Editing Monsanto (section)

===Current products===

====Glyphosate herbicides====
{{See also|Glyphosate}}

Following its 1970 introduction, Monsanto's last commercially relevant United States patent on the herbicide glyphosate (brand name RoundUp) expired in 2000. Glyphosate has since been marketed by many [[agrochemical]] companies, in various solution strengths and with various [[Agricultural spray adjuvant|adjuvants]], under dozens of tradenames.<ref>Farm Chemicals International [http://www.farmchemicalsinternational.com/crop-protection-database/#//product/brief/203900 Glyphosate entry in Crop Protection Database]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fruits/gapeach/pdf/mirror.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614082039/http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fruits/gapeach/pdf/mirror.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-14 |url-status=live |title=Mirror or Mirror on the Wall Show Me the Best Glyphosate Formulation of All |author=Mitchem W |publisher=North Carolina State University Extension |access-date=July 23, 2013}}</ref><ref name="urlISU Weed Science Online - Glyphosate - A Review">{{cite web |url=http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/mgmt/2001/glyphosate%20review.htm#Glyphosate%20Products |title=ISU Weed Science Online – Glyphosate – A Review |author=Hartzler B |publisher=Iowa State University Extension |access-date=August 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518051215/http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/mgmt/2001/glyphosate%20review.htm#Glyphosate%20Products |archive-date=May 18, 2018  }}</ref><ref name="Weed Handbook Glyphosate">{{cite web |url=http://www.invasive.org/gist/products/handbook/14.Glyphosate.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021002518/http://www.invasive.org/gist/products/handbook/14.Glyphosate.pdf |archive-date=2012-10-21 |url-status=live |title=Glyphosate |vauthors=Tu M, Hurd C, Robison R, Randall JM |date=November 1, 2001 |work=Weed Control Methods Handbook |publisher=The Nature Conservancy}}</ref> As of 2009, glyphosate represented about 10% of Monsanto's revenue.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14904184 |title=The debate over whether Monsanto is a corporate sinner or saint |date=November 19, 2009 |magazine=The Economist |access-date=November 20, 2009}}</ref> Roundup-related products (which include genetically modified seeds) represented about half of Monsanto's [[gross margin]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/06/29/monsanto-potash-fertilizer-personal-finance-investing-ideas-agrium-mosaic.html |title=The Seeds Of A Monsanto Short Play |author= Cavallaro M |date=June 26, 2009 |magazine=Forbes |access-date=July 11, 2009}}</ref>

====Crop seed====
{{See also|Hybrid seed|Genetically modified crops|Genetically modified food|Genetically modified food controversies}}

As of 2015, Monsanto's line of seed products included corn, cotton, soy and vegetable seeds.

==== Row crops ====
Many of Monsanto's agricultural seed products are genetically modified, such as for resistance to [[herbicide]]s, including glyphosate and [[dicamba]]. Monsanto calls glyphosate-tolerant seeds ''Roundup Ready''. Monsanto's introduction of this system (planting a glyphosate-resistant seed and then applying glyphosate once plants emerged) allowed farmers to increase yield by planting rows closer together.<ref name=HighPlainsJ>{{cite web |url=http://www.hpj.com/archives/roundup-ready-soybean-trait-patent-nears-expiration-in/article_8c7a83b7-2a37-5291-9204-2633eb3e4c0d.html |title=Roundup Ready soybean trait patent nears expiration in 2014 |publisher=High Plains Journal |date=August 10, 2010 |author=Latzke, Jennifer M. |access-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-date=January 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107122725/https://www.hpj.com/archives/roundup-ready-soybean-trait-patent-nears-expiration-in/article_8c7a83b7-2a37-5291-9204-2633eb3e4c0d.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Without it, farmers had to plant rows far enough apart to allow the control of post-emergent weeds with mechanical tillage.<ref name=HighPlainsJ /> Farmers widely adopted the technology—for example over 80% of maize ([[Mon 832]]), [[Roundup Ready soybean|soybean]] (MON-Ø4Ø32-6), cotton, [[sugar beet]] and [[canola]] planted in the United States are [[glyphosate]]-tolerant. Monsanto developed a Roundup Ready [[genetically modified wheat]] ([[MON 71800]]) but ended development in 2004 due to concerns from wheat exporters about the rejection of genetically modified (GM) wheat by foreign markets.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Person|first1=Daniel|title=Sale could change wheat industry: WestBred's owner Monsanto looks to develop 'genetically modified' varieties|url=http://missoulian.com/business/agriculture/sale-could-change-wheat-industry-westbred-s-owner-monsanto-looks/article_1db27912-ac3b-11de-8024-001cc4c002e0.html|website=Missoulian|date=September 28, 2009|access-date=May 4, 2016}}</ref>

