Roundup Ready - Monsanto

MONSANTO COMPANY 2004 PLEDGE REPORT 

Growing Options

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN 

Meeting the world’s food 

We live in a time of great opportunity. Although society faces many environmental, food production, and healthrelated 

challenges, every day new innovations are discovered that can help meet these challenges. I am optimistic 

when I see the partnerships that are coming together — people linking arms to create solutions. I am also optimistic 

when I hear our own employees talk about the contribution they personally hope to make through their work at 

Monsanto. They want to leave a positive legacy for their children by contributing in their own roles to something 

bigger than themselves. 

Agriculture touches many of the areas in distress, and Monsanto offers farmers options to address those challenges. 

We have built our business on developing products and technologies that improve the economic and environmental 

sustainability of agriculture to help growers — large and small — increase yields, use fewer pesticides, reduce soil 

erosion, and reduce THE costs. GLOBAL CHALLENGE #1: 

DIALOGUE 

We will listen carefully 

to diverse points of 

view and engage in 

thoughtful dialogue. 

We will broaden our 

understanding of issues 

in order to better 

address the needs and 

concerns of society 

and each other. 

SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMLANDS 

Beginning in the early 1980s, we believed that biological solutions were the future for agriculture. They would 

meet the world’s growing food needs with less environmental impact than the traditional chemical controls. We 

began investing in agricultural biotechnology that imparts desired traits into plants in a very precise way. After nine 

years of commercial experience, 7 million growers now use biotech products on more than 150 million acres in 

18 countries worldwide. Studies show that, in 2001, these crops eliminated the use of almost 50 million pounds of 

pesticides. Additionally, they have contributed to an increase in conservation tillage acreage (important for topsoil 

retention and other benefits), and increased disposable income to growers around the world, including small 

growers in developing countries. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that world grain production will need to 

increase 55 percent over today’s levels to meet world food demand in 2030. Yield improvements will continue to 

be necessary to avoid the destruction of wilderness to meet this need. We believe that biotech crops will continue 

The Monsanto Pledge 

TRANSPARENCY 

We will ensure that 

information is available, 

accessible and 

understandable. 

SHARING 

We will share knowledge 

and technology to 

advance scientific 

understanding, to 

improve agriculture 

and the environment, 

to improve crops, 

and to help farmers in 

developing countries. 

BENEFITS 

We will use sound and 

innovative science and 

thoughtful and effective 

stewardship to deliver 

high-quality products 

that are beneficial to 

our customers and to 

the environment.

needs sustainably. 

to play an important role. New products in early development show promise for increasing yields by protecting 

crops from drought and other stresses and for improving nutrition — with lower saturated fats and land-based 

sources of heart healthy omega-3 oil. 

Monsanto has some useful tools to bring to the table. Many others, including governments, non-governmental 

groups, scientists, regulators, growers and food companies, are also involved. We’ll need to continue to work 

together to effect change. We’re all part of a global team, looking for answers to the same challenges. 

Following our Monsanto Pledge commitments, we continue to listen to our customers and other stakeholders. 

We work hard to be respectful of people’s concerns and to be transparent about our science, business direction, 

and decisions. We recognize that society has legitimate questions about new technology. We all want to be confident 

that it is safe and beneficial for people and the environment. We are already delivering benefits to growers and 

the environment. Before long, we’ll be delivering them to consumers as well. Increasingly, we are sharing those 

benefits with the poor. We’re working together to create a great workplace, and we’re collectively 

taking ownership for what we are creating. You will find examples of our work in the 

pages of this report. 

The challenges ahead are huge. Biotech has the potential to be one part of the solution. 

There is still a lot to do, but I am encouraged by the progress we have made and by the 

developments under way that will continue to help farmers grow options for the future. 

Sincerely, 

Hugh Grant, Monsanto Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 

RESPECT 

We will respect the religious, 

cultural, and ethical concerns 

of people throughout the world. 

The safety of our employees, the 

communities where we operate, 

our customers, consumers, and 

the environment will be our 

highest priority. 

ACT AS OWNERS TO ACHIEVE RESULTS 

We will create clarity of direction, 

roles and accountability; build 

strong relationships with our 

customers and external partners; 

make wise decisions; steward our 

company resources; and take 

responsibility for achieving 

agreed-upon results. 

CREATE A GREAT PLACE TO WORK 

We will ensure diversity of people 

and thought; foster innovation, 

creativity and learning; practice 

inclusive teamwork; and reward 

and recognize our people. 

{ MONSANTO COMPANY 2004 PLEDGE REPORT: PAGE 1 }

GROWING OPTIONS 

As the global population grows, the challenge to feed the increasing 

numbers becomes more difficult. Already, there are more than 

8oo million people, 

mostly in Asia or Africa, who remain chronically undernourished. 

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute 

(IFPRI), alleviating food insecurity depends on the quality and 

productivity of agriculture. 1 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), however, says that the agricultural 

effort to nourish these people has not gone well over the last decade. An FAO report on food 

insecurity published in 2003 states: “The number of chronically hungry people in developing 

countries declined by only 19 million between the World Food Summit (WFS) baseline period 

of 1990-1992 and 1999-2001. This means that the WFS goal of reducing the number of 

undernourished people by half by the year 2015 can now be reached only if annual reductions 

can be accelerated to 26 million per year, more than 12 times the pace of 2.1 million per year 

achieved to date.” The report adds, “Analysis of more recent trends makes the prospects look 

even bleaker. From 1995-1997 to 1999-2001, the number of undernourished actually increased 

by 18 million.” 2 

Agricultural productivity is being held back by the realities of soil degradation, insufficient fresh 

water, biological competition, and limited quantities of arable land. It has been predicted that if 

ways aren’t found to grow more per acre, over the next 50 years a third of all remaining natural 

tropical and temperate ecosystems could be lost to clearing for farming purposes. Such forest 

loss and fragmentation of natural habitat would severely affect global biodiversity. 3-5

GLOBAL CHALLENGES 

In this section, we’ll explore four 

global challenges: sustainability of 

farmlands, food security, food for the 

heart, and climate and energy options. 

For each, we’ll examine the trends, 

impacts, the role of agriculture, and 

the part that Monsanto is playing to help 

create options for growers and society. 

Global Challenge #1 

SUSTAINABILITY OF 

FARMLANDS 

{ PAGE 4 } 


FOOD SECURITY 

{ PAGE 8 } 


FOOD FOR THE HEART 

{ PAGE 14 } 


CLIMATE AND ENERGY 

OPTIONS 

{ PAGE 18 } 

OUR COMMITMENTS 

While the road ahead is not always 

well defined, we are listening to stakeholders 

and considering their views and 

needs.This section chronicles some of 

the ways we are practicing our Pledge 

commitments, delivering value to our 

customers, the environment, society, 

and our shareholders. 

Our Commitments 

THE ROAD AHEAD 

{ PAGE 22 } 

Monsanto Pledge Awards 

Winners of Monsanto’s Pledge Awards program 

are featured throughout this book. The awards 

are given annually to recognize employees whose 

projects demonstrate the application of Pledge 

values in pursuit of business goals. 

{ MONSANTO COMPANY 2004 PLEDGE REPORT: PAGES 2-3 }


SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMLANDS 

PROTECTING THE SOIL AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS ESSENTIAL 

TO LONG-TERM AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY.

GLOBAL CHALLENGE #1: SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMLANDS 

THE ISSUE 

The past 50 years have seen a huge effort to protect the planet’s natural environment from 

industrial degradation. As important as that effort has been, it’s now time to add the Earth’s fragile and finite 

farmland to the list of things that absolutely have to be protected. 

If the wrong practices are used, farming can be surprisingly destructive to the environment, 

especially to soils. A comprehensive mapping of global agriculture by the International Food Policy Research 

Institute (IFPRI) suggests that almost 40 percent of the world’s agricultural land is seriously degraded. The IFPRI 

scientists are concerned that the capacity of those soils has been impaired enough to reduce food production. 6 

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE 

The good news is that more farmers are becoming better aware of the problem and how 

they can mitigate it. In developed parts of the world, farmers have already adopted many new agricultural 

products and systems that help them protect the soil. They use conservation tillage techniques and land 

management techniques such as buffer strips to slow erosion and runoff. They also use integrated pest 

management, high-yielding crop varieties and hybrids, better fertilizers, and herbicides that are part of 

environmentally sound production systems. 

Most recently, they have adopted crop varieties that have been selected for high yield or 

other environmentally beneficial characteristics through genomics research. Farmers are also widely planting 

genetically enhanced crops that benefit the soils by being able to resist pests or to allow the use of herbicides 

with favorable environmental characteristics. 

Farmers in developing areas are beginning to adopt these techniques with the help and 

assistance of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), aid agencies, research institutes, and international 

agricultural organizations, including Monsanto. In developing areas, these new agricultural methods do more 

than help protect the soil and the environment. They also reduce the need for additional forest clearing and 

provide more food. Those are lifesaving benefits for many regions. 

MONSANTO’S CONTRIBUTION 

Monsanto is in a unique position to help overcome many of the obstacles to sustainability. 

At its core, Monsanto consists of people, resources and tools that increase agricultural productivity and 

at the same time contribute to more sustainable agriculture. Over the years, Monsanto has provided products, 

including Roundup agricultural herbicides, which have favorable environmental characteristics, and crops improved 

through biotechnology that help farmers increase yields and reduce impacts on farmland and the environment. 

Monsanto is now a leader in the sciences of plant genomics and genetic modification (GM). 

Genomics is the DNA mapping and sequencing of plants to determine gene function and to understand 

how plant genes interact. It is used to find and crossbreed existing plants that have the best agronomic 

characteristic to benefit farmers. 

Genetic modification is the transfer of genes with useful traits from one plant to another in 

a very precise way. These new traits, when introduced into traditional crops, give the crops highly desirable 

characteristics that can increase yields and help protect the soil and the environment. 


IN CONSERVATION TILLAGE 

SYSTEMS, GROWERS MINIMIZE 

SOIL DISTURBANCE. 

GLOBAL CHALLENGE #1: SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMLANDS 

ROUNDUP READY CROPS HELP 

REDUCE SOIL EROSION 

Conservation tillage methods encompass a 

number of techniques that reduce tillage of 

the soil and increase crop residue on the soil 

surface. Advantages of using these practices: 

reduced soil erosion, 

improved soil moisture, 

increased soil organisms such as 

earthworms and microbes, 

reduced fuel consumption from fewer 

tillage passes, 

reduced runoff into streams, 

improved wildlife habitat, 

reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and 

reduced soil compaction and flooding 

potential. 

Weed control is the biggest barrier to 

farmers’ use of reduced-tillage practices. 

Monsanto’s herbicide-tolerant Roundup 

Ready products provide growers with a 

useful tool for weed control that facilitates 

the use of con-till practices. 

In a survey conducted by the American 

Soybean Association over the years 1996 

to 2001, soy growers made greater use of 

conservation tillage systems: 73 percent of 

growers reported leaving more residues on 

the ground and 53 percent of growers reported 

making fewer tillage passes. More than half 

of the soy growers said the primary reason 

for the change was the increased use of 

Roundup Ready soy, first available in 1996. 

A similar study was done by the National 

Cotton Council (U.S.) for the years 1997 to 

2002 with similar results. 

For more information 

on these studies, see: 

www.soygrowers.com/ 

ctstudy/default.htm and 

www.cotton.org/tech/ 

biotech/contill-study.cfm. 

BIOTECH CROPS REDUCE 

PESTICIDE USE 

A report by the National Center for Food and 

Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) in 2002 showed 

that six crops currently in the marketplace 

developed through biotechnology — soybeans, 

corn, cotton, papaya, squash, and canola — 

would increase yields by an additional 4 billion 

pounds on the same acreage, improve farm 

income $1.5 billion, and reduce pesticide use 

by 46 million pounds of active ingredient. 7,8 

Follow-up reports issued in June and 

December 2003 looked at the potential impact 

biotech crops could deliver to Europe. The 

nine crops studied showed that European 

farmers could use 14.4 million fewer kilograms 

(32 million pounds) of pesticides, increase 

yields by 8.5 billion kilograms (19 billion 

pounds) while improving their income by 

over 1.6 billion Euros. 9 The nine crops 

included: insect-resistant maize, herbicide 

tolerant oilseed rape, maize, rice, wheat 

and sugar beets, virus-resistant stone fruit 

and tomatoes, and fungal-resistant potato. 

