Monsanto

Company Name:

Monsanto[1]

History and Activities:

There are in fact two Monsanto companies, although today's Monsanto grew out of the original business. The original company was founded in 1901 by John F. Queeny who gave it his wife's maiden name. Monsanto began by producing saccharine before moving into a range of other activities. Among the more dubious features of the company's history are that it was closely involved in the Manhattan Project, which created the first nuclear bomb[2]; that in 1967 it entered into a joint vernture with German company IG Farben, 'the financial core of the Hitler regime and main supplier of Zyklon-B to the German government during the extermination phase of the Holocaust"[3]; that it was one of the primary manufacturers of Agent Orange, code name for a powerful herbicide, defoliant and chemical weapon used widely by the US military during the Vietnam War[4][5]; and that for 40 years until the 1970s it produced polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), toxic chemicals now banned in many countries[6], seemingly with knowledge of their hazardous nature [7].

In 2000 a new Monsanto Company was created as a subsidiary of Pharmacia, to which the original Monsanto had changed its name after a merger. Then in 2002 the new Monsanto was spun off and is now an independent company. It has, according to its website, 'a very special focus on developing agricultural solutions'. Specifically, 'In the 21st century, we have committed ourselves to innovation in plant biotechnology, genomics and breeding to improve productivity and to reduce the costs of farming.'[8] Monsanto manages its business in two segments, Seeds and Genomics and Agricultural Productivity.