Monsanto Halts Sterile Seeds Plan

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Monsanto Halts Sterile Seeds Plan

By CONNIE FARROW

Associated Press Writer

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) In a move praised by farmers, agribusiness giant Monsanto Co.

pledged not to market genetically engineered crops that produce sterile seeds.

 

 

Such products are opposed by farmers and others because they make a seed

good for only one planting, forcing growers to buy more each year. There also

is concern that pollen from such crops could render plants in neighboring

fields sterile.

 

``This decision is a positive step, it does show that Monsanto is trying

to remake its image as a company listening to what consumers want,'' Jane

Rissler of the Union of Concerned Scientists said Tuesday.

 

Agribusinesses already make genetically altered seeds resistant to insects

and herbicides. But to maintain a market for their product, scientists have

designed some of these crops in such a way that farmers would have to buy new

seeds every year.

 

Crops that are engineered to produce infertile seeds are nicknamed

``terminator'' technology by critics, a reference to the robotic killer played

by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

 

``Terminator technology has become synonymous with corporate greed, and

even Monsanto couldn't put a positive spin on it,'' said Hope Shand, research

director at Rural Advancement Foundation International, an advocacy group for

farmers in Pittsboro, N.C.

 

After a year of mounting opposition, Monsanto chairman Robert B. Shapiro

said he opposes the practice of mnipulating genes to make a seed good for only

one planting cycle.

 

His comments were contained in a letter sent to Gordon Conway, president

of the Rockefeller Foundation. The foundation says gene-altered crops can help

reduce world hunger but opposes the idea of sterile seeds.

 

Conway called Monsanto's decision a first step in making ``the fruits of

plant biotechnology'' available to poor farmers worldwide.

 

The terminator technology was developed by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and Scott, Miss.-based Delta & Pine Land Co., the world's

largest cotton seed company.

 

It was patented in 1998, two months before Monsanto offered to buy Delta.

Monsanto's bid is awaiting antitrust review by the Justice Department.

 

Delta said it will continue trying to commercialize the seed sterilization

technology.

 

``The system offers valuable uses for breeding and scientific purposes, as

well as beneficial environmental qualities,'' said Harry Collins, Delta vice

president of technology transfer. He said the technology has been

misrepresented by opponents.