Six additional crops studies are underway. 

For additional information on the studies 

visit http://www.ncfap.org. 

NCFAP is a private nonprofit nonadvocacy research organization 

that conducts studies in biotechnology, pesticides, international 

trade and development, and farm and food policy. 

RESTORING HABITAT FOR 

MISSOURI BIRDS 

The Monsanto Fund is providing the 

Missouri chapter of The Nature Conservancy 

a $335,000 grant to fund work along the 

Current River in the Lower Ozarks of Missouri. 

The grant will fund a conservation outreach 

program to local landowners, restore the 

nearly vanished cane stands that once lined 

the river and replant bottomland forests.

WATERBIRDS ON WORKING LANDS 

The National Audubon Society received a $2.1 million three-year 

grant from the Monsanto Fund to identify the best farming practices 

that best help improve environmental health and wildlife habitats 

with a focus on agricultural lands and wetlands for waterbirds in the 

U.S. Waterbirds are potentially powerful bioindicators of water quality 

and the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. The program will study 

scientific data related to farming methods, environmental indicators 

and bird populations. Audubon will then engage with the farming 

community to communicate the multiple benefits of using the 

identified best practices. The grant will enable Audubon to extend 

its waterbird conservation work and to partner with growers in 

promoting environmentally responsible farming systems. 

YieldGard Rootworm Corn – Agronomic, 

Economic and Environmental Impacts 

Corn rootworm is the most damaging insect pest in corn crops, resulting in millions of pounds of insecticide 

use and more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and control costs. YieldGard Rootworm corn — one of 

Monsanto’s most recently commercialized products — contains a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), 

a common soil microbe, to provide in-plant protection against corn rootworm. 

YieldGard Rootworm corn had its first commercial planting in 2003. A modeling study conducted by Dr. Marlin 

Rice of Iowa State University estimated the potential annual impacts of the use of YieldGard Rootworm corn based 

on 10 million U.S. planted acres. Analysis of actual commercial field data will be the focus of future reports. 

Rice found that YieldGard Rootworm corn could provide a number of agronomic, economic, worker safety 

and environmental benefits. 10 It could reduce the amount of soil-applied insecticide needed by 5.3 million 

pounds (active ingredient). This could result in a corresponding reduction in labor, worker exposure, and 

fossil fuels used in the manufacture, transport, and application of insecticide. Rice also found that YieldGard 

Rootworm corn could increase yield protection from 9 percent to 28 percent relative to no insecticide use, 

and from 1.5 percent to 4.5 percent relative to control with a soil insecticide. He estimates that farmers would 

see an economic benefit of $231 million from yield gains ($25 to $75 an acre relative to no insecticide control, 

$4 to $12 an acre relative to control with a 

Table 1: Potential Impacts of Yieldgard Rootworm Corn for 

Control of Rootworm Pests 

Impact* Resources Reduced 

CONSERVATION OF WATER RESOURCES » 5.7 million gallons 

REDUCTION OF DIESEL FUEL » 3.1-5.2 million gallons 

REDUCTION IN PLASTIC CONTAINERS 

FOR INSECTICIDES » 1.2 million containers 

REDUCTION IN AVIATION FUEL » 68,845 gallons 

* Annual impact based on 10 million planted acres of YieldGard Rootworm corn 

PHOTO: PAUL AND ENG-LI GREEN 

soil insecticide). 

WATERBIRDS ARE 

BIOINDICATORS OF 

WATER QUALITY. 

In addition, a study conducted by Alston et al. 

found that YieldGard Rootworm corn would 

generate $460 million more in incremental 

economic benefits a year than corn treated 

with a soil insecticide. 11 



FOOD SECURITY 

SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY WITH RESOURCE-POOR 

FARMERS IS A KEY COMMITMENT AT MONSANTO.

GLOBAL CHALLENGE #2: FOOD SECURITY 

THE ISSUE 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as a 

“state of affairs where all people at all times have access to safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy 

and active life.” Worldwide, the FAO estimates that “842 million people were undernourished in 1999-2001. 

This includes 10 million in the industrialized countries, 34 million in countries in transition, and 798 million 

in developing countries. At the regional level, the numbers of undernourished were reduced in Asia and the 

Pacific and in Latin America and the Caribbean. In contrast, the numbers continue to rise in sub-Saharan 

Africa and in the Near East and North Africa.” 2 


In addition to declining soil productivity and environmental damage, increasing competition 

for fresh water is a significant obstacle to achieving greater food security. The need for fresh water is rapidly 

increasing as population levels rise. The demand exceeds the availability in some parts of the world. Agriculture, 

by far the largest user of fresh water, competes with urban areas for limited supplies. 

“In much of the developing world, growing urban and industrial water demand will require 

transfers of water from agricultural uses, threatening food production and rural livelihoods.” According to the 

International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in 1995 

irrigation for agriculture used about 80 percent of available global fresh water and about 86 percent of the 

fresh water available in developing countries. 12 

Increasing large-scale agricultural efficiency and helping smaller producers succeed are 

the keys to ensuring greater food security around the world. Among the tools that can make a difference are 

modern technology and ag systems expertise. Monsanto is dedicated to contributing to both. 

Although the trends until now have not been positive, there is room for optimism. The tools 

to achieve food security exist, explains Jeffrey D. Sachs, a highly respected expert on poverty and food security. 

In a speech at the World Food Prize Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa in 2003, he said, “Despairing poverty 

is not an impossible challenge. It is an utterly solvable challenge, given the enormous talents and knowledge, 

the powerful technologies, and the proven track record that we have.” 13 


Through higher-yielding seeds, traits that require less tillage and pesticides, and knowledge 

of integrated agricultural systems, Monsanto is in a position to help growers, both large and small, to increase 

food production and thereby improve food security. Monsanto works with large growers to help them maximize 

yields and protect the environment. It helps small farmers with products adapted to their needs — to help them 

become more productive. It works with governments and nongovernmental groups to give small growers access 

to the inputs they need and to commercial markets for their surplus. Monsanto also works with international 

research institutes to transfer technology where appropriate to fight pests and to address micronutrient issues 

such as vitamin A deficiency in diets. 


Written by Robert B. Horsch, Ph.D. 

Why We Share 


SHARING TECHNOLOGY WITH THE POOR 

Sharing knowledge and technology with the 

developing world is a key commitment at 

Monsanto, as evidenced by the company’s 

support for research to improve the micronutrient 

content of staple foods. Micronutrient 

deficiencies of vitamin A, iron, and zinc are 

a large problem, particularly for women of 

childbearing age and young children in 

developing countries. This problem is so 

severe that a major new international program 

called HarvestPlus has been launched. It 

is addressing malnutrition in the developing 

world by improving the micronutrient content 

of the world’s major crops. 

Monsanto has donated research and other 

critical information to aid several HarvestPlus 

members in the development of a nutritionally 

improved African variety of maize with increased 

levels of pro-vitamin A. Conventional breeding 

and biotech methods are being compared to 

find the most effective solution. The Monsanto 

Fund has recently supported the development 

of a nutrition laboratory at the International 

Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIM- 

MYT) and other micronutrient relief projects. 

It is a natural human value to want to share with others — to touch them in ways that make a 

positive difference in their lives. It is a privilege to be in a position to share — to have the 

resources, time, and expertise. 

At Monsanto, we share technology, such as the genes that boost beta carotene levels in crops 

to protect against vitamin A deficiency that can cause blindness. We share scientific data, such 

as the first working draft of the rice genome. We also share our agricultural know-how, such as conservation 

tillage methods, with farmers around the world. As an agricultural company, we have important expertise that 

can help people grow more food with fewer inputs and less environmental impact and that can save them time 

and money. We also share in ways that don’t compete directly with our commercial pursuits, but which make 

profound differences in growers’ lives. 

We don’t give away our finished products, but we do help make needed products available to smallholders at 

reasonable costs and in appropriate quantities. Over the years, we have built partnerships around the world with 

nongovernmental groups, such as Winrock International, Sasakawa Global 2000, and the Mexican Foundation 

for Rural Development. These organizations are in the best position to know what people need and want in each 

region, and the most appropriate way to deliver it. We also partner with research institutions that are working to 

improve local crops. We work with governments, scientists, intergovernmental organizations, and many others. 

The skills of all of us are needed to build infrastructure, to teach more effective farming techniques, to provide 

better inputs, and to develop solutions to pests, spoilage, viruses, and other problems that limit yield. 

Monsanto people have engaged in agricultural sharing programs since the early 1990s. We share because 

we have useful technology and knowledge that people need. We share because we care about people and the 

environment. We share because it helps to earn good will and good partners, and maybe even new customers. 

Engaging in these activities connects to our sense of mission and purpose: in some small part to contribute to 

a better-fed world. That’s a mission we can all be proud of. 

Dr. Horsch is the vice president of International Development Partnerships at Monsanto and member of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals Hunger Task Force.

HELPING SMALLHOLDERS WITH 

EDUCATION AND MICROCREDIT 

Consolidation of the American agriculture 

industry is leading to fewer and larger 

farming operations. Meanwhile, worldwide, 

most farmers are commercial producers 

on a small scale or barely produce enough 

to feed themselves and their families. Most 

African farmers have one to three hectares, 

and these smallholders do not have the 

resources to expand. Monsanto, through 

very capable and effective partners, is 

involved in bringing modern technology 

to small farms around the world. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, Monsanto partners 

with Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000) to 

provide technical assistance at the field level 

as well as support for local partners in the 

public sector and academia. SG2000 has 

worked in 15 African countries. It currently 

has work under way in Benin, Ethiopia, and 

seven other nations. 

Winrock International is another important 

organization. It often collaborates with SG2000 

on agricultural programs. Winrock helps small 

farmers use conservation tillage techniques 

to expand the hectares they can cultivate 

and thus become small commercial farmers. 

Winrock also improves access to credit for 

small African farmers — a program launched 

with funding from Monsanto. 14 

In Mexico, Indonesia, Kenya, and Uganda, 

village banks are now in operation that provide 

small loans to poor local farmers through the 

support of the Monsanto Fund. Operated by 

the Foundation of International Community 

Assistance, such “microcredit” programs have 

proven to be successful in fighting poverty. 

They are creating new, healthy markets for 

trade and commerce. 

LARGE-SCALE FARMING PLAYS 

IMPORTANT ROLE WORLDWIDE 

Large-scale farming operations around 

the world have successfully harnessed the 

power of technology, financial resources, and 

economies of scale to create unprecedented 

advances in agricultural productivity. This, 

in turn, has led to abundant and affordable 

food and fiber in most of the developed world. 

As a result, food prices for consumers have 

remained at near-record low percentages 

of household budgets in many developed 

countries. The story is quite different, 

however, in developing areas of the world. 

Percent of Income Spent on Food 

U.S. » 10% 

HIGH INCOME NATIONS » 13% 

MIDDLE INCOME NATIONS » 29% 

LOW INCOME NATIONS » 47% 

Source: U.S. Department of Agricultural/Economic Research Service 

Public and private agricultural research has 

been the foundation for much of this growth in 

large-scale farming. New crop varieties have 

continued to make significant impacts on crop 

productivity, as recently released improved 

varieties replace earlier improved varieties. 

Many technological advances in the last 

century have increased agricultural production, 

but not all world regions benefited equally. 

Public and private investments in innovations 

could help the developing countries to achieve 

income growth and to provide sufficient food 

to their populations. Technology transfer 

holds promise for improving incomes and 

welfare throughout the world. 

MODERN FARMING 

METHODS KEEP FOOD 

PRICES LOW. 


PHOTO: SG2000 


Written by Professor Ruth Oniang’o, Ph.D. 

