Investor Report Reveals That Monsanto Is Going Down The Tubes

Monsanto Investors Face Catastrophic Risk

NEW YORK: 16 April 2003 - The agrochemical giant Monsanto has received
the lowest possible environmental and strategic management rating of a
triple-C from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, a global environmental
and social investment research firm. Innovest's report, "Monsanto and
Genetic Engineering: Risks to Investors," commissioned by Greenpeace,
was released at a briefing at the Harvard Club in New York City this
morning.

The report, which comes just days before Monsanto's annual general
meeting, warns shareholders and potential investors of Monsanto's "above
average risk exposure and less sophisticated management than peers."
Innovest analysts predict that "it [Monsanto] will likely under-perform
in the market over the mid to long-term."

Monsanto suffered $1.7 billion in losses in 2002 and has failed to open
new markets for its controversial genetic engineered (GE) products. Yet
Monsanto continues to pursue its unsound business strategy of betting on
a speedy and widespread global acceptance of GE foods. Next in the
Monsanto pipeline is GE wheat, which is being boycotted in key markets
by farmers and food industry even before its approval.

"While last year's profit losses led to a change in leadership at the
company, they did not lead to a change in strategy. If Monsanto does not
take steps to mitigate its substantial market risks, further investor
losses are likely," said Frank Dixon, Managing Director at Innovest
Strategic Value Advisors. "The risk of heavy financial losses due to
genetic pollution or technology failure coupled with sustained market
rejection of GE foods makes Monsanto a poor investment."

In its assessment of Monsanto's key markets, Innovest underscores the
lack of regulatory approval and stiff consumer opposition that continue
to block the company's GE crops. GE products constitute one of the most
widely rejected product groups ever, and major food importers such as
China, Japan and Korea have recently followed the restrictive European
approach. In the US, upwards of 90% of consumers now demand GE food to
be labeled and many would reject GE food if given the choice.

The Innovest analysis of the risks and liabilities associated with
Monsanto's genetic engineering (GE) business pays special attention to
the inevitability of GE contamination. Referring to the example of the
StarLink corn contamination scandal in 2000, in which the company
Aventis lost $1 billion, Innovest estimated Monsanto's potential
financial fallout from a "StarLink scenario" to be $3.83 liability per
share.

"Monsanto's cash cow remains its agrochemical business, but last year's
24% drop in sales of Round-up and other non-selective herbicides has
left the company vulnerable and increasingly desperate. Monsanto appears
to be digging its own grave with its GE strategy," said global markets
specialist with Greenpeace, Lindsay Keenan.

You can read the full report at
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/media/press_releases/2003/04162003.htm