
fruits and vegetables. Mendel's expertise in identifying the function of genes and patenting the correspond-
ing DNA sequences was critical for Monsanto's work on the next generation of biotech products. 16
In a deal fraught with problems, including a lawsuit against both companies over wrongfully obtained
genetic material, Monsanto bough Cargill's international seed business in 1998, excluding the North Amer-
ican seed business. Cargill's massive international marketing infrastructure combined with Monsanto's bi-
otechnology capabilities raised the ante for the seeds destined to produce feed for livestock. This corporate
merger was one of the largest steps toward changing the way animals are raised. The development of feed-
stocks with bigger yields and lower production costs helped facilitate the growth of factory farms. 17