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The MONSANTO MONITOR
______________________________________________
Rounding Up Monsanto&Co.
NEWS ROUNDUP
"Because Real Food,
Good Health and Hope
Cannot be Genetically Engineered"
________________________________________
Issue #1 May 99
CONTENTS
______________________________________________
PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
Water, Cotton, Rice, Maize, Coffee, Terminator Technology, rBST, Forestry

FINANCE
Monsanto making ends meet
Market targeting - Joint venture
DNA detection technology agreement
Rice Bran sterilization

ENVIRONMENT*HEALTH*SAFETY
Monsanto admits cross-pollination

COUNTRY NEWS
CANADA
Monsanto warns European concerns could transfer to Canada
Monsanto investigators accused of trespassing
THAILAND
Monsanto launches micro-credit partnership
NEW ZEALAND
Monsanto ranked amongst worst transnational corporations
Monsanto files 7 crop applications for sale in Australasia
EU
EU cancels canola order
UK
GenetiX Snowball win full trial and reduced injunction


PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
______________________________________________

WATER
MONSANTO MOVES IN BY 2008
Monsanto expects revenues of $420 million and a net income of $63 million
from its
new commercial activity area: water. According to the company's Robert
Farley, the
move into the water business forms part of the company's strategy to
consolidate
through the entire food chain: "Since water is as central to food production
as seed is,
and without water life is not possible, Monsanto is now trying to establish
its control
over water." To enter the water business, Monsanto has acquired an equity
stake in
Water Health International (WHI), with an option to buy the rest of the
business. In a
joint venture with Tata/Eureka Forbes, Monsanto is targeting market access to

fabricate, distribute and service water systems. The company has opted for a
joint
venture strategy in order "to achieve management control over local
operations but not
have legal consequences due to local issues." The private sector arm of the
World
Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has apparently stated its
interest in
Monsanto's activities.

By 2010, around 2.5 billion people worldwide are expected to lack access to
safe
drinking water, while at least 30% of the populations of China, Mexico and
India are
expected to face severe water stress.
Source: Vandana Shiva, The Hindu, May 1 1999

COTTON
MONSANTO STAKE IN $150 MILLION COTTON DEAL IN ZIMBABWE UNCLEAR
April 23: The Zimbabwe Government refused to endorse the proposed 51%
Monsanto
share of a $150 million GE cotton seed venture. The Government was advised by
the
Zimbabwe Cotton Company (Cottco, of which the government owns 25%) to reject
the
proposal for the controlling share of the new venture, New Donje Seed
Company.
Apparently, the government had hoped for a Cottco, Commercial Cotton Growers

Association and Staple Trust control in the venture. In what seems to be an
about-
face, however, Cottco now seems poised to accept the share structure that
would give
Monsanto the upperhand.
Source: Zimbabwe Independent, via Africa News Service

RICE
PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT FOR RICE BRAN STABILISATION IN INDIA
Monsanto and RiceX have signed an agreement for a preliminary joint venture
to
determine the feasibility of commercialising rice bran stabilisation
technology in India.
The commercial programme would convert rice bran currently used for low-grade

animal feed into a series of 'value-added food products for human
consumption'.
Commented Charles F. Hough, Business Development Head of Monsanto's
Nutrition
and Consumer Sector: " We are keenly interested in expanding our activities
in India.
The RiceX technology could be a vehicle for the Monsanto Company to
contribute
significantly to the nutritional well-bring of the people of India".
Source: RiceX Company Press Release, May 4 1999

MAIZE
UNAUTHORISED MONSANTO GE MAIZE DISCOVERED IN CONVENTIONAL MAIZE
SEED
May 4: Friends of the Earth Germany announced that Pioneer Maize seed sold in

Germany under the brand name Benicia was contaminated with GE maize seed not

authorised for cultivation in the EU. Preliminary tests on three sacks of
Pioneer's
Benicia confirmed the presence of two varieties of Monsanto GE maize: Mon
810,
approved in spring 1998 for cultivation, and Mon 809, which is not authorised
for
cultivation or import in the EU. The 809 variety includes insect and RoundUp
herbicide
resistance traits. A Novartis GE maize variety ("Bt 11") which is not
authorised for
cultivation in the EU was also discovered through the testing.
Source: Friends of the Earth Europe, Press Release May 4 1999

