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Monsanto does not own the world of agriculture. This is a ridiculous claim. There are many more than 1,000 separate seed companies that supply the many types

Monsanto does not own the world of agriculture. This is a ridiculous claim. There are many more than 1,000 separate seed companies that supply the many types of commercial seeds globally, and hundreds of seed companies that sell corn and soybean seed to American farmers. In fact, aggregate commercial sales by all seed companies account for only about 40 percent of the total volume of seeds used globally in 2014 (not sure of the last seasons). Of those commercial seed sales, roughly 2/3 of the seed volume comes from private breeding programs and significantly 1/3 comes from national or public institutions. The remaining non-commercial seed volume is seed saved and replanted by farmers. Monsanto participates in only a few crops, with the two largest being corn and soybeans. While Monsanto is one of the largest commercial seed companies, even in those crops their output probably accounts for less than one-third of global commercial volume. Therefore, if a farmer wants to plant seed from someone other than Monsanto, it’s very easy to do that. People use Monsanto products because of the genetics/profitability not out of intimidation or fear.

kjs3 9y ago
What does a Monsanto astroturf campaign pay these days? Just curious.
cisanti 9y ago
You seem like a person who knows the deal. Is there illegal market for Monsanto seeds? Let's say people smuggling the product out of USA to countries that they can't go after the IP etc? Could North Korea use secretly their seeds to have better output or are those seeds so very specifically engineered?
- sprucely 9y ago
  Most commercial varieties these days are hybrids. Many of the desirable traits are fixed for the plants that grow from that "F1" generation. But if you try to plant harvested seeds from those plants ("F2" generation) you'll get inconsistent results. It's possible to isolate particular traits via selfing and selecting for those traits. It's a years-long process, but I could see that happening in countries not beholden to Monsanto or trade deals.
  - dbcurtis 9y ago
    It is true for maize that you can create an unstable hybrid, which has been used as a form of IP control by corn seed companies for longer than I have been alive. That is also true for numerous other plants. As far as I know, it is not possible to create an unstable soybean hybrid, which is why Monsanto went the licensing route.
    - cisanti 9y ago
      What does unstable in this context exactly mean?
      - Natanael_L 9y ago
        Chance of successful replication of the desirable traits to the offspring (seeds) of the plants
      - dbcurtis 9y ago
        If you replant the unstable seed it might not germinate, if it does is likely to be stunted and sterile.
    - sprucely 9y ago
      My understanding of beans is that it is possible, but not commercially feasible. Something about the yield of seeds per plant versus the effort to control the crossing of parental inbred lines.
zzzeek 9y ago
> In fact, aggregate commercial sales by all seed companies account for only about 40 percent of the total volume of seeds used globally in 2014 (not sure of the last seasons). Of those commercial seed sales, roughly 2/3 of the seed volume comes from private breeding programs and significantly 1/3 comes from national or public institutions. > While Monsanto is one of the largest commercial seed companies, even in those crops their output probably accounts for less than one-third of global commercial volume. These are very specific quantitative statements. Can you provide your sources? it seems like whatever this is from is overall very interesting to read.

kjs3 9y ago

What does a Monsanto astroturf campaign pay these days? Just curious.

cisanti 9y ago

You seem like a person who knows the deal. Is there illegal market for Monsanto seeds? Let's say people smuggling the product out of USA to countries that they can't go after the IP etc? Could North Korea use secretly their seeds to have better output or are those seeds so very specifically engineered?

sprucely 9y ago
Most commercial varieties these days are hybrids. Many of the desirable traits are fixed for the plants that grow from that "F1" generation. But if you try to plant harvested seeds from those plants ("F2" generation) you'll get inconsistent results. It's possible to isolate particular traits via selfing and selecting for those traits. It's a years-long process, but I could see that happening in countries not beholden to Monsanto or trade deals.
- dbcurtis 9y ago
  It is true for maize that you can create an unstable hybrid, which has been used as a form of IP control by corn seed companies for longer than I have been alive. That is also true for numerous other plants. As far as I know, it is not possible to create an unstable soybean hybrid, which is why Monsanto went the licensing route.
  - cisanti 9y ago
    What does unstable in this context exactly mean?
    - Natanael_L 9y ago
      Chance of successful replication of the desirable traits to the offspring (seeds) of the plants
    - dbcurtis 9y ago
      If you replant the unstable seed it might not germinate, if it does is likely to be stunted and sterile.
  - sprucely 9y ago
    My understanding of beans is that it is possible, but not commercially feasible. Something about the yield of seeds per plant versus the effort to control the crossing of parental inbred lines.

zzzeek 9y ago

> In fact, aggregate commercial sales by all seed companies account for only about 40 percent of the total volume of seeds used globally in 2014 (not sure of the last seasons). Of those commercial seed sales, roughly 2/3 of the seed volume comes from private breeding programs and significantly 1/3 comes from national or public institutions. > While Monsanto is one of the largest commercial seed companies, even in those crops their output probably accounts for less than one-third of global commercial volume. These are very specific quantitative statements. Can you provide your sources? it seems like whatever this is from is overall very interesting to read.