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Biotechnology in genetically modified food
Background essay on monsanto
Background essay on monsanto
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Recommended: Biotechnology in genetically modified food
In today agriculture market, farmers rely on seed to actively grow crops such as fruits and vegetables and other crops to wholesale to organizations for purchase. As farmers can choose from different seed companies to purchase their products, farmers rely on The Monsanto Company which is the largest seed company, with sales over $1.5 billion. This company specializes in biotechnology and genetic testing, this procedure allows to manipulate weeds, drought, and kill invasive. Although this is a great advertising pitch for Monsanto as well as a blessing to farmers, the question is Monsanto a friend or foe to the farmers and most importantly to the environment and consumers? After reviewing the case study, the history behind Monsanto is bittersweet, yet disturbing. Let’s look at the history of Monsanto and it became the largest seed company with billion-dollar sales. Founded in 1901 and naming the company after wife, John F. Queeny was in search of expanding his chemical company by …show more content…
After developing Roundup herbicide product, Monsanto leaders decided to take biotechnology to another level by introducing soybean, cotton, and canola seeds to its product line in 1994. From a marketing perspective, to better serve consumers and provide a safe environment, Monsanto must focus on applying better practices to its biotechnology for seed handling purposes. These practices include stopping the use of applying biotechnology to its seeds as these practices cause health concerns for consumers and livestock who consumer products which are grown with Monsanto seeds. Allowing the crops to grow in its natural state instead of biotechnology as this approach will provide a safer environment. Lastly, inspecting the seeds for possible chemical consumption before packaging and ensure the seeds passed regulation FDA
Monsanto scrutinizes neighboring farms, practicing their right to enforce their patent and contract. What they take into account and chose to ignore is that their genetic product is natural and cannot be controlled completely. Monsanto’s patent allows them to prosecute neighboring farms for any concentration of their patented genetic code in their crops, regardless of whether a farmer knowingly involved themselves in infringement or was the victim of natural pollination. Barlett and Steele cite the increasing number of legal cases and settlements as means of pressuring contracted farmers to follow procedure and of allegedly pressuring uncontracted farmers to sign with Monsanto to avoid
Monsanto is for a lot of people the great evil in the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology because of the genetically engineered (GE) seeds, field where the company is the leader worldwide. The number in this industry has been growing pretty fast and the expectations for 2020 are very positive, with a 250 Billion US Dollars industry.
Over Monsanto’s corporate timeline, they have been accused of many crimes, one of them being fraudulent statements or false advertising. In 1976, Monsanto launched a weed killer called Roundup. It “became the world’s top-selling herbicide (Derricks).” Monsanto was then sued
In an argument, the lawyer representing Monsanto Company stated that the amount of arable land around the world is quickly dwindling. This means that it is time to take extra drastic measures to improve food safety throughout the world. Genetically modified seeds and related chemicals offer the best solution for such food safety concerns and thus the company was right to make such investments. This idea comes from recent realization of a robust population boom throughout the world, an inability for traditional agricultural practices and seeds to withstand changing climatic systems. Modification of the seed’s genetic material to withstand climatic and other environmental threats seems to be a viable solution to the challenge.
The advent of genetically engineered glyphosate-resistant crops has not only maintained but has greatly expanded Monsanto’s market share in the realm of agribusiness. Since Roundup-Ready seeds are only resistant to the broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, Monsanto sells a season’s worth of weed killer along with every Roundup Ready seed sale (Arax and Brokaw, 1997).
GMO`s are starting to rapidly take over our food supply, but what exactly is a GMO? A GMO is a make up of DNA that is combined forcefully with a plant or animals DNA, and creates a new version of it. Seeing these products sold in stores for the first time people question what the change is from the natural, and organics, because when someone reads GMO they wonder if it is healthy and safe to consume.
Meanwhile, detrimental effects of GM seeds might outweigh their benefits. There is lack of researches that can gauge the long-term effects of GM seeds on humans and animals’ health. Critics blame glyphosate which is the main ingredient of Roundup herbicide for causing harm to farmers’ health and also the surroundings because of its lasting residues. In addition to the drawbacks of GM seeds, organic farmers stated that GM products will contaminate their conventional seeds and the combination between those seeds can create mutative one which poses a threat to the
In 2012, the global are of genetically modified crops continued to increase for the 17th year in a row at a rate of 6% (25 million acres). The area of genetically modified crops, or biotech crops, has increased almost 100-fold since commercialization in 1996, making biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture (“ISAAA”). The biotech boom has changed the way that producers grow their crops, for better or for worse. The explosion of genetically modified crops and foods has stirred a debate whether they are a harmful liability to the environment and to society or they are a beneficial, new technology that can help provide food to the rapidly increasing world population.