Two patents were critical to Monsanto's GM soybean business; one expired in 2011 and the other in 2014.<ref>Patently-O Blog, September 26, 2011. [http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2011/09/when-monsantos-patents-expire.html When Monsanto's Patents Expire]</ref> The second expiration meant that glyphosate resistant soybeans became "generic".<ref name="HighPlainsJ" /><ref>Andrew Pollack, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18seed.html "As Patent Ends, a Seed's Use Will Survive"], ''The New York Times''. December 17, 2009.</ref><ref>Illinois Soybean Association [http://www.ilsoy.org/sites/default/files/documents/1105.pdf Get Ready: Post-Patent Roundup Ready 1 Era Coming] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154825/http://www.ilsoy.org/sites/default/files/documents/1105.pdf |date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref><ref>Monsanto Official Website [http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/roundup-ready-patent-expiration.aspx Roundup Ready Soybean Patent Expiration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122132343/http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/roundup-ready-patent-expiration.aspx |date=January 22, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_05/b4165019364939.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127202826/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_05/b4165019364939.htm|archive-date=January 27, 2010|title=Monsanto Will Let Bio-Crop Patents Expire|date=January 21, 2010|work=Business Week}}</ref> The first harvest of generic glyphosate-tolerant soybeans came in 2015.<ref>Monsanto. [http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/pages/roundup-ready-patent-expiration.aspx Roundup Ready Soybean Patent Expiration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208222145/http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/pages/roundup-ready-patent-expiration.aspx |date=February 8, 2015 }}</ref> Monsanto broadly licensed the patent to other seed companies that include glyphosate resistance trait in their seed products.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monsanto.com/whoweare/Pages/seed-licensing.aspx |title=Monsanto ~ Licensing |publisher=Monsanto.com |date=November 3, 2008 }}</ref> About 150 companies have licensed the technology,<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122498255 Monsanto GMO Ignites Big Seed War]. NPR.</ref> including competitors Syngenta<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syngenta-us.com/legal/useragreement.html |title=User Agreement and Legal Information|publisher=Syngenta.com}}</ref> and [[DuPont Pioneer]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/library/template.CONTENT/guid.80D8C28A-31F7-C434-64D9-D61AAF9D661C/ |title=Agronomy Library – Pioneer Hi-Bred Agronomy Library |publisher=Pioneer.com |access-date=August 30, 2012 |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017162512/https://www.pioneer.com/home/site/us/agronomy/library/template.CONTENT/guid.80D8C28A-31F7-C434-64D9-D61AAF9D661C/  }}</ref>

Monsanto invented and sells genetically modified seeds that make a crystalline insecticidal protein from ''[[Bacillus thuringiensis]]'', known as Bt. In 1995 Monsanto's potato plants producing Bt toxin were approved by the [[Environmental Protection Agency]], following approval by the FDA, making it the first pesticide-producing crop to be approved in the United States.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=A0YyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jOYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4631,1776980&dq=bacillus+thuringiensis+potato+1996+approved&hl= Genetically Altered Potato Ok'd For Crops]
''Lawrence Journal-World'', May 6, 1995.</ref> Monsanto subsequently developed [[Transgenic maize#Bt corn|Bt maize]] ([[MON 802]], [[MON 809]], [[MON 863]], [[MON 810]]), [[Genetically modified soybean|Bt soybean]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Crop Biotech Update |url=http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=6565 |title=Monsanto's Bt Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans Approved for Planting in Brazil – Crop Biotech Update (8/27/2010) &#124; ISAAA.org/KC |publisher=Isaaa.org |date=August 27, 2010}}</ref> and [[Bt cotton]].

Monsanto produces seed that has multiple genetic modifications, also known as "stacked traits"—for instance, cotton that make one or more Bt proteins and is resistant to glyphosate. One of these, created in collaboration with [[Dow Chemical Company]], is called [[SmartStax]]. In 2011 Monsanto launched the Genuity brand for its stacked-trait products.<ref>[http://southeastfarmpress.com/agribusiness-monsanto-unveils-genuity-branding "Agribusiness: Monsanto unveils Genuity branding"]. ''SE Farm News'', March 2, 2009.</ref>

