Bill Gates, Monsanto and Genetically Modified Food

The Seed Industry's Scary Consolidation

January 26, 2010

GOOD Blog - This chart from Phil Howard at Michigan State University shows how three chemical giants, Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta, have come to dominate the agricultural seed industry in the last 10 years. Obviously, there are concerns about whether this market is fair:

Monsanto supplies proprietary traits to 85 percent of corn planted in the United States, and 92 percent of soy. Corn and soy are the lifeblood of the U.S. food system. If you eat a standard diet, you’re ingesting a Monsanto-originated product with just about every bite you take. Nor is the company a benign monopolist, the report shows. GMO corn seeds have jumped from $110 per unit in 1999 to upwards of $190 by 2008; for soy, prices soared from less than $25 to more than $40.

But this monopoly isn't just bad for farmers' livelihoods; it's bad for the resilience of our ecosystem. We have 71 percent of U.S. cropland being used for just three crops, and a small handful of companies supplying the seeds. That's a precarious situation, and it's why projects like the Seed Vault are important. There's a bigger version of the chart here.

Bill Gates Funding Genetic Experimentation of Agricultural Crops

October 26, 2009

Raw Story - Bill Gates reveals that the debate and conflict over GM foods are threatening the efforts of The Gates Foundation in its attempt to end world hunger. ‘An “ideological wedge” threatens his global effort to help farmers.’

Over the recent years, The Gates Foundation has been ‘helping alleviate hunger and poverty by giving small farmers the tools to produce more.’ Gates and his wife have given more than $1.4 billion to agricultural development.

Recently, they pledged ‘nine new grants worth $120 million aimed at raising yields and farming expertise in the developing world.’ The $120 million fund ‘is intended to help develop genetically modified crops that are more drought-resistant and productive in marginal conditions.’ Under the sponsorship of the Gates Foundation, nitrogen-fixing legume crops, sorghum and millet, and sweet potatoes are all undergoing genetic experimentation.

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been under fierce agricultural debate. GM crops ‘undergo genetic manipulation in a laboratory, usually for the purpose of increasing crop yield or pest resistance.’ Many are skeptic, even wary, of genetic manipulation, believing that ‘GM crops will lead to even greater crop homogenization and threaten the stability of the global food supply.’

Gates slams the ‘false dichotomy between sustainability and productivity, but avoided mentioning genetic modification.’ “According to him, “The technology and new approaches that are transforming agriculture in other parts of the world can be applied in new ways, and help Africa flourish too. This global effort to help small farmers is endangered by an ideological wedge that threatens to split the movement in two. On one side is a technological approach that increases productivity. On the other side is an environmental approach that promotes sustainability. It’s a false choice, and it’s dangerous for the field.”

The Seed Industry in U.S. Agriculture
Bill Gates reveals love of GMOs, appoints Monsanto veteran to Gates Foundation
Bill Gates sets eye on 'next green revolution'
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Agricultural Development