Monsanto – Reaching the Poor 

Meeting food security needs in Africa continues to be a major challenge. As I write, 

about 4 million Kenyans (one-seventh of the country’s population) face starvation 

because of widespread drought complicated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other 

factors. Cutting extreme poverty and hunger in half is one of the United Nations 

Millennium Development Goals. Every year in Africa, the gap between those who have and those who 

have not widens. The poor do not need handouts; they need markets for their produce and wares. 

Support for agriculture and trade, which helps ensure adequate quantities of quality food for every 

citizen, should be a priority. Africa needs to remove barriers that constrain internal food trade 

and to apply the economic influence of science and technology institutions to produce foods in 

a farmer-friendly manner. 

Biotechnology is but one of the tools available to address food insecurity on the continent. 

However, this issue is dogged by misinformation and fear, which tends to camouflage the options 

that are available to address the whole issue of food insecurity. 

There are technologies that can conserve scarce water resources, ensure enhanced bioavailability 

of nutrients, increase spare time, reduce workloads for women, enhance the processing and shelf 

life of foods, increase yields many-fold, and even enhance soil fertility. The most sustainable 

solutions would combine crop production and livestock keeping, while opening up fair trade 

opportunities. Clearly, resource-poor farmers and those with small plots of land require technology 

that can help them realize multiple yields in the shortest time possible. 

Professor Ruth K. Oniang’o, Ph.D., is the founder of the Rural Outreach Program in Nairobi, which focuses on improving the livelihoods 

of the rural poor. She is also the editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, a member of 

Kenya’s parliament, and a member of Monsanto’s Biotech Advisory Council. 

DRY-BEAN VARIETIES ON DISPLAY IN 

AN OPEN-AIR MARKET IN MALAWI.

Under similar drought conditions in a 

2003 field trial, the corn with the drought 

tolerance gene produced better yields. 

CORN WITHOUT GENE CORN WITH GENE 

Monsanto Pledge Award Winner 

Overcoming Drought Impact 

Through Crop Conversion 

DROUGHT-TOLERANCE TRAITS 

IN RESEARCH PIPELINE 

A water rights dispute between neighboring states left downstream rice 

farmers in Tanjore, India, in a difficult situation. After centuries of raising 

paddy rice, these farmers in Tamil Nadu state were forced by drought 

conditions to try growing corn, which requires less water. The ultimate 

problem turned out to be the lack of a local market for the crop. 

New tools being tested by Monsanto today show promise to further 

increase yields, as well as boost nutritional value, and help plants 

to tolerate droughts tomorrow. The company has identified several 

genes that enhance a plant’s drought tolerance. This could lead 

to crops that are more productive and need less water. 

The breakthroughs in drought tolerance have come from 

Monsanto’s investment in genomics research which is using the 

knowledge of plant genomes to identify gene candidates for a 

new wave of biotech traits. Monsanto has used the Arabidopsis 

plant as a model in which to study the genes involved in a plant’s 

response to stress. The most successful genes identified in 

models are now in crop testing. Results suggest that these genes 

can improve crop productivity during a severe-water-stress test. 

“The results we’ve seen are extremely exciting,” said Stan 

Dotson, Monsanto’s director of yield traits research. Monsanto 

is collaborating on drought tolerance with other leading 

biotechnology companies, including Mendel Biotechnology, 

Paradigm Genetics, and Ceres. 

Monsanto, searching for a solution, turned to the poultry industry in Tamil Nadu, which feeds chickens 

1.2 million tons of corn annually. 15 With the help of the area’s 30 largest poultry producers, an agreement 

was reached for them to buy corn from Tamil Nadu growers, thereby creating a local market. 

Monsanto educated the rice farmers in modern corn cultivation practices and coordinated the poultry 

producers’ purchases of the growers’ corn. The program’s goal is to increase the Tanjore corn-producing 

area from 3,000 hectares to more than 50,000 hectares. 

If this project is successful, its socio-economic impact will be great. It will significantly improve the 

lives of Tanjore farmers, and there will be more water to go around. 



FOOD FOR THE HEART 

SOYBEAN OIL MAKES UP THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF 

EDIBLE OILS IN THE U.S. AND THE WORLD.

GLOBAL CHALLENGE #3: FOOD FOR THE HEART 

THE ISSUE 

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 12.5 million Americans have 

coronary heart disease and more than 500,000 people die each year from it, making it one of the leading 

causes of death in the U.S. Better nutrition can help reduce saturated fats, trans fats and dietary cholesterol, 

which can all contribute to coronary heart disease. 

Trans-fat is an unsaturated fat that occurs naturally in low levels in milk and beef. However, 

80 percent of the trans-fat Americans consume is from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. 15 

Until around 1990, trans-fat was considered as innocuous as other unsaturated fats (such 

as those in olive oil.) Then studies demonstrated that trans-fat, like saturated fat, increases the “bad” (LDL) 

cholesterol in our blood. One study, published in 2001 by Nicole M. de Roos, a Ph.D. fellow at Wageningen 

University in the Netherlands, found that trans-fats — common in margarine, packaged baked goods and 

restaurant fried foods — reduced human blood vessel function by a third and lowered “good” (HDL) 

cholesterol by a fifth compared to saturated fats. 16 That provided solid evidence that trans-fat increases 

the risk of heart disease and is even more harmful than saturated fat. 

These findings have led the United States government to require food manufacturers to 

disclose the amount of trans-fat on food labels by 2006. Consumer advocates such as the Center for Science 

in the Public Interest (CSPI) have petitioned the government to prohibit the use of partially hydrogenated oil 

as a food ingredient and launched a grassroots campaign called TransFreeAmerica (www.transfreeamerica.org). 15 

The American Heart Association (AHA) now recommends that consumers use unhydrogenated oil such as 

canola or olive oil when possible, and to look for processed foods made with unhydrogenated oil rather than 

hydrogenated oil or saturated fat. 


Today’s consumers have become the key driving 

force in determining which foods farmers produce, how those foods 

are produced and what level of health and nutrition are achieved 

from those foods. The demand for healthier foods has caused food 

companies to work with suppliers to source agricultural products with 

more favorable nutritional profiles — such as unhydrogenated oils. 

With soy oil accounting for 65 percent of edible vegetable oil used 

in the U.S. and 33 percent worldwide, the race is on to create oils 

that remain stable for long periods of time without requiring hydrogenation. 

Some food companies are reformulating their products or 

adding trans-fat free versions to their product lines. 


THE U.S. GOVERNMENT 

WILL REQUIRE TRANS-FAT 

LABELING BY 2006. 

Agriculture companies like Monsanto are helping lead the way toward heart-healthy foods by 

developing new vegetable oils that don’t need to be hydrogenated and with higher monounsaturated fat and 

lower saturated fat content. The process of hydrogenation reduces the amount of linolenic acid in soy oil and 

creates trans-fatty acids. Monsanto researchers are applying conventional breeding and biotechnology techniques 

to develop soybeans that will produce oil that doesn’t need to be hydrogenated to be functional in many foods. 


GLOBAL CHALLENGE #3: FOOD FOR THE HEART 

MAKING A GOOD OIL BETTER 

Monsanto is in the final stages of developing 

the first wave of soybeans that will be 

naturally lower in linolenic acid, which in 

turn, would help reduce trans-fats in many 

foods and even eliminate trans-fats in some. 

This soybean oil, which is currently being 

tested both in the field and laboratory, should 

be available in limited quantities in time to 

meet the federal government’s 2006 labeling 

guidelines for trans-fats in food products. 

Monsanto also is applying conventional 

breeding techniques to produce a soybean 

higher in oleic acid. This soybean, which 

also would be low in linolenic acid, would 

produce soy oil high in levels of healthy 

monounsaturated fat. Finally, Monsanto is 

building upon these improvements to design, 

using biotechnology, soybeans that will produce 

oil high in heart-healthy monounsaturated 

fats, low in linolenic acid and low in saturated 

fat — the first natural oil that could make 

the claim of being saturated-fat free. 

“Monsanto researchers are looking at 

ways to enhance soybeans so that they 

are healthier and, in turn, can reduce risks 

that lead to cardiovascular disease,” said 

David Stark, Monsanto’s lead of Global Industry 

Partnerships. Stark made the announcement 

at the American Dietetic Association’s 2003 

Annual Meeting in San Antonio. “It is our 

hope that these enhanced soybeans will 

provide economic and environmental benefits 

for growers, and healthier agricultural solutions 

for consumers who are concerned about 

their intake of unhealthy fats.” 

Monsanto is also researching other quality 

improvement traits focused on delivering 

benefits to consumers. For example, the 

company has produced, using biotechnology, 

soy and canola crops that can deliver a 

vegetable oil enriched with omega-3 fatty 

acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, typically found 

in fish oil, have been shown to play a part 

in lowering elevated blood triglyceride levels, 

stabilizing irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) 

and reducing blood pressure. These omega-3 

products are in early research phases and 

could be commercialized around 2011. 

“Given the early stage of development of 

this research, we are working closely with 

academics, food companies, consumer 

advocates and other stakeholders to carefully 

develop our strategy for potential future 

products,” Stark said. 

Soy oil makes up the largest percentage of edible oils 

in the U.S. and the world. 

2002-2003 

U.S. Domestic Edible 

Oil Consumption 

(BY PERCENT) 

Soybean oil 

Other oils 

65% 

2002-2003 

World Vegetable 

Oil Consumption 

(BY PERCENT) 

Soybean oil 

Palm oil 

Other oils 

28% 

33%

MONSANTO RESEARCHER STUDIES SOY 

PLANTS IN THE GREENHOUSE. 

Monsanto is making soybean oil healthier 

by reducing saturated fats, increasing 

monounsaturated fats and reducing the 

need for hydrogenation. 

Oil Fat Content Comparisons 

(BY PERCENT) 

SAT/TRANS FREE SOYBEAN OIL (expected launch 2011) 

Saturated fat Linoleic acid 

LOW Linolenic LIN MID OLEIC acid SOYBEAN OIL Monounsaturated (expected launch 2008) fat 

Food LOW LIN oils SOYBEAN today: OIL (expected launch 2005) 

SOYBEAN OIL 

PALM OIL 

COCONUT OIL 

Expected oils: 

SAT/TRANS FREE SOYBEAN OIL (expected launch 2011) 

LOW LIN MID OLEIC SOYBEAN OIL (expected launch 2008) 

LOW LIN SOYBEAN OIL (expected launch 2005) 

SOYBEAN OIL 

PALM OIL 

COCONUT OIL 

SOYBEAN OIL IS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF MANY 

FOODS AND IS AN INGREDIENT IN MANY OTHERS. 

INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS TEST 

HEALTHIER SOYBEANS 

Monsanto’s research on quality enhancements 

to soy oil is consistent with the objective of 

the Better Bean Initiative (BBI), a program 

created by the United Soybean Board (USB) 

to enhance soybean oil and meal composition 

(www.talksoy.com). A test crop of compositionally 

enhanced soybeans was recently processed 

into oil and shipped to food manufacturers 

for performance evaluation. 

“Continuous feedback from consumers is a 

key element of the BBI, and USB appreciates 

the strong interest our industry partners have 

shown in participating in the testing,” said 

Dan Latham, former chairman of the USB and 

a soybean farmer from Alexander, Iowa. 17 

The BBI also targets the feed industry, 

which desires higher soy protein animal 

feed with traits that include increased 

amino acid levels and improved digestibility 

to enhance overall efficiency and decrease 

environmental impacts. 



CLIMATE AND ENERGY OPTIONS 

THROUGH SEQUESTERING CARBON IN SOILS AND GROWING 

CLEANER RENEWABLE FUELS, FARMERS ARE PROVIDING 

POSITIVE SOLUTIONS.

GLOBAL CHALLENGE #4: CLIMATE AND ENERGY OPTIONS 

THE ISSUE 

As the world’s population continues to grow and as nations develop, the world’s need for food 

and energy continues to increase. This means more burning of fossil fuels, the world’s primary source of power 

for transportation, manufacturing, utilities, and agricultural production. The combustion of fossil fuels creates 

carbon dioxide, which is emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere and becomes a major contributor to the creation 

of the greenhouse effect. These gases trap some of the sun’s heat energy and, as they get thicker, increase the 

temperature of the Earth’s surface, a phenomenon known as global warming. 