COFFEE
GE COFFEE A DECADE AWAY, SAYS MONSANTO SPECIALTY CROPS DIVISION
At a four-day Specialty Coffee Association of America AGM, Monsanto's James
Zarndt
stated that the company's interest in 'naturally' decaffeinated and insect
resistant
coffees are a decade away from approval, as a result of public uncertainty
about
genetic engineering. The company's commercial team leader of the specialty
crops
group noted that while there has been little research into genetically
engineered coffee,
the company was looking into possibilities. There are not at field trial
stage yet, he
claimed.
Source: Reuters, May 2 1999

TERMINATOR TECHNOLOGY
MONSANTO VOWS TO DELAY COMMERCIALISATION
April 19: Monsanto realizes its new policy statement on the Terminator,
announcing
that it will not commercialise Terminator gene protection "Until a thorough,

independent examination of gene protection systems has been conducted and all

points of view considered". The company has declared that the review of the
Terminator should include environmental, economic and social considerations.
It is not
yet clear who will undertake the review. A UN Biodiversity Convention panel
is
currently conducting studies on the technology.

Monsanto has been consulting the World Bank, the refugee and disaster aid
umbrella
organisation, InterAction, the National Biodiversity Council of Mexico,
Professor
Swaminathan of India among others. The company has not stated any intent to
withdraw the patent applications for the Terminator it has filed in 87
countries.
Source: Washington Post, April 23 1999,and
(http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/terminator/default.htm),

TERMINATOR 1998'S MOST UNDER-REPORTED NEWS
April 28: The Rural Advancement Foundation International was awarded
California-
based Project Underground prize for their article on the Terminator
Technology and its
impact on farmers and global food security. The award recognised the issue as
1998's
most under-reported news story. RAFI discovered and launched the campaign
against
the Terminator in March 1998. Since then, they have identified a further 12
such
technologies in the development pipeline.

Over 10 000 emails from 71 countries have been sent to the US Department of
Agriculture and other US policy-makers calling for the abandonment of all 87
patent
claims internationally.
Source: http://www.rafi.org

BST
NEW ZEALAND: ACTION PLEDGED IF RBST IS APPROVED
Monsanto's application for market admission of rBST to the New Zealand market
is
currently being reviewed by the Animal Welfare Committee. Their report will
be
considered by the Animal Remedies Board June 4 1999. There is widespread
concern
that US pressure on NZ policy regarding the labelling of GE products could be
applied
to the government decision on the rBST admission. Already a number of
environmental
coalitions throughout Asia have addressed their concerns to the New
Zealand
government.
Source: Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific Press Release, May 1999.

EU INSISTENCE ON HORMONE-TREATED BEEF IMPLICATES MONSANTO BST
The European Union ban on US beef imports which begins June 15 1999 will
introduce
a further wall to the market for Monsanto's bovine growth hormone, itself the
subject of
a ban. The EU ban on Monsanto's Posilac (Bovine Growth Hormone), which is to
be
extended after expiry of the 1994 imposed ban in July of this year, does not
cover the
importation of beef and dairy products from cattle treated with the Monsanto
product.
The EU ban on so-called 'hormone-enhanced beef" will however extend to
Posilac-
treated cattle products.

On March 12, the EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare

reported that rBST increased mastitis, foot problems and injection site
reactions in
treated dairy cows. The report of the Scientific Committee on Veterinary
Measures
released March 15-16 identifies human health risks, including an increased
relative risk
of breast and prostate cancer, gut-associated cancers and the possibility of
allergic
reactions as a result of potential changes in milk protein composition. The
EU ban on
US beef has been a long-standing cause of strain on US/EU trade relations,
and was
the subject of a WTO Dispute initiated by the US.

FORESTRY
MONSANTO ENTERS $60 MILLION GE FORESTRY DEAL
April 6: Monsanto and three major paper companies said they intend to spend
$60
million over five years to form a joint venture involving the application of
genetic
engineering to industrial forestry. The companies, Fletcher Challenge
Forests,
International Paper, Monsanto Company and Westvaco Corp. said the joint
venture will
produce and market tree seedlings, focusing on the majority of those now
planted by
the forest industry. Among the genetic improvements aimed at by the joint
venture are
higher growth rates to allow more wood to be grown on less land and improved
fiber
quality to increase efficiency in paper. The companies also said they intend
to
contract with Genesis Research and Development Corp. Ltd., an Auckland, New
Zealand, GE research company, to provide forestry genomics research, which is
the
study of genes to identify desirable traits. Details of that transaction
were not
disclosed. A spokeswoman for Monsanto said the joint venture is expected to

become commercial around 2005 to 2007. Monsanto plans for its RoundUp Ready

Forestry products to be ready beyond 2002.
Source: Joint Venture Company Press Release, April 6 1999; The Bowditch Group

Electronic AgBiotech Newsletter 170 April 6 1999


FINANCE
______________________________________________

MAKING ENDS MEET
Monsanto announced it will sell off more assets to free up a total of $2
billion to
maintain its independence. November 1998, one month after the collapse of
merger
discussions with American Home Products, the company announced a 60-day
timetable to asset sales of $1 billion. No new timetable has been set.

