Contact: Bill Freese, Center for Food Safety: (202) 547-9359 x14 or John Bianchi, Goodman Media International: (212) 576-2700; (917) 693-4290 (cell)
Washington, DC (February 22, 2007)- The Center for Food Safety today called on the Justice Department to "unconditionally oppose" the "ill-conceived" merger of Monsanto and the Delta and Pine Land Company (DPL), citing increased seed prices and reduced seed choices for America's cotton farmers. The report also discusses how the takeover of DPL would worsen agricultural and environmental problems associated with Monsanto's genetically engineered cotton, threaten the booming market for organic cotton, and increase chances for introduction of the internationally-condemned sterile seed technology known as "Terminator."
Last summer, Monsanto announced plans to acquire DPL - which sells more than half of U.S. cotton and holds a pivotal position as the only major cotton seed firm that is not also in the biotechnology business. Monsanto already dominates the genetically engineered crop market, and the report explains how the company's "Roundup Ready" cotton and other crops are fostering the growth of herbicide-resistant superweeds.
"The proposed merger poses a profound threat to U.S. cotton farmers," said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety. "It will create a virtual monopoly in biotech cotton, meaning higher seed prices and fewer seed choices for farmers. In short, the merger would be bad for farmers, bad for cotton, and bad for consumers."
"The merger would also threaten developing country farmers by giving Monsanto control of Delta and Pine Land's 'Terminator' technology," said Bill Freese, the Center's Science Policy Analyst and author of the report. "Terminator plants produce sterile seeds that cannot be saved and replanted, as farmers have done for millennia, forcing farmers to buy fresh seed every year."
Although Terminator plants have not been commercially introduced, the report notes that Delta and Pine Land holds major patents on the sterile seed technology and has substantial cotton seed assets overseas, and that Monsanto has not ruled out its future deployment in cotton or other crops.
Highlights of the Center's report include:
* Increasing Seed Prices and Fewer Choices - Cotton seed prices have risen 240% from 1995 to 2005, due primarily to fees charged for genetically engineered traits. Monsantos pledge to "increase technology penetration" in DPL's cotton varieties will further accelerate the steep rise in prices and reduce the number of conventional varieties offered for sale.
* Environmental Effects - The dramatically increased use of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide - which is used in association with "Roundup Ready" cotton and other crops - has fostered rapid development and proliferation of herbicide-resistant superweeds, which one expert quoted in the report calls a threat to the industry that compares with the plague of the boll weevil. The report also cites recent scientific research linking heavy use of glyphosate to plant disease, crop mineral deficiencies, reduced yields and amphibian mortality.
* Increased Concentration in the Cotton Seed Industry - Just three firms sell 92% of cotton seed to U.S. farmers. The merger would likely accelerate the exit of smaller cotton seed firms from the market.
* Threats to Organic Cotton - The booming market in organic cotton, already at risk from transgenic contamination from genetically engineered varieties and damage from the drift of sprayed herbicides, is further threatened by the likely increase in these practices as a result of the takeover.
"Monsanto already has a 95% share of biotech traits in cotton," said Freese. "The merger would only extend this dominance well into the future. Near-total reliance on any agricultural technology, especially one company's limited set of biotech traits, is unwise."
View the Report
View the Executive Summary
|