Although there are uncertainties associated with the science of global warming, climate change 

could affect the larger challenge of sustainable development. The impact of climate change, climate policy 

responses, and associated socio-economic development could directly affect the ability of many countries to 

achieve sustainable-development goals. Globally, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

(IPCC), it is very likely that the 1990s were the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year on record. There 

is new and stronger evidence that most of the global warming observed in the past 50 years is attributable to 

human activities although natural factors may also play a role. 18 

The best way to manage the carbon in the atmosphere is to reduce our need for fossil fuels. 

Another way is to increase our use of low-carbon and carbon-free fuels and technologies. A third way is to 

capture the carbon in the ground and store more carbon in the soil. 

Carbon sequestration potential of agricultural lands worldwide (sustained for 50+ years) 

is 850-900 million metric tons of carbon per year or 11 percent of the estimated 8 billion metric tons of 

carbon per year believed to be contributed by human activity. Sequestration on other lands such as forests, 

grasslands, rangelands and biomass crop lands also help. 19 

Carbon Dioxide Concentrate* 

CO2 (PPM) / RADIATIVE FORCING (WM 2 ) 

The past 100 years have seen a steep climb in 

atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide 

(CO 2). Levels of CO 2 remained steady for about 

800 years before that. 

Variations of the Earth’s Surface Temperature 

for the Past 140 Years (Global)* 

DEPARTURES IN TEMPERATURE IN ºC 

(FROM THE 1961-1990 AVERAGE) 

While the Earth’s temperature varies over time, a 

steady increase in average temperature has been 

seen since 1860. The average temperature of the 

Earth was higher in the year 1998 than at any 

other time in the past 140 years. 

* Source: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change, 2001 Synthesis Report. 

340 

320 

Carbon Dioxide Concentration * 

CO 2 (PPM) / RADIATIVE FORCING (WM 2 ) 

360 1.5 

300 

280 

260 

0.8 

0.4 

0.0 

-0.4 

-0.8 

Variations of the Earth’s Surface Tempature 

for the Past 140 Years (global) * 

1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 

DEPARTURES IN TEMPERATURE IN ºC (FROM THE 1961-1990 AVERAGE) 

1,860 1,880 1,900 1,920 1,940 

1.0 

0.5 

0.0 

1,960 1,980 2,000 


GLOBAL CHALLENGE #4: CLIMATE AND ENERGY OPTIONS 


Crop production is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide 

and nitrous oxide. But it doesn’t have to be. It is possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions substantially by 

switching from standard plowing to no-till and other types of farming that store soil carbon. In the U.S., about 

63 percent of crop acreage is plowed before planting. As farmers till the soil, they plow under the stubble from 

the previous crop. Soil organisms such as bacteria and fungi break down this carbon-rich plant matter and release 

it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In contrast, no-till farmers leave the plant matter on the surface to decay 

more slowly. When carbon remains in the plant or on the soil surface, it does not form carbon dioxide. 

In 2003, Michigan State University researchers completed a 10-year analysis of common 

cropping systems in the United States. 20 The findings, published in the journal Science, showed that no-till 

farming had far less global warming impact than conventional tillage systems. No-till also reduces the farmer’s 

machinery use, which reduces the burning of fossil fuels. No-till further provides the environmental benefit of 

reducing topsoil erosion. Encouraging such carbon “sinks” promotes practices that make agriculture more 

productive and environmentally sustainable. 

The amount of atmospheric CO2 that can be sequestered globally (0.75-1.85 tons of CO2 

per hectare per year) with a hectare of no-till is roughly equivalent to not burning 75-185 gallons of 

gasoline. In addition, switching from conventional tillage to no-till farming can reduce fuel use by at least 

9-15 gallons per hectare. 21 


Monsanto is helping farmers to grow more food and energy sources with fewer inputs, which 

helps to alleviate the global warming problem. Monsanto is researching ways to use biotechnology, conventional 

breeding, and crop analytics to improve the quantity and quality of bioenergy. The company has also been involved 

in industrywide programs to encourage the use of bioenergy sources in agricultural production, and in encouraging 

farmers to employ methods that reduce carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions substantially. 

Monsanto has developed crop varieties that have a mitigating effect on global warming. They 

are primarily responsible for the big increase in conservation tillage acres planted by farmers in recent years. These 

crops reduce the need for for fertilizers which can release nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Further, they reduce 

the energy and fossil fuels required to manufacture and distribute these chemicals to farmers and the amount of 

fuel required to apply the pesticides. Monsanto is also involved in a major ethanol initiative (see story next page).

BIOENERGY — BRINGING FARMERS 

AND PROCESSORS TOGETHER 

In 2003, Monsanto introduced the Fuel Your 

Profits initiative. Expanding the Bioenergy 

Team’s work, which began in 2001, this 

collaboration brings together Monsanto, General 

Motors, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, 

dry-mill ethanol producers, corn growers, grain 

elevator owners, independent seed companies, 

and fuel retailers. Together, the group is 

delivering improved corn for the ethanol 

industry, raising awareness of and demand 

for fuel ethanol, and expanding the fuel 

ethanol infrastructure. 

Ethanol is a renewable form of energy. 

Ethanol processors capture the natural 

energy that corn plants absorb from the 

sun and convert it to fuel. Ethanol also 

reduces pollution and the human impact 

on climate change. For every gallon of 

ethanol used in reformulated gasoline, 

greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 

12 percent to 19 percent; for every gallon 

of ethanol used in E85 fuel, greenhouse gas 

emissions are reduced by 17 percent to 

24 percent. 22 Increasing the production and use 

of ethanol also contributes to energy security 

by reducing dependence on fossil fuels. 

As processing technology has improved and 

as yields have increased, ethanol has become 

cost competitive with gasoline. In 1980, the 

cost to produce ethanol was $3.60 a gallon. 

Today, processors can produce ethanol for 

less than 90 cents a gallon. 

Farmers can now choose from more than 

90 seed brands labeled as Monsanto 

Processor Preferred High-Fermentable 

Corn. These hybrids improve dry-mill ethanol 

production yields by 2 percent to 4 percent, 

an increase of 800,000 to 1.6 million gallons 

of ethanol for a typical 40 million gallon 

ethanol plant. Farmers can earn incentives, 

including discounts on General Motors 

flexible-fuel vehicles, for growing these corn 

hybrids and delivering them to participating 

ethanol plants and grain elevators. 

Currently, 28 dry-mill ethanol plants participate 

in the Fuel Your Profits program with more 

than 110 supporting grain elevators. Monsanto 

provides near-infrared technology to these 

ethanol plants so that they can easily identify 

high ethanol-yielding grain brought in by 

farmers. Through this collaboration, participants 

can work together to receive an E85 pump 

station in their communities. E85 is a blended 

fuel — 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent 

gasoline — that can be used in flexible-fuel 

vehicles. A list of flexible-fuel vehicles and 

E85 refueling locations can be found online 

at www.E85fuel.com. 

To demonstrate its confidence in the ethanol 

industry, Monsanto purchased the first 

50 E85 Chevrolet Silverado trucks produced. 

Today, Monsanto has more than 350 E85 

vehicles in its fleet. 

E85 IS A BLENDED 

FUEL — 85 PERCENT 

ETHANOL AND 15 PER- 

CENT GASOLINE — 

THAT CAN BE USED 

IN FLEXIBLE-FUEL 

VEHICLES. 


BIOTECH ACREAGE 

CONTINUES TO GROW 

{ PAGE 24 } 

BT COTTON RETURNS 

SOCIO-ECONOMIC 

BENEFITS TO SMALLHOLDER 

FARMERS GLOBALLY 

{ PAGE 28 } 

LIVING THE PLEDGE 

INSIDE MONSANTO 

{ PAGE 40 } 

the road

MONSANTO FUND 

{ PAGE 44 } 

ahead 

PEOPLE WANT 

TO KNOW 

IT’S SAFE 

{ PAGE 32 } 

IMPROVING 

WORKPLACE 

SAFETY 

{ PAGE 36 } 

ECO- 

EFFICIENCY 

DATA 2003 

{ PAGE 38 } 

The global challenges facing society 

and the environment are large, but 

the agricultural sector and Monsanto 

can help. Many benefits have already 

been delivered.We must stay vigilant 

to continue to minimize the potential 

for risks. 

While the road ahead is not always 

well defined, we are listening to 

stakeholders and considering their 

views and needs as we move forward. 

The next section chronicles some of 

the ways we are practicing our Pledge 

commitments and delivering value 

to our customers, employees, the 

environment, society and shareholders. 


200 

150 

100 

50 

GROWING OPTIONS: THE ROAD AHEAD 

BIOTECH ACREAGE 

CONTINUES TO GROW 

Farmers around the world continue to grow 

more biotech crops. A report released in 

January 2004 by the International Service 

for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications 

(ISAAA) indicates that worldwide acreage 

planted with genetically-modified crops 

increased by 15 percent in 2003. That was 

the seventh consecutive year that biotech 

crop plantings grew at a double-digit rate. 

In 2003, farmers in 18 countries planted 

167.2 million acres of biotech crops. Almost 

30 percent of the biotech crop acreage was 

in developing countries — up from 25 percent 

in 2002. For the first time, one quarter of 

the world’s total canola, cotton, maize, and 

soybean crops were transgenic, an increase 

from 22 percent in 2002. 

Seven million farmers grew biotech 

crops in 2003, and more than 85 percent 

of them were smallholder farmers in 

resource-scarce regions. Biotech crops 

are an important advancement for farmers 

in densely populated countries such as India 

and China, where most of the arable land 

has long been cultivated and the need for 

food and feed is greatest. 

Global Area of Biotech Crops, 1996 to 2003 

(IN MILLIONS OF ACRES) 

96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 

Source: James, C. 2003. Preview: Global Status of Commercialized 

Transgenic Crops: 2003. ISAAA Briefs. 30. ISAAA: Ithaca, NY. 

The ISAAA report predicts that the number 

of farmers planting biotech crops will continue 

to grow in 2004 and beyond. The ISAAA 

estimates that by 2009, up to 10 million 

farmers will grow biotech crops on 247 million 

acres of land in 25 or more countries. 

The complete report, Global Status of 

Commercialized Transgenic Crops, Preview: 

2003 is available at www.isaaa.org. ISAAA is 

a nonprofit organization that works to alleviate 

poverty in developing countries and to bring 

about a safer environment and sustainable 

agricultural development. 

THE PATH FORWARD IS CLEARER 

THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF 

PLEDGE VALUES 

Although biotech crops continue to gain favor 

with growers around the world, there are also 

questions and concerns. Above all, people 

want to know the technology is safe and based 

on sound science. Beyond that, people see 

ag biotech as a new technology that raises 

questions around democracy, choice, ethics, 

fairness and other non-scientific concepts. 

Clearly, Monsanto doesn’t have all of the 

answers. It does have very high productstewardship 

standards, a strong businessconduct 

program, strict governance oversight 

and products that are subject to stringent 

external regulatory scrutiny and requirements 

(see pp. 32-35). On the non-scientific issues, 

Monsanto looks to its Pledge values to work 

out appropriate approaches, in consultation 

with affected stakeholders. 

Two case studies on the next few pages, 

regarding Roundup Ready wheat and 

intellectual property issues in Brazil, give 

a glimpse into how the Pledge guides the 

decision-making process.

Case Study 

Dialogue Leads to Wheat Decision 

In May 2004, Monsanto announced that it would defer further efforts 

to introduce Roundup Ready spring wheat until additional wheat biotechnology 

traits were offered. Spring wheat accounts for 33 percent of total 

wheat acreage grown in the United States and 21 percent of global wheat 

acreage. This decision was made for business reasons, informed by practicing 

our Pledge commitment to engage in dialogue with many stakeholders. 