Monsanto is one of the biggest (Mafia group) aka biotech companies that challenge Ethics through modern and profitable Agriculture. The company is just getting stronger and growing faster than any other biotech companies it look that they are mafia of the agriculture world and there no way to stop this Mafia. This company use genetically modifying plants and has invented poisonous chemicals from the begging of agriculture. Monsanto is known to control the seed industry and making a large profit because they have patented their modified seeds. They have also patents many of the remaining vegetables. Meanwhile in the article “The Future of Food”, it stated that Monsanto has patent over 110000 seeds and have
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a major issue the modern world is accommodating to. GMOs are defined as an organism whose genome has been altered through genetic engineering, in order for the DNA of the organisms to contain genes which normally are not apparent. This world is filled with GMOs, for example corn, cows, squash, zucchini, and soy, foods most Americans encounter daily, all have been genetically modified. You may be thinking: Why use GMOs so often? Well, similar to all substances, GMOs have positive advantages, but with the advantages come disadvantages. For instance, GMOs supply farmers with a large profit at the use of lower time and resources, prevent the need for pesticides, increase crop yield, provide more nourishment for the body, and lead to a decrease in starvation throughout the world. In addition, GMOs may be dangerous to some insects, they have a possibility of harming the environment, and can cause certain illnesses and disease. Today I would like to discuss, in my opinion, the two most prominent GMOs: corn and cows, and their advantages/disadvantages.
The individuals that consume the food would likely agree with the farmer and want a lower cost for the product, in order to lessen the financial impact on their budget for purchasing the food. Investors and shareholders of the company would be another stakeholder in the Monsanto corporation. Their overwhelming need would be profit. They would expect the company to continue to amass product sales in excess of $11 billion dollars. Due to the profitability of the seeds, the investors and shareholders would likely want strategists to focus on how to make the company more profitable in undeveloped countries, which would increase those countries on the dependence of the Monsanto product.
In researching this paper, no research evidence of any kind was found to prove these seeds are harmless to humans. The company also knew that it’s other chemicals were harmful to birds, fish, and humans and did nothing to prevent or protect anyone or anything. They wanted to make money by selling their product at any cost. This is an example of unethical business. Monsanto is not considering any to the social responsibly associated with ethical business practices.
Therefore, the first question should be how Monsanto use analytics to build their own distinctive capabilities in this competitive biotechnology industry. First of all, Monsanto’s business analytics has gradually changed its core business strategic focus from toxic chemical products to bio-technology, agro-chemical products, and even climate-based information technology services. The Monsanto’s distinctive capabilities have been supported by its business analytics in the two main business segments: high-quality Seeds and Genomics, and Agricultural Productivity. Monsanto has evolved their corporate identities since the company was founded in 1901. From artificial sweetener to agricultural herbicide, laundry detergent, the notorious insecticide DDT and Agent Orange for the Vietnam War, Monsanto expanded their business into various fields of industrial chemicals.
The central theme that “seed freedom—what is at stake?” chapter conveys to us is that seed freedom is the very fabric of human life and the life of the planet. Farmers’ seed freedom transcends saving seeds for the subsequent years; in fact, it gives farmers the right to enjoy their sustainable ways of life without depending on the corporations genetically modified seeds. Corporations’ patents on seeds with the help of TRIPS and WTO have had profound impacts on the farmers, who have been reliant on traditional seed saving practices for generations such as breeding seeds, exchanging seeds, and so forth. The irony is that farmers whose seed freedom has been encroached are accused of committing intellectual property crime, while corporations are
Organic farming has mushroomed drastically in importance and influence worldwide from its modest beginnings in the first half of the last century. Organic farming is production of food and livestock without the use of herbicides, pesticides, weedicides, fertilizers or genetically modified organism and use natural resources such as manure and compost instead. In other words, it is a production system which maintains the quality of soil ecosystem as well as human beings. According to IOWA State University, “the chemicals were not used for farming before World War 2. A number of munitions used in farming have contributed to field of agriculture. For instance, ammonium nitrate used as ammonium nitrate fertilizer”.