Monsanto has apparently cut 1, 700 jobs in moves unrelated to the business
divestments. It has not yet stated how many more jobs will be cut with
further
divestments. The sale of its lawn and garden division brought $300 million.
The
specialty chemicals unit is expected to bring $125 million. The Wellbridge
health and
fitness business brought under $15 million. Still up for sale: Stoneville
Pedigree Seed
Co. (cotton seed company) and Alginates - expected going price for the two:
$400
million. The company has issued stock, debt and a hybrid security, raising
more than
$4.2 billion.
Source: St. Louis Dispatch, May 4 1999

MARKET TARGETING - JOINT VENTURE
Molecular Applications Group (MAG) and Monsanto Company announced an
agreement under which MAG will apply their proprietary technology to support

Monsanto scientists in identifying, selecting, and prioritizing targets for
agricultural and
pharmaceutical applications. The project will utilize MAG's methods for
associating
target genes with genes that perform similar functions even when there is
minimal
sequence similarity. Monsanto will be the first company to receive access to
this
technology.
Source: Bowditch Group Electronic AgBiotech Newsletter 171, 9 April 1999

DNA DETECTION TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT
Strategic Diagnostics Inc. announced it has entered into diagnostic test
development
and licensing agreements with Monsanto Company. In collaboration with
Monsanto,
SDI is developing test kits designed specifically for detecting the presence
of
genetically modified traits in crops that may have been used as food
ingredients.
Under the agreements, Monsanto is licensing the use of their proprietary
technology to
SDI for the manufacture and sale of these test kits to food processors,
their suppliers
and regulatory bodies responsible for overseeing the labeling of these
products. SDI
recently introduced the Soya Test Kit to detect the presence of Monsanto's
Roundup
Ready(R) herbicide-tolerant trait in soya food ingredients. The development
of a Maize
Test Kit, which will detect Monsanto's YieldGard(R) insect-protected trait
in corn-
based food ingredients is underway. The latter test will be part of a
multi-trait test kit
that will detect all the Genetically Modified traits that have been approved
in the
European Union.
Source: The Bowditch Group Electronic AgBiotech Newsletter April 15


ENVIRONMENT * HEALTH * SAFETY
______________________________________________

MONSANTO ADMITS CROSS-POLLINATION AND HERBICIDE AND INSECTICIDE
RESISTANCE
April 25: The company's director of biotechnology communications admitted to
the
UK's Independent on Sunday that 'resistance' can develop. Monsanto has
apparently
stated its intent not to plant certain genetically modified crops where there
are wild
relatives. The UK government's wildlife advisor, English Nature, criticised
the company
for inconsistency in the light of its application for commercial cultivation
of GM
sugarbeet, that does have wild relatives there.
Source: Independent on Sunday, April 25 1999


COUNTRY NEWS
______________________________________________

CANADA

MONSANTO WARNS EUROPEAN CONCERNS COULD TRANSFER TO April 14:
Monsanto Canada Inc. President Ray Mowling warned the Canada Grains Council
that
public opposition in Europe threatens to contaminate Canadian perceptions of

genetically engineered crops. Mowling listed as culprits unscientific media
reports and
personalised media attacks on the genetic engineering industry. He emphasised
that
confirmation of improved dietary benefits and safety by trusted sources such
as
academics, the government and health professionals is key to public
acceptance.
Source: Resource News International April 14 1999

MONSANTO INVESTIGATORS ACCUSED OF TRESPASSING
May 2: Monsanto has been accused of trespassing in order to obtain samples of

harvested seeds from Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, currently
contesting the
company's charge that he illegally grew, harvested and planted RoundUp Ready

Canola, in contravention of the property rights covering the variety.
Monsanto allegedly
hired private investigators to collect DNA samples from Schmeiser's fields in
1997. It
also apparently surreptitiously obtained seeds from the local seed mill,
where
Schmeiser has his seeds cleaned. Monsanto questions whether the investigators

actually crossed Schmeiser's property line, and claims that the evidence was
not used
to get its court order for the more extensive field trials conducted in
1998.