As of 2012, the agricultural seed lineup included ''Roundup Ready'' alfalfa, canola and sugarbeet; Bt and/or ''Roundup Ready'' cotton; sorghum hybrids; soybeans with various oil profiles, most with the ''Roundup Ready'' trait; and a wide range of wheat products, many of which incorporate the nontransgenic "clearfield" imazamox-tolerant<ref>{{cite web|url=http://agproducts.basf.us/products/clearfield-wheat.html |title=The CLEARFIELD Production System for Wheat|publisher=Agproducts.basf.us}}</ref> trait from [[BASF]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/monsanto-agricultural-seeds.aspx |title=Monsanto ~ Agricultural Seeds |publisher=Monsanto.com |date=November 3, 2008 |access-date=August 17, 2012 |archive-date=June 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616173630/http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/monsanto-agricultural-seeds.aspx  }}</ref>

In 2013 Monsanto launched the first transgenic drought tolerance trait in a line of corn hybrids branded DroughtGard.<ref>OECD BioTrack Database. [http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/Product.aspx?id=MON-8746%C3%98-4 MON87460] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701140407/http://www2.oecd.org/biotech/Product.aspx?id=MON-8746%C3%98-4 |date=July 1, 2017 }}</ref> The MON 87460 trait is provided by the insertion of the cspB gene from the soil microbe ''[[Bacillus subtilis]]''; it was approved by the USDA in 2011<ref>[http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/fedregister/BRS_20111227c.pdf Federal Register], Vol. 76, No. 248, December 27, 2011.</ref> and by China in 2013.<ref>Michael Eisenstein [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v501/n7468_supp/full/501S7a.html "Plant breeding: Discovery in a dry spell"] ''Nature'' 501, S7–S9 (September 26, 2013) Published online September 25, 2013.</ref>

The "Xtend Crop System" includes seed genetically modified to be resistant to both glyphosate and [[dicamba]], and a herbicide product including those two active ingredients.<ref name="XtendOfficial">[http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/roundup-ready-xtend-crop-system.aspx Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402202350/http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/roundup-ready-xtend-crop-system.aspx |date=April 2, 2013 }} Accessed May 11, 2013</ref> In December 2014, the system was approved for use in the US. In February 2016, China approved the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agweb.com/article/roundup-ready-2-xtend-finally-approved-by-china-naa-sonja-begemann/|title=Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Finally Approved by China|website=AgWeb – The Home Page of Agriculture|language=en-US|access-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref> The lack of European Union approval led many American traders to reject the use of Xtend soybeans over concerns that the new seeds would become mixed with EU-approved seeds, leading Europe to reject American soybean exports.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/grain-traders-rejecting-new-soybeans-developed-by-monsanto-1462217040|title=Grain Traders Rejecting New Soybeans Developed by Monsanto|last=Bunge|first=Jacob|date=2016-05-02|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660|access-date=May 6, 2016}}</ref>