Several years ago, as Roundup Ready wheat moved through the technical 

development phase, Monsanto established a wheat advisory committee to 

review market-development and product-stewardship issues related to commercialization. 

This panel included growers, grain handlers, millers, bakers, food companies, and other 

experts who are involved in wheat or its resulting food products. Company representatives 

met with many other stakeholders as well. 

They found that although many growers wanted the new technology to help improve their 

productivity and soil conservation, the industry preferred to wait until more biotech products, 

which offered benefits to a wider segment of wheat growers, were available. 

The wheat industry advisory committee helped the company identify six commercial milestones 

that should be met before Roundup Ready wheat could be successfully introduced. 

The company committed to those milestones which included regulatory approvals in the U.S., 

Canada and Japan; approvals or marketing arrangements in place in major export markets; 

grain handling, sampling and detection methods implemented; comprehensive stewardship 

programs in place; quality varieties that meet end-use needs; and buyers identified. 

As the team pursued each of these criteria, spring wheat acreage in North America declined 

by 25 percent — mostly lost to increased corn and soy acreage. Meanwhile, other Monsanto 

investment opportunities were emerging. Given the percentage of the industry preferring to 

wait for additional traits, the shrinking market for spring wheat and the near-term opportunities 

elsewhere, Monsanto made the decision to defer further development of Roundup Ready 

spring wheat. Monsanto will evaluate future efforts in wheat biotechnology based on evidence 

of industry support and overwhelming grower interest in specific traits. 

While shifting resources away from Roundup Ready wheat, Monsanto is accelerating the 

development of biotech crop research in the areas of yield improvement and stress tolerance, 

agronomic pest resistance traits, and food and feed improvement traits. Growers will continue 

to benefit as we bring these traits to the marketplace. “We’re grateful to the many parties who 

generously shared their knowledge about the benefits and challenges of moving forward with 

this product. Through dialogue, we were able to arrive at a decision that is right for us and 

for the market at this point in time,” said Kelly Fleming, Monsanto business leader. 

DIALOGUE INFORMED 

MONSANTO’S ROUNDUP 

READY WHEAT DECISION. 



Case Study 

Protecting Intellectual 

Property Investment 

in Brazil 

After two decades and billions of dollars 

spent on research and development of 

biotech traits, Monsanto has reason to 

protect the patent rights to its discoveries. 

That sometimes becomes difficult when its 

intellectual property is in a seed that is easily 

reproduced — and not always reproduced 

in a way that allows the company to share 

in the value that its traits create. 

That was the case until recently in Brazil. 

The country was on course to approve biotech 

products in the late 1990s, but anti-technology 

groups halted that process. While Brazil’s 

regulators sorted through legal and legislative 

issues, farmers, wanting to use the same new 

technologies as their neighbors in Argentina, 

illegally obtained Roundup Ready soybean 

seeds. Not only were they violating the laws 

of their country, they were avoiding the 

A MONSANTO TEAM HELD EXTENSIVE CONSULTATIONS WITH 

GROWERS, GRAIN HANDLERS, EXPORTERS AND OTHERS TO WORK 

OUT A SYSTEM THAT WAS FAIR TO ALL. 

payment of standard royalties to Monsanto 

for the benefit and use of Roundup Ready 

technology in the seed. Additionally, soy 

growers in other countries, who purchased 

and paid for use of the biotech traits, saw this 

as creating an unfair advantage for Brazilian 

soy growers when they all competed for 

global markets. 

In 2003, the Brazilian government legalized 

the sale of Roundup Ready soybeans already 

being grown and also allowed farmers to 

plant seeds saved from the harvest for the 

next crop. Monsanto reasoned that if the 

crops were now legal to be sold, the company 

should be able to receive payment for the 

benefit and value of its traits. In North America, 

the company collects its royalties when the 

seeds are sold to growers, but the Brazilian 

government had not yet legalized the sale of 

certified biotech seeds, so a new system was 

worked out to collect at the grain elevator as 

the crops were delivered. 

A Monsanto team held extensive consultations 

with growers, grain handlers, exporters and

others to develop a system that was fair 

to all. Brazilian growers realized that they 

needed the latest technologies to stay 

competitive in the world market. Brazilian 

industry representatives also realized that 

Monsanto and other technology and seed 

breeding companies would have no incentive 

to invest in improved germplasm and 

biotechnology traits if they were unable 

to recover a reasonable price for the 

value created. 

In its first year, the system has worked well. 

“This was a difficult situation and the new 

approach wouldn’t have worked without 

the cooperation of many involved parties,” 

said Dennis Plummer, Monsanto’s leader 

on this project. “The Pledge values really 

came into play — from extensive dialogue 

with all involved to transparency in our 

motives and plans, to respect for the 

organizations we were working with, taking 

ownership for the results and, in the end, 

creating benefits for growers. It all came 

together in a viable system which worked 

for all parties.” 


Roundup Ready Soybean 

Ship Tracking System 

Roundup Ready soybeans are gaining popularity with 

farmers in South America, especially in Brazil, where 

the sale of transgenic seed is illegal under Brazilian 

law and unlicensed by Monsanto. Growers there planted 

thousands of hectares of Roundup Ready soybeans. 

Brazilian farmers gained the yield, weed control, and 

environmental benefits of the enhanced seeds without 

reimbursing Monsanto for the technology. 

As part of the plan to deal with the situation, Monsanto 

established the Roundup Ready Soybean Ship Tracking 

System Team. The team devised a way to identify and 

track oilseed ships leaving Brazil for countries where 

Monsanto’s patent rights could be enforced. Brazil has 

provisionally allowed the growth and harvest of Roundup 

Ready soybeans, because Roundup Ready soybeans 

provide great benefits to growers and the environment, 

and because Monsanto can monitor their use. In addition, 

more than 300 Brazilian grain traders, elevator owners, 

and cooperatives have agreed to look for the special 

Monsanto traits in the soybeans delivered to them by 

growers and to collect a royalty for the benefits growers 

receive from the technology. 



BT COTTON RETURNS SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS 

TO SMALLHOLDER FARMERS GLOBALLY 

Some believe that biotech crops only benefit large-scale growers. However, recent studies 

demonstrate the socio-economic benefits for smallholder farmers. 

Bt cotton contains a gene derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which 

provides improved control of major cotton pests. 

Monsanto has commercialized two Bt cotton products to date. One is Bollgard cotton, which provides 

effective season-long protection against key lepidopteran inspect pests, including tobacco 

budworm, pink bollworm, and cotton bollworm. Another is Bollgard II cotton, which contains two 

Bt genes for effective control of cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm, pink bollworm, and armyworm. 

In 2003, 3.1 million hectares (7.65 million acres) were planted with Bt cotton, which represented 

5 percent of the total biotech crop acreage of 67.7 million hectares (167.2 million acres). Bt cotton 

has provided significant economic benefits and improved the quality of life of growers around 

the world. According to ISAAA, Bt cotton allows resource-poor farmers, many of whom are 

women, more time to care for their children and generate additional income. Children can 

spend less time spraying pesticides and more time focusing on their education. Additionally, 

farmers can spend less time carrying water for spraying pesticides by significantly reducing 

the number of insecticide sprays. 23 

The positive socio-economic impacts of growing Bt cotton have been documented recently in 

several case studies of farmers in China, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, and other countries. 

The economic impacts reported in the case studies vary depending on the region, varying 

levels of insect infestation, the duration of the study, and types of data collected (such as farm 

records of field trials and surveys).

IMPACTS OF BT COTTON IN CHINA 

HIGHER YIELDS AND NET RETURNS, REDUCED 

24, 25 

PRODUCTION COSTS AND LABOR INPUTS 

Studies released by Pray et al., and Huang 

et al., examined the effects of Bt cotton 

adoption in China. It was based on farmer 

surveys conducted in 1999, 2000, and 2001 

in a number of provinces where farmers were 

growing Bt and non-Bt cotton. 

The results demonstrate that adoption of 

Bt cotton increases output per hectare. 

Overall, the farmers who grew Bt cotton 

reduced the number of pesticide sprays used, 

which reduced their production costs. Farmers 

also saw increased yields because they had 

less damage from the cotton bollworm. 

Bt cotton growers had higher revenue 

than non-Bt users. 

1999 

Table 1: Yield Comparison Between Bt and 

Non-Bt Cotton 

(IN KILOGRAMS PER HECTARE) 

Bt cotton Non-Bt cotton 

3,371 

3,186 

2000 

1,901 

2,941 

2001 

3,138 

3,481 

1500 

*Average of five provinces in China, 1999-2001 survey data. 

4000 

Table 2: Average per hectare returns (US$) for all 

surveyed farmers (1999-2001) 

(NET REVENUE IN DOLLARS PER HECTARE) 

Non-Bt cotton Bt cotton 

1999 $-6 

$351 

2000 $-183 

$367 

2001 $-225 

$277 

-250 0 1500 

The researchers concluded that China’s 

experience with Bt cotton offers lessons from 

which other farmers in developing countries 

can benefit. Chinese farmers found that 

growing Bt cotton was profitable. Cotton 

growers on small farms in other developing 

countries should expect similar gains. 

IMPACTS OF BT COTTON IN 

SOUTH AFRICA 

HIGHER YIELDS, INCREASED REVENUE WITH 

REDUCED PESTICIDE SPRAYING 26 

A study conducted by Morse et al. analyzed 

the economic impact of the adoption of Bt 

cotton by resource-poor smallholder farmers 

in South Africa (Makhathini area). The study 

compared farmer-managed results to field trial 

data collected under controlled conditions. 

More than 2,200 farmer records were analyzed. 

Personal interviews were conducted with 

100 farmers, and case studies were made of 

32 farmers. Data from three growing seasons, 

1998-1999, 1999-2000, and 2000-2001, were 

analyzed to compare adopters of Bt cotton 

with nonadopters by a number of measures: 

yield, total revenue, seed costs, pesticide costs, 

spray-labor costs, harvest-labor costs, and gross 

margin. In all three growing seasons, adopters 

of the Bt seed experienced consistently higher 

yields and increased revenue. Bt adopters 

had higher seed costs and harvest costs due 

to higher yields, but they consistently lowered 

their pesticide and spray labor costs. 

Adopters of Bt cotton achieved substantially 

higher gross margins than nonadopters 

across all three seasons (531 to 742 South 

African rands, the equivalent of $86 to $93 

(U.S.) at the time of harvest) per hectare 

depending on the season. The authors 

concluded that smallholder farmers employing 

more intensive practices benefited most from 

the technology. 



IMPACTS OF BT COTTON IN MEXICO 

HIGHER YIELDS AND HIGHER NET REVENUES WITH 

FEWER INSECTICIDE SPRAY APPLICATIONS 27 

Bt cotton has been grown in Mexico since 

1996. It is effective in controlling two major 

pests — pink bollworm and cotton bollworm. 

A study published by Greg Traxler et al. 

focused on the impact of Bt cotton in the 

Comarca Lagunera region in the northern 

states of Coahuila and Durango, where 

Bt adoption reached 96 percent within 

three years of local introduction in 1997. 

Information was collected on yield impacts, 

revenue, and pest control costs for the 

first two years that Bt cotton was widely 

grown in Mexico — 1997 and 1998. 

Bt cotton adoption was shown to have 

reduced the number of insecticide 

applications needed to control certain 

pests, to have had a positive impact on 

yield, and to have increased net revenue. 

According to the study, adoption of Bt cotton 

varieties increased to 72 percent in 1998. 

Average yields for Bt cotton were 0.29 tons 

per hectare higher than for conventional 

cotton, and lint quality was higher for Bt 

cotton. An average of two fewer pesticide 

applications was used for Bt cotton than for 

conventional cotton. As shown in Table 1, 

total seed and pesticide costs were $83.19 

less, with a net profit advantage in 1998 

of $626.74. 