Schmeiser claims that wild pollination brought the Monsanto crops into his
fields. The
company claims that a total of 900 acres of Ready RoundUp Canola were planted
in
1998, much more than could be expected by wind-born contamination.
Source: Washington Post, May 2 1999

THAILAND

MONSANTO LAUNCHES MICRO-CREDIT PARTNERSHIP TARGETING THAI RICE
FARMERS
Monsanto, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Population
and
Community Development Association (PDA) and the Thai Department of
Agriculture
have launched a micro-credit scheme targeting NorthEast Thai rice farmers to
adopt
new cultivation technologies. The project, "Innovative Partnerships for
Agricultural
Changes in Technology" (INPACT) has come under fierce criticism from the
Pesticide
Action Network Asia Pacific and Bothai, who fear that the programme will be
used to
introduce Monsanto's agrichemicals, and genetically engineered rice
varieties,
currently at the development phase.

Since the two organisations publicly denounced the scheme, the
Philippines-based
IRRI (whose gene-bank holds nearly all Asian rice cultures) has tried to
distance itself,
claiming that its involvement with Monsanto is indirect. Meanwhile, PDA
(headed by a
former Thai Minister of Industry) has apparently changed staff working on
the project
to avoid information leaks. There are rumours that Monsanto may pull out of
the
project given the rising level of public concern since the news was
divulged.
Source: Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific. Http://www.poptel.org.uk/panap


NEW ZEALAND

MONSANTO RANKED WORST TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION IN NEW
ZEALAND
April 27: In an award ceremony organised by Corso, GATT Watchdog and the
Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa, Monsanto was singled out for
its
attempt to dominate global food production and its responsibility for the
development of
a number of genetically-engineered products that pose incalculable risk to
the
ecosystem and the food supply. Among the judges included the President of the
New
Zealand Trade Union Federation, Mayor of Dunedin City, the Director of the
Maori
Legal Service.
Source: Corso Press Release April 27 1999

MONSANTO FILES SEVEN CROP APPLICATIONS FOR SALE IN AUSTRALASIA
Meeting the April 30 deadline of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority,
Monsanto
has filed seven applications for four different GE crops: disease and insect
resistant
potatoes, insect and herbicide resistance corn, herbicide resistant cotton
and
herbicide resistant sugarbeet. The deadline was set by the authorities for
interim
approval to genetically engineered crops, after which time, their sale could
become
illegal. By the end of March, Monsanto ReadyRoundup soya and Ingard
cottonseed oil
had received approval. Meanwhile Novartis has applied for approval of two GE
maize
varieties, and AgrEvo herbicide-resistant canola and maize.
Source: Reuters, Sydney. April 30 1999

EU

EU CANCELS GE CANOLA ORDER
The European Union has cancelled an order for GE canola that Monsanto was
planning to produce in New Zealand for Zeneca Canada, that is allegedly
struggling to
meet the worldwide demand. The EU took its business to Australia in a move to

ensure a GE-free canola supply, which the Canadian market can no longer
guarantee.
Monsanto intends to go ahead with the application for what will be the first
commercial
GE crop cultivation in New Zealand. It also plans commercial cultivation of
a pesticide-
resistant brassica variety destined for greenfeed for stock. Monsanto
spokesman,
Murray Willocks, confirmed that company's application for a 200 per cent
increase in
RoundUp herbicide residues in New Zealand.
Source: The Evening Post (NZ) April 14 1999

UK

GENETIX SNOWBALL WIN FULL TRIAL AND REDUCED INJUNCTION
April 20: After a two-day High Court hearing, Monsanto lost its application
for
permanent injunctions against six defendants from the Genetix Snowball that
uprooted
a Monsanto GM field trial in July 1998. Monsanto had sought an injunction
that would
extend to all recipients of the Genetix Snowball handbook, arguing that any
reader is a
potential 'conspirator'. The terms of the injunction forbid trespass on
Monsanto
premises, interference with Monsanto test field and attempting or conspiring
with
others to that end. The injunction further sought to place responsibility
with any
Snowball action taken by readers on the original five.
The company also lost its application for a summary judgement. Monsanto had
petitioned for a summary judgement on the basis that there was no conceivable

justification for the five women to uproot its field trial. Monsanto was
refused leave to
appeal the decision. A full trial is expected within the next months.
Source: Genetix Snowball, One World Centre, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS

UK. Tel: +44-161-834 0295.
__________________________________________________________
Rounding Up Monsanto
A SEED Europe
P.O. Box 92066
1090 AB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
tel: +31-20-468 2616
fax: +31-20-468 2275
email: groundup@aseed.antenna.nl