==== India-specific issues ====
In 2009, Monsanto scientists discovered insects that had developed resistance to the [[Bt cotton|Bt Cotton]] planted in [[Gujarat]]. Monsanto communicated this to the Indian government and its customers, stating that "Resistance is natural and expected, so measures to delay resistance are important. Among the factors that may have contributed to [[pink bollworm]] resistance to the Cry1Ac protein in Bollgard I in Gujarat are limited refuge planting and early use of unapproved Bt cotton seed, planted prior to GEAC approval of Bollgard I cotton, which may have had lower protein expression levels."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/india-pink-bollworm.aspx|title=Monsanto ~ Cotton In India|date=November 3, 2008|publisher=Monsanto.com}}</ref> The company advised farmers to switch to its second generation of Bt cotton – Bolgard II – which had two resistance genes instead of one,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/06/stories/2010030664831400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315155536/http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/06/stories/2010030664831400.htm|archive-date=March 15, 2010|title=Bt cotton ineffective against pest in parts of Gujarat, admits Monsanto|date=March 6, 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|place=Chennai, India}}</ref> the widely recognised [[best practice]] to forestall, prevent, and cope with any kind of [[pesticide resistance]].<ref name="USEPA-resis-man">{{cite web | title=Slowing and Combating Pest Resistance to Pesticides | author=US EPA ([[United States Environmental Protection Agency]]) | date=May 12, 2016 | url=http://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/slowing-and-combating-pest-resistance-pesticides | access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref><ref name="Pesti-Stew">{{cite web | last=Buhler | first=Wayne | title=Take Steps to Avoid Insecticide Resistance – Pesticide Environmental Stewardship | website=Pesticide Environmental Stewardship | publisher=[[North Carolina Extension]] | url=http://pesticidestewardship.org/resistance/insecticide-resistance/take-steps-to-avoid-insecticide-resistance/ | access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref><ref name="WSU Tree Fruit 2018">{{cite web | title=Managing Pesticide Resistance | website=[[Washington State University|WSU]] Tree Fruit | date=2018-05-15 | url=http://treefruit.wsu.edu/crop-protection/opm/resistance/ | access-date=2021-10-28}}</ref><ref name="USDA-NIFA">{{cite web | url=http://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resources/Insecticide%20resistance.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910030336/http://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resources/Insecticide%20resistance.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-10 |url-status=live | title=Insecticide Resistance: Causes and Action | author1=[[Insecticide Resistance Action Committee]] | author2=Regional IPM Centers | website=USDA ([[United States Department of Agriculture]])}}</ref><ref name="BASF-insecti-MoAs">{{cite web | url=http://agriculture.basf.com/global/assets/en/Crop%20Protection/innovation/BASF_Insecticide_MoA_Manual_2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420062556/https://agriculture.basf.com/global/assets/en/Crop%20Protection/innovation/BASF_Insecticide_MoA_Manual_2014.pdf |archive-date=2021-04-20 |url-status=live | title=Insecticide Mode of Action - Technical Training Manual | author=[[BASF]]}}</ref><ref name="Fr-resis-man">{{cite web | title=La résistance aux produits phytopharmaceutiques | date=2016-03-29 | url=http://agriculture.gouv.fr/la-resistance-aux-produits-phytopharmaceutiques | quote=Il faut aussi ... varier les modes d'actions ... et éviter les faux mélanges de produits ayant le même mode d'action qui ne font qu'augmenter le risque | website=[[Ministry of Agriculture (France)|French Agriculture Ministry]] | first=Christophe | last=Délye | trans-quote=We must also ... vary the MOAs ... and avoid fake mixes with the same MOA which only increase the risk.}}</ref><ref name="De-sustain">{{cite web | url=http://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Publications/NAP.html | title=National Action Plan on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products | website=[[Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Germany)|German Agriculture Ministry]] | quote=The varieties being grown today are usually resistant to or tolerant of individual biotic or abiotic influences. Resistances based solely on one plant characteristic (often controlled through one gene) can be broken by adapting the harmful organisms. Increasingly, the aim in resistance research is to create modern breeding measures which breed polygenic resistant plants with resistance mechanisms that harmful organisms find it difficult to circumvent. | access-date=October 28, 2021 | archive-date=October 30, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030033850/https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/Publications/NAP.html  }}</ref> However, this advice was criticized: "an internal analysis of the statement of the Ministry of Environment and Forests says it 'appears that this could be a business strategy to phase out single gene events [that is, the first-generation Bollgard I product] and promote double genes [the second generation Bollgard II] which would fetch higher price.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/12/stories/2010031263690900.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314222159/http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/12/stories/2010031263690900.htm|archive-date=March 14, 2010|title=Monsanto 'admission' has business motives?|date=March 12, 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|place=Chennai, India}}</ref>

Monsanto's GM cotton seed was the subject of NGO agitation because of its higher cost. Indian farmers crossed GM varieties with local varieties, using [[plant breeding]], violating their agreements with Monsanto.<ref>Ghosh, Pallab (June 17, 2003), [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/science/nature/2998150.stm "India's GM seed Piracy"], [[BBC News]].</ref> In 2009, high prices of Bt Cotton were blamed for forcing farmers of [[Jhabua]] district into debt when the crops died due to lack of rain.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/25/stories/2009082554841400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828160245/http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/25/stories/2009082554841400.htm|archive-date=August 28, 2009|title=Jhabua on its way to becoming Vidarbha-II?|date=August 25, 2009|work=[[The Hindu]]|place=Chennai, India}}</ref>

==== Vegetables ====
In 2012 Monsanto was the world's largest supplier of non-GE vegetable seeds by value, with sales of $800M. 95% of the research and development for vegetable seed is in conventional breeding. The company concentrates on improving flavor.<ref name="wsj0612" /> According to their website they sell "4,000 distinct seed varieties representing more than 20 species".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/vegetable-seeds.aspx |title=Monsanto ~ Monsanto Vegetable Seeds |publisher=Monsanto.com  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610041315/http://www.monsanto.com/products/Pages/vegetable-seeds.aspx |archive-date=June 10, 2012  }}</ref> Broccoli, with the brand name ''Beneforté'', with increased amounts of [[glucoraphanin]] was introduced in 2010 following development by its [[Seminis]] subsidiary.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/01/new-monsanto-vegetables/|title=Monsanto is going organic in a quest for the perfect veggie|magazine=Wired|year=2015|author=Wired}}</ref>