Table 1: Year 1998 

YIELD INCREASE » 0.29 tons/hectare 

SEED AND PESTICIDE SAVINGS » $83.19 

NET PROFIT ADVANTAGE » $626.74 

IMPACTS OF BT COTTON IN ARGENTINA 

IMPROVED YIELDS, FEWER PESTICIDE APPLICATIONS, 

HIGHER NET REVENUES 28 

Qaim et al. reviewed the use of Bt cotton 

in Argentina over two growing seasons, 

1999-2000 and 2000-2001. They estimated 

the effectiveness of Bt versus chemical 

pesticides and the technological impacts 

on different farm types. The authors noted 

the following potential farm-level impacts. 

Yield Impacts Net yield gain was predicted at 

19 percent for average large-scale growers; 

for small producers, the gain could be 

41 percent. Yield impacts of Bt cotton are 

generally greater on farms where the crop pest 

has not been effectively controlled by chemical 

pesticides or other alternatives. Therefore, 

higher gains are predicted for small-scale 

farmers who use less pesticide in general and 

therefore suffer higher crop damage. 

Number of Pesticide Applications In both growing 

seasons, Bt cotton was sprayed about half 

as often as conventional cotton. Insecticide 

amounts were reduced by 55 percent in 

1999-2000 and 43 percent in 2000-2001 

(Bt and non-Bt compared on the same farms). 

Most reductions were in the broad-spectrum 

pesticide category. 

Net Revenues Gross benefits of Bt technology 

were predicted to be $82 per hectare for 

growers who farmed more than 90 hectares. 

Gains could be $97 per hectare for smallscale 

cotton producers. The authors noted 

that price is currently a limiting factor in the 

broader adoption of Bt cotton by Argentine 

smallholders. 

The authors also concluded that the economic 

and ecological advantages of Bt cotton 

technology in Argentina could be maintained 

in the medium to long run, if appropriate 

insect-resistance management practices 

are followed.

IMPACTS OF BT CORN 

EFFECTIVE BUILT-IN PROTECTION REDUCES 

INSECT DAMAGE AND CAN POSITIVELY AFFECT 

YIELDS AND GRAIN QUALITY 

In 2003, Bt maize occupied 9.1 million 

hectares (22.4 million acres) or 13 percent 

of the total global biotech crop area of 

67.7 million hectares (167.2 million acres). 29 

Monsanto’s YieldGard Corn Borer corn 

produces a protein derived from the naturally 

occurring soil microorganism, Bacillus 

thuringiensis (Bt) to provide effective built-in 

protection from major lepidopteran insect 

pests, including the European corn borer, the 

southwestern corn borer, and the pink borer. 

Maize pests cause extensive crop damage 

worldwide. Global losses due to insect pests 

are estimated at 52.6 million metric tons, 

which is equivalent to about 9 percent of the 

global production of 600 million metric tons. 

The estimated value of maize insect crop 

losses is $5.7 billion globally. 29 

YieldGard Corn Borer corn has provided 

superior control of these corn borer pests, 

which results in greater yields and 

improved economic returns for growers. 30 

Field studies evaluating corn yields in the 

United States, Argentina, Spain, Germany, 

South Africa, China, and the Philippines 

showed yield gains from 5 percent to 

40 percent. 29, 30 U.S. studies showed average 

yield gains of about 5 percent. For Argentina, 

the average yield gain was from 8 percent to 

10 percent in two studies. 

Studies conducted in Spain showed average 

yield gains of 5 percent to 11 percent in 

four studies. Two field trials in Germany 

indicated average yield gains of 12 percent 

and 15 percent. South African trials showed 

a 10 percent average yield gain. Finally, 

five other field studies in China demonstrated 

yield gains of 9 percent to 23 percent. 

One field study in the Philippines reported 

yield gains of 25 percent to 40 percent. 

Bt CORN GROWERS AROUND THE WORLD 

FIND YIELD BENEFITS. 

Yield impacts depend on regional conditions, 

levels of pest infestation, and other factors; 

but the field data show that corn growers 

usually achieve yield and production gains 

when they grow Bt corn. 

YieldGard Corn Borer corn can also 

improve grain quality by reducing levels 

of fumonisin mycotoxin in corn grain. 

By reducing the amount of insect damage 

to corn ears and grain, YieldGard Corn Borer 

corn can reduce the points of entry for 

Fusarium fungi that produce mycotoxins 

such as fumonisin. 

Global field trials conducted in multiple 

trial sites in Europe, Latin America, and the 

United States confirm lower fumonisin levels 

in YieldGard Corn Borer corn compared with 

the conventional corn control without the 

Bt gene. 31-33 Field analysis comparison trials 

conducted in the United States in 2001, 

demonstrated a 47 percent reduction in 

fumonisin levels with Yieldgard Corn Borer corn 

compared with conventional non-Bt corn. 34 



PEOPLE WANT TO 

KNOW IT’S SAFE 

First and foremost, stakeholders want to know 

that Monsanto’s products are safe. They want 

to know what has been looked at and what 

the studies showed. They want to know that 

the systems that oversee product safety, 

internally and externally, are comprehensive. 

And they want to know that the people and 

processes governing the company operate 

from a base of values and integrity. 

PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP 

Monsanto sets a high product-stewardship 

standard driven in part by the Pledge 

commitments of Respect for people and the 

environment, Transparency about processes 

and science, and Dialogue with people. 

Monsanto’s working definition of product 

stewardship is: “the legal and ethical 

obligation to ensure that Monsanto products 

and technologies are safe and environmentally 

responsible.” To meet that obligation, 

Monsanto’s stewardship program includes 

several components: 

Regulatory Stewardship which includes 

comprehensive best practices and standard 

operating procedures, field trial compliance 

programs, scientific centers of excellence 

which include product characterization, 

product safety and toxicology, and ecological 

and environmental sciences, quality assurance 

programs and units, post market 

monitoring and reporting programs, and 

scientific outreach; 

Federal Regulatory Oversight and Inspection 

which includes compliance with good 

laboratory practices, and the requirements 

of the various regulatory agencies; 

Seed Quality Stewardship which includes 

seed quality thresholds and standards and 

seed quality audits; 

Cross-Functional Stewardship organization 

that includes an Executive Stewardship 

Team, a Product Stewardship Leadership 

Team, and several issue-focused stewardship 

workgroups; and 

Monsanto’s Business Conduct program 

which teaches, guides and verifies compliance 

with legal and ethical requirements 

and standards. 

The stewardship organization has four major 

areas of focus that span the entire product 

stewardship life cycle: 

Establishment of policies and guidelines 

that guide product stewardship through 

this life cycle; 

Pre-market stewardship, which includes 

project plans, best practices, standard 

operating procedures, and quality 

control reviews; 

Post-marketing stewardship centers around 

ongoing research and product monitoring, 

conditions of registration or regulatory 

approval, adverse effects surveillance and 

reporting, and any question or issue that 

might arise after product launch; and 

Audit and compliance programs verify and 

validate stewardship processes over the 

complete product life cycle. 

Stewardship systems draw from all of the 

key functional and operational business 

elements in the company. “We take an 

integrated approach because stewardship 

touches so many operational areas of our 

business,” said Tom Carrato, associate 

general counsel responsible for stewardship 

programs. “By drawing upon Monsanto 

experts from fields across the company, 

who have contact with many stakeholder 

sectors, we feel that our reviews are more 

comprehensive and we’re better able to ask 

and answer all the right questions.”

BRINGING OUR VALUES INTO 

BUSINESS PRACTICES 

People working in international business face 

dilemmas every day. Not only must they be 

aware of the business laws and regulations 

in both their home and host countries, they 

must also consider whether the decisions 

they make are true to the ethical principles 

of their company. 

The Monsanto Code of Business Conduct 

makes these situations easier for Monsanto 

employees. The code serves two functions. 

“It is a set of guidelines about how to comply 

with laws and regulations,” says Bob Echols, 

Monsanto director of global compliance. “And 

it provides a way to bring the values from our 

Pledge into our business decisions.” 

The first function of the code is to inform 

Monsanto employees about the aspects of 

national and international laws and regulations 

that affect the company. 

“It’s about obeying the law,” says Echols. 

“The code answers questions such as: What 

do we need to know? How do we comply? 

And how do we measure our compliance?” 

The second function of the code is to demonstrate 

how compliance issues intersect with 

the values represented in the Monsanto Pledge. 

“Every person in every organization needs 

a set of values in order to achieve success,” 

says Echols. “Our goal is to bring our 

values into compliance decisions. In 

addition to the legal questions, we should 

be asking: Would this decision reflect 

Monsanto’s values?” 

In 2003, the Business Conduct Team 

established a toll-free, outsourced business 

conduct guidance line. The team also made 

the code of conduct available on the Monsanto 

intranet in 17 languages. Later in 2004, a 

hands-on initiative will have Monsanto people 

MONSANTO RESEARCHER TENDS YOUNG CORN PLANTS 

IN GREENHOUSE. STEWARDSHIP TOUCHES ALL ASPECTS 

OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT. 

discussing ethics scenarios with their managers 

and co-workers. These scenarios will 

cover “gray areas” where actions might be 

legal, but might not be ethical. Managers 

and their staff will use the scenarios to discuss 

business, legal, and ethical issues to come 

up with solutions. 

The Business Conduct Team is also preparing 

training materials for specific business conduct 

issues. These informational tools will focus on 

special areas such as the Foreign Corrupt 

Practices Act, antitrust policies, and other 

business issues. Each will contain the portions 

of the Monsanto Code of Conduct relating to 

the topic, a policy statement, a guidebook, 

frequently asked questions, and an audit 

plan. The team expects to have the materials 

ready by the end of 2004. 


Written by Gwendolyn S. King 


CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

Monsanto takes stewardship seriously, all 

the way up to its board of directors. The 

board is comprised of experts from diverse 

backgrounds including science, academia 

and business. Standing committees, each 

of which has its own charter setting forth the 

purposes, goals and responsibilities of that 

committee, do a substantial portion of the 

work of the board. 

The board identifies matters of corporate 

responsibility as being significant to Monsanto, 

and created the Public Policy and Corporate 

Responsibility Committee to establish appropriate 

focus at the board level in this area. 

The Importance of the Pledge 

The committee specifically looks at how 

the company’s activities affect stakeholders. 

Its responsibilities are to: 

Review and monitor the performance of 

the company as it affects communities, 

customers, other key stakeholders and 

the environment; 

Hold periodic meetings with stakeholders 

to understand external perspectives; 

Review issues affecting the acceptance 

of company products in the marketplace, 

including issues of agricultural biotechnology; 

and to 

Identify and investigate significant 

emerging issues. 

The Monsanto Board of Directors is proud of our company’s commitment to the Monsanto Pledge. 

We recognize that our pledge of corporate and social responsibility distinguishes our company from 

others. By showing respect for outside points of view, by listening to our stakeholders, by giving serious 

consideration to stakeholder concerns before making decisions, and by committing to transparency 

of our decisions and to ownership for the results of those decisions, the Monsanto Board of Directors joins the 

Executive team and the employees of the company in taking actions that help make us a better, stronger company. 

The Board’s Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility Committee reviews the company’s activities as they 

relate to the Pledge. We regularly meet with outside stakeholders, including community advisory panels at our 

manufacturing sites, nongovernmental organizations, representatives of the food industry, and whenever possible, 

with customers and others who take an interest in our company. 

We ask for and receive regular updates about biotech issues around the world, focusing on the company’s 

response to those matters that could positively or negatively impact our business. We carefully review the 

company’s systems and processes that guide actions, such as the Business Conduct, Environment and Safety 

and Product Stewardship Programs. And at each meeting of the committee, we hear about how the company 

is continually incorporating the Pledge into our company culture. 

As members of the board of directors, we have a fiduciary responsibility to return value to Monsanto’s investors. 

We are proud that Monsanto is developing products that provide value to growers and to the environment. We 

recognize that in order to be successful, we also need to deliver that value to a receptive marketplace. The Pledge 

helps us to stay better connected to the needs and interests of that marketplace, including our customers 

and consumers. We view practicing our Pledge as good for business, good for Monsanto’s long-term growth, 

and therefore good for our investors. 

Gwendolyn King is a member of the Monsanto Board of Directors and the Chairman of its Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility Committee.

