Saving Capitalism, by Robert Reich: on Environment

Robert Reich: Lawsuit-enforced monopoly on seeds led to tripling prices

Monsanto, the giant biotech corporation, owns the key genetic traits in more than 90 percent of the soybeans planted by farmers in the United States and 80 percent of the corn. Its monopoly grew out of a carefully crafted strategy. It patented its own genetically modified seeds, along with an herbicide that would kill weeds but not soy and corn grown from its seeds. The herbicide and herbicide-resistant seeds initially saved farmers time and money.

But the purchase came with a catch that would haunt them in the future: The soy and corn that grow from those seeds don't produce seeds of their own. So every planting season, farmers have to buy new seeds.

Since 2000, Monsanto has more than doubled the price of corn and soybean seeds. The average cost of planting one acre of soybeans increased 325 percent between 1994 and 2011, and the price of corn rose 259 percent.

Source: Saving Capitalism, by Robert Reich, p. 34-5 May 3, 2016

The above quotations are from Saving Capitalism For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich. Click here for definitions & background information on Environment. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Robert Reich on Environment. Click here for more quotes by John Boehner on Environment.
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