Who Is Monsanto Co Monsanto Company is a publicly traded American multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation. Its headquarters are in Creve Coeur, Greater St. Louis, Missouri. Monsanto is a leading manufacturer of genetically modified seed and Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide. During the 1980s Monsanto got rid of many of its long-standing industrial chemical businesses and decided to focus their efforts on agricultural biotechnology. Monsanto is the world’s biggest manufacturer of genetically engineered seed. It has patents on over 90% of all genetically engineered seeds. In 1901 Monsanto was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, as a chemical company. The founder was John Francis Queeny, who had thirty years’ experience …show more content…
Farmers who have bought Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign a contract promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for re-planting, or to sell the seed to other farmers. This requires that farmers must buy new seed every year. Farmers will usually mill their seeds gathered from their crops and clean them to be used in the next crop. Once the farmer signs the agreement to be able to use these patented seeds, it becomes a legal battle if there is even a thought that the farmer is not following the agreement to the letter. Monsanto is known to have a large contingent of private detectives and patent lawyers to protect their products. The company had been secretly investigating farmers throughout the United States and the world. Monsanto has begun thousands of investigations and filed lawsuits against hundreds of farmers and seed dealers. (Barlett and Steele) After a community is thought to be in noncompliance with the agreement, Monsanto sends private investigators into the region. In one such town, over a period of five months, Monsanto’s private investigators covertly followed the co-op’s employees and customers, videotaping them in the fields and going about their activities. According to court records, at least seventeen surveillance videos were made. The community ended up having to submit over a thousand records of sales, spanning over a five-year period. This town is still in litigation with Monsanto, costing the farmers time and money that they do not have. Monsanto has plenty of both. The corporation’s policy for not allowing reuse of seeds is difficult for the farmers to keep up with. The genetically modified seeds look just like a normal seed, it takes a microscope to see the difference. When seeds can be distributed by the wind or sold to unknowing farmers, it makes it hard for farmers to not to feel they are being