Global Adoption of Agricultural Biotechnology* 

Countries growing biotech crops 

Countries that have granted import approvals 

(European Union approval moratorium 

instituted 1998.) 

Countries approving research field trials 

(Monsanto data only) 

Regulatory process delayed 

Countries that currently have no regulatory systems, 

or no known field trials. 

* The hierarchy for placing countries in various groups is based 

upon whether the countries are growing biotech crops, granting 

import approvals, and approving field trials. Countries that are 

growing biotech crops or have granted import approvals may 

also be conducting field trials; countries growing biotech crops 

may also have import approval systems. 

REGULATORY SYSTEMS 

The products of agricultural biotechnology are 

some of the most studied food products on the grocery 

store shelf. A comprehensive network of regulatory agencies 

looks at food and feed safety and environmental impact. 

The regulatory structures vary by country, but each country 

that allows biotech crops to be grown or imported has 

established a regulatory approach that fits its own circumstances 

and needs. Some countries with well-developed 

regulatory systems for biotech regulation, such as the 

United States, Japan, and Canada, serve as models for 

other countries. 

In the United States, developers of ag biotech crops must 

go through a comprehensive set of safety assessments that 

often span three to four years and include 30 to 40 studies. 

The types of studies conducted depend upon the crop and 

its intended use. Product Safety Summaries, which provide 

reviews of the food, feed and environmental safety assessments 

conducted on Monsanto’s commercialized biotech 

products, are available on the Monsanto Web site at: 

www.monsanto.com/monsanto/layout/our_pledge/ and on several 

other sites. Monsanto’s site also has a list of peer-reviewed 

technical publications. 


2003* 

2002 

2001 


ACHIEVING 

WORKPLACE SAFETY 

Workplace safety is important to everyone — 

our employees, contractors, guests, families, 

and communities. Monsanto is committed 

to making safety and wellness a way of life. 

“We believe that safety should be a value 

that guides our decisions and behavior,” 

said Emer OBroin, vice president for environment, 

safety and health. In 2003, Monsanto 

employees and contractors worldwide worked 

more safely than in any previous year in 

the company’s history. Over the past seven 

years, Monsanto has decreased its overall 

employee injury and illness incident rate 

by 70 percent globally. 

The basis for Monsanto’s excellent safety 

performance is the company’s policy of 

involving every employee in safety and health 

decisions. The Global Environment, Safety 

and Health Council is comprised of employee 

representatives from all areas of Monsanto’s 

business, research, manufacturing, seed sites, 

and administration. As a result, the council 

is able to make safety policy decisions that 

include perspectives from across the workforce. 

Agriculture is one of the world’s most 

dangerous occupations. Monsanto is striving 

to change that by applying safety values 

from our research and agricultural chemical 

businesses to agricultural seed operations. 

Monsanto Injury/Illness Rate 

(NUMBER OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES 

PER 200,000 HOURS WORKED) 

Monsanto Industry 

1.0 

1.2 

1.5 

*2002 is the most recent complete industry data. 

5.3 

5.7 

This has helped Monsanto employees lead 

a global renaissance in agricultural safety, 

reducing injury and illness rates in the company 

by more than 85 percent since 1998. 

Monsanto employees continue to make their 

work sites safer. For more than 10 years, 

Monsanto has followed a strict process to 

protect contractors and guests. Recent 

refinements to this process make its use by 

small contract sites more efficient, helping 

people at these locations work with the same 

high safety standards as direct Monsanto 

employees do. In addition, a global safety 

program has been developed for seasonal 

and migrant workers. This program safeguards 

workers who are with the company 

only for a few months, and who often face 

distinct language and cultural challenges. 

“Our goal is to create an injury-free workplace,” 

said OBroin. “By eliminating hazards in the 

workplace and extending our safety values and 

procedures to agricultural sites and contractors, 

we are protecting the health and well being of 

our employees, visitors, and communities.” 

TAKING SAFETY TO THE STREETS 

Monsanto people have changed the way they 

think about safety outside the workplace. 

Site safety has always been important to the 

company and its employees, but now employees 

also think about safety beyond the field, 

plant, and office. A vehicle-safety program 

was launched in 2002 to reduce the safety 

risks that employees encounter on the road. 

This program has significantly reduced 

employee behind-the-wheel accidents. 

A goal of the World-Class Vehicle Safety Team 

is to improve employee safety by changing 

people’s attitudes about collisions. Many people 

think of an accident as something unavoidable. 

However, many collisions are avoidable with 

proper training and good driving behavior.

EUROPE 

NORTH AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA SOUTH EAST ASIA 

Since the program began, Monsanto has seen 

the number of vehicular accidents cut in half 

— from nine accidents for every million miles 

driven in 2002 to fewer than four in 2003. In 

2004, the team worked to lower the accident 

rate even further. They focused on reducing 

the most common types of accidents. 

All Monsanto employees have received 

computer-based safety training, and almost 

5,000 employees have participated in behindthe-wheel 

training. Safety training for mediumand 

heavy-vehicle operators is currently 

being developed. 

Monsanto is also bringing its vehicle safetytraining 

expertise to employee families, 

industry groups, and community members 

including a teen driver program for children 

of employees. The World-Class Vehicle 

Safety Team has also developed an outreach 

version of the training program on CD-ROM. 

In addition, members of the team have 

acted as consultants for more than 20 other 

organizations that are developing their own 

driving programs. 

SOUTH AFRICA 

BECOMING A SAFETY “STAR” 

Monsanto is an active participant in the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 

(OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program. 

This program awards a “Star” recognition 

to worksites that have implemented comprehensive 

and successful safety and health 

systems and have achieved injury and illness 

rates below their industry’s national average. 

The company’s own program, the “Monsanto 

Star,” uses similar criteria for sites outside 

the United States. Site reviews are conducted 

by external auditors to recognize sites with 

effective safety management systems. All 

Monsanto sites are encouraged to strive for 

Star status. A total of 67 sites have been 

certified since the program began, and 25 

have been added since 2002. Monsanto was 

also the first company to earn VPP Stars for 

seed-conditioning and seed-research sites. 

They included in 

this map, along with 

manufacturing facilities. 

For a list of 

Star locations, visit 

www.monsanto.com/ 

monsanto/layout/ 

our_pledge/. 

★ Monsanto Voluntary 

Protection Program 

star sites as of 

July 27, 2004 

SINCE THE VEHICLE 

SAFETY PROGRAM 

BEGAN, MONSANTO HAS 

SEEN VEHICULAR ACCI- 

DENTS CUT IN HALF. 



ECO-EFFICIENCY DATA 2003 

The eco-efficiency reporting method used here was developed in cooperation with the World 

Business Council for Sustainable Development. The system allows for year-to-year comparison of 

data to baseline data from calendar year 1990. Product data (for example, energy use, material 

consumption) are recorded by total amounts and by environmental influence per unit of output. 

For purposes of comparison with prior years, a constant product mix based on Monsanto’s technicalgrade 

chemical production as of calendar year 2003 was used. That adjusts previous years’ data, 

so that changes in product mixes do not influence the comparability of the year-to-year ecoefficiency 

indicators. Ozone depleting substances (ODS) are not graphed, because the total is 

too small to be statistically significant. 

2003 ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE 

TYPE OF BUSINESS » Agricultural 

Solutions 

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES » 13,200 

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES » Monsanto major 

agricultural chemical production; P4 production; 

world headquarters’ research, development, and 

administration locations 

2003 VALUE PROFILE 

Amounts in the category labeled net 

sales and earnings before interest and 

taxes (EBIT) are based on fiscal year 

2003, which ended on August 31, 2003. 

The financial data include businesses 

not included in the eco-efficiency 

profile. The data exclude special items 

enumerated in the Monsanto 2003 

financial annual report. 

TECHNICAL PRODUCT 

OUTPUT » 349,000 metric tons 

NET SALES » $4.9 billion 

EBIT » $183 million 

Energy Consumption 

(ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN GIGAJOULES / 

OUTPUT IN METRIC TONS) 

Energy (gigajoules) / Tech Products (metric tons) 

2003 16,100,000 / 349,000 46 

2002 17,100,000 / 316,000 

54 

1990 14,900,000 / 173,000 

86 

More Efficient 

Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

(ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN METRIC TONS / 


GHG (metric tons CO2 eq) / Tech Products (metric tons) 

2003 1,212,000 / 349,000 

3.5 

2002 1,197,000 / 316,000 

3.8 

1990 824,000 / 173,000 

4.8 


Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions 



GHG (metric tons CO2 eq) / Tech Products (metric tons) 


Less Efficient 


2003 549,000 / 349,000 

1.6 

2002 546,000 / 316,000 

1.7 

1990 421,000 / 173,000 

2.4 

Less Efficient

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 

(ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN METRIC TONS TO FRESH 

SURFACE WATER / OUTPUT IN METRIC TONS) 

COD (metric tons O2 eq) / Tech Products (metric tons) 

2003 830 / 349,000 0.0024 

2002 790 / 316,000 0.0025 

1990 1,900 / 173,000 

0.0110 


Waste Offsite 



Waste (metric tons) / Tech Products (metric tons) 



2003 10,800 / 349,000 0.031 

2002 12,200 / 316,000 

0.039 

1990 14,400 / 173,000 

0.083 

Water Consumption 

(OUTPUT IN METRIC TONS / 

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN CUBIC METERS) 

Water (cubic meters) / Tech Products (metric tons) 



2003 15,400,000 / 349,000 

44 

2002 15,500,000 / 316,000 

49 

1990 12,600,000 / 173,000 

73 

Eutrophication 

(ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN METRIC TONS TO FRESH 

SURFACE WATER / OUTPUT IN METRIC TONS ) 

Phosphates (metric tons PO4 eq) / Tech Products (metric tons) 



2003 530 / 349,000 0.0015 

2002 570 / 316,000 0.0018 

1990 1,490 / 173,000 

0.0086 


Acidification Emissions 



Emissions (metric tons SO2 eq) / Tech Products (metric tons) 

2003 13,870 / 349,000 

0.040 

2002 13,410 / 316,000 

0.042 

1990 14,680 / 173,000 

0.085 


Photochemical Oxidant Creation 



VOCs (metric tons) / Tech Products (metric tons) 



2003 106 / 349,000 

0.00030 

2002 104 / 316,000 

0.00033 

1990 100 / 173,000 

0.00058 

Material Consumption 



Materials (metric tons) / Tech Products (metric tons) 



2003 2,373,000 / 349,000 

6.8 

2002 2,293,000 / 316,000 

7.3 

1990 1,392,000 / 173,000 

8.0 




LIVING THE PLEDGE 

INSIDE MONSANTO 

The values of the Monsanto Pledge radiate 

inward as well as outward. While the Pledge 

commitments clearly serve to guide Monsanto 

in its public behavior, they also provide the 

framework for interactions between the 

company and its employees and among 

individual employees. 

Respect is fundamental to the company’s 

commitments to its people. It shows up in 

communication, training, development, 

safety, and many other programs. Dialogue 


Monsanto Brazil: Fourth Consecutive 

Year Among Best Companies to Work 

for in Brazil 

facilitates two-way communication within 

the company. Managers need to understand 

what motivates or concerns their people. 

Transparency requires that information 

be made available, accessible, and understandable 

to all employees. 

Two elements of the Pledge, Taking Ownership 

for Results, and Creating a Great Place to 

Work, guide the company and its people 

to create the best possible workplace 

environment that will contribute to the 

company’s success. These two elements are 

about valuing each other, allowing people to 

contribute to their full potential, rewarding good 

work, providing fulfilling work, and having fun. 

Even in 2003, when Monsanto was in the midst of an important business turnaround with a workforce downsizing 

of approximately 11 percent, Great Places to Work Institute and Exame magazine selected Monsanto one of the 

“Best Companies to Work for in Brazil.” It is Monsanto Brazil’s fourth consecutive year on the list. 

Great Places to Work Institute is a private consulting company that also ranks employers in the United States for 

Fortune magazine. Monsanto Brazil was selected by its own employees in a competition with 411 other companies 

that submitted applications. Monsanto joins only 22 other companies that have received the award for four 

consecutive years. 

The award was especially significant in 2003, as the business reorganization that began in 2002 led to the 

elimination of some jobs. Despite this, strong local company programs have improved credibility, kept employees 

motivated, and helped them achieve excellent bottom-line results. Some examples of these programs are an 

annual people-leaders meeting, where all managers meet to improve integration, teamwork, development, and 

friendship; an employee leisure program with discounted tickets to movies, parks, theatres, museums, and 

cultural events; a family day that brings families and children to Monsanto offices and sites; the Rapid Recognition 

Program, which brings attention to people who do outstanding work; programs that promote health and wellness; 

and community involvement activities. 

In addition, Monsanto Brazil has been creating a great place to work and building a winning environment through 

highly-competitive compensation and benefits packages and other programs that have been recognized by its own 

employees as world-class. The company has also reinforced an internal climate of equity and fairness.

A number of Monsanto programs designed 

to foster inclusion, contribution, development, 

and teamwork help to achieve these goals. 

At the core, a strong focus on diversity enables 

Monsanto’s broadly multicultural workforce 

to recognize, appreciate, and fulfill the great 

potential that various cultural backgrounds 

bring to the workplace. Cultural differences are 

seen as offering many advantages. All employees, 

as part of their yearly goal-setting and 

personal-development plan, include at least 

one goal that enhances diversity and inclusion. 

There is also a formal mentoring program that 

makes feedback a part of each employee’s 

yearly goal setting. 

To encourage a good work/home balance, 

Monsanto offers benefits for domestic partners, 

on-site day care, fitness centers at some 

locations, and flexible hours and job-sharing 

where appropriate. Monsanto’s vacation policy 

gives full-time employees four weeks off after 

three years. All employees get 13 or 14 

holidays per year. 

Attractive salaries, great medical, dental, 

and retirement programs, a stock-matching 

investment program, annual incentive awards, 

and a long-term stock option incentive 

program are available to every full-time 

Monsanto employee. 

Monsanto makes every effort to create a 

great work environment because, ultimately, 

it is the people who are responsible for the 

company’s success. Monsanto works hard 

to let employees know they are appreciated. 

Awards programs such as the Monsanto 

Pledge Awards honor demonstrations of the 

Pledge in action. Other programs include 

the Insanely Great Customer Challenge 

Awards, Rapid Recognition Awards, and 

awards programs in individual organizations 

including human resources, finance, 

information technology, manufacturing, 

and technology. 

It all seems to be working. Monsanto 

has received many external awards and 

recognitions, including a listing on Fortune 

magazine’s 100 Best Places to Work. (See 

page 42 for a list of all awards.) 

What the world sees when it looks at 

Monsanto is a solid, successful, and sociallyresponsible 

company. That image is the 

outcome of the hard work and effort of all 

employees. The Monsanto philosophy is to 

provide the leadership framework and the 

support necessary to create a fulfilling 

workplace where people can be their most 

productive and creative, and where they 

can build success. 

MONSANTO BRAZIL 

TEAM WAS PUBLICLY 

RECOGNIZED FOR ITS 

EFFORTS TO CREATE A 

GREAT WORKPLACE. 


Monsanto recognized as Best 

Multinational Company in 

2004 International Business 

Awards competition. 

Monsanto counted among 

Fortune magazine’s Best 

Companies to Work For. 

Monsanto accepts honors 

from two prominent U.S. 

conservation organizations: 

The National Wild Turkey 

Federation Land Stewardship 

Award and the Pheasants 

Forever Corporate Conservation 

Partners Award. 

Monsanto Brazil selected as 

Citizen Company. 

Monsanto India named one of 

the 25 Best Employers in India. 

Monsanto Colombia named 

Best Employer in survey. 

Monsanto named one of the 

Best Places To Work in St. Louis. 

Monsanto named a top 

employer by Science Magazine. 

Monsanto Argentina and 

Brazil honored by Great Place 

to Work Institute. 

Monsanto receives the 

International Association of 

Administrative Professionals’ 

Award for Excellence. 


2002-2003 Awards 

Monsanto is Recognized 

for Excellence Around the Globe 

Monsanto’s Soybean Breeding 

Station in Janesville, Wisconsin, 

earns the Wisconsin Corporate 

Safety Award. 

Monsanto’s Soda Springs, Idaho 

plant recognized with Environmental 

Excellence Award 

by the Idaho, Association of 

Commerce and Industry for 

innovative mining and reclamation 

practices at its mines. 

Sarah Vacek, Monsanto Dairy 

Business, recognized with 

National AgriMarketing Association 

Award of Excellence in 

Marketing Communications. 

Monsanto’s Luling, Louisiana, 

plant wins the Governor’s Award 

for Outstanding Pollution 

Prevention Achievement and 

the Environmental Excellence 

Award from the American 

Institute of Chemical Engineers, 

New Orleans Chapter. 

Monsanto’s effort in supplier 

diversity recognized with 

St. Louis Minority Business 

Council Award. 

Monsanto’s Muscatine, Iowa, 

plant receives two Governor’s 

Environmental Excellence 

Awards: Special Recognition 

in Air Quality and Special 

Recognition in Energy 

Efficiency/Renewable Energy. 

AGRICULTURE: THE WORLD’S 

MOST DIVERSE BUSINESS 

More than any other occupation, farming is 

universal. Families in every part of the world 

grow crops, and everyone’s ability to feed a 

family is affected by which crops are grown. 

As a global agricultural company, Monsanto 

works with farmers, dealers, contractors, 

consumers, and employees from different 

cultural, racial, and geographic backgrounds. 

They vary widely in age, attitudes about 

gender roles, and ideas about how business 

is conducted. 

In many parts of the world, women are 

the primary food producers. According to 

the United Nations Food and Agriculture 

Organization, women produce 60 percent 

to 80 percent of the food in most 

developing countries. 35 

Farming has a wide range of traditions. 

For some, farming is a large-scale, corporate 

business. For others, farming is family-run. 

The scale is smaller, but it is still driven by 

profit. In many parts of the developing world, 

however, farmers have deep relationships 

with their land and their traditions, and 

farming is a family endeavor. 

Because it has a diverse workforce that 

reflects multiple traditions and cultures, 

Monsanto is more sensitive to the cultures 

of its markets, and it can communicate more 

effectively with people in those markets. 

During the past few years there have also 

been changes to the farming workforce in 

the United States. Many migratory farm 

workers have set up households in farming 

communities, and the number of Hispanic 

farm managers and workers in the United 

States has been increasing.

One way that Monsanto is reaching out to 

the changing U.S. agricultural community 

is through a project with the Future Farmers 

of America (FFA). Through this collaboration, 

future agricultural leaders are learning that 

cultural awareness will help them become 

more successful. Monsanto has worked 

with the FFA to develop educational materials 

about the relevance of diversity in agriculture. 

The company also sponsors FFA’s “H.O. 

Sargent Award,” which recognizes FFA 


Dissemination of Information 

members, community members, and 

teachers who are active in promoting 

diversity in agricultural education. 

A diverse, inclusive environment at 

Monsanto fosters participation and 

collaboration, and it gives Monsanto 

a competitive advantage in the field. 

Furthermore, it is a matter of respect for 

our employees and our communities. 

With the introduction of biotechnology, Monsanto set out to bring new technology 

to agriculture on a global scale. In the process, the company was poised to 

change substantially the way food and fiber are produced. After quick acceptance 

in the United States and opposition in some other parts of the world, the 

company realized that it needed to listen better and to communicate more 

effectively. In 1999, Monsanto people began a proactive, cross-functional effort to promote 

broader understanding and acceptance of biotechnology by sharing information on the company’s 

technologies and research transparently. 

One result has been a computerized knowledge base that supports specialized biotechnology 

information sites. The knowledge base, updated daily, contains more than 60,000 documents. 

These include daily news stories, scientific papers, presentation materials, analyses, third-party 

newsletters, safety reports, technical brochures, and information about special-interest Web sites. 

Information provided on these sites makes Monsanto people more informed on biotechnology 

issues so that they can better answer public questions about biotechnology. In addition, relevant 

information is available to other stakeholders, such as external scientists, academics, key 

contacts in the food and feed chain, educators, and the public. AgSymbion is one of these 

focused Web sites. It has become a core element in Monsanto’s university and scientific 

outreach programs. More than 1,100 people can access AgSymbion, many of them leading 

experts in biotechnology. 

The knowledge base helps to fulfill Monsanto’s pledge to increase transparency. In addition to 

Monsanto employees, the scientific, agricultural, academic, and local communities are more 

informed about the safety and benefits of Monsanto’s research and products because of this 

commitment to Internet-based information sharing. 



MONSANTO FUND 

HELPING IMPROVE NUTRITION 

FOR THE WORLD’S POOR 

The Monsanto Fund has provided a 

$220,000 grant to the International Maize 

and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) 

to help improve the health of people living 

in poverty. Maize is the single largest source 

of calories for the poor in many countries. 

However, only half of maize’s protein is nutritionally 

useful, because most maize contains 

insufficient amounts of two amino acids 

needed to break down the protein. CIMMYT 

is developing quality-protein maize, varieties 

with higher levels of the two amino acids. 

These varieties increase the nutritional value 

of maize. 

The grant establishes a laboratory to analyze 

samples from the quality-protein maize 

breeding and seed-production programs of 

CIMMYT and to support the development of 

maize varieties that contain enhanced levels 

of vitamin A. 

THIS WOMAN IN MALAWI 

RECEIVED A MICROCREDIT 

LOAN TO FINANCE HER 

SMALL BUSINESS. 

VILLAGE BANKING HELPS 

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN MALAWI 

With more than 60 percent of its population 

living in poverty, Malawi is one of the world’s 

poorest countries. Agriculture drives the 

nation’s economy, and almost 70 percent 

of its agricultural productivity is derived from 

smallholder farmers. The Foundation for 

International Community Assistance (FINCA) 

operates village-banking programs around the 

world, providing loans to smallholder farmers 

and other community members. FINCA has 

18,000 clients in Malawi, with a total loan 

portfolio of $708,000. FINCA programs post an 

average on-time repayment rate of 97 percent. 

The Monsanto Fund has provided a grant of 

$60,000 to FINCA for its microcredit program 

in Malawi. This grant provides loan capital for 

outreach to an additional 900 smallholder 

farmers in the central region of the country. 

These loans provide farmers and their families 

with capital to introduce new crops or to find 

other sources of income.

HEALTHY CHILDREN, HEALTHY FUTURES 

One-third of the people of Brazil, some 

58 million people, live on less than a dollar a 

day. Because of this poverty, many Brazilian 

children suffer from hunger and exposure 

to disease. For the past four years, the 

Monsanto Fund has collaborated with 

INMED, a nonprofit organization that helps 

communities educate and improve the lives 

of children in Brazil. 

Healthy Children, Healthy Futures (HCHF) 

is an INMED educational program that 

treats children for diseases and nutritional 

deficiencies. It also teaches them health, 

hygiene, and nutrition behaviors. In turn, 

the children help their families and 

communities to adopt these behaviors. 

During the past four years, the Monsanto 

Fund has provided grants to INMED totaling 

$542,000. The HCHF project has served 

17,000 children annually in seven Brazilian 

cities near Monsanto operations: Camaçari, 

Dias D’Ávila, Goiatuba, Morrinhos, Santa 

Helena de Goiás, São José dos Campos, 

and Uberlândia. This year, the project 

expanded to serve 23,000 children. 

In addition, Monsanto Brazil’s agricultural 

engineering staff worked with INMED to 

introduce a “school gardening” module 

for children in the HCHF program. The 

participatory agricultural activity has taught 

children to practice good nutrition and to 

cultivate gardens in 11 schools. 

In February 2004, the Monsanto Fund 

made a commitment to provide INMED with 

$684,000 over the next three years to expand 

the school gardening program. With the 

Monsanto Fund’s ongoing commitment and 

with the assistance of Monsanto people in 

Brazil who have helped to find other partners, 

INMED has secured an additional $1 million 

in grants to extend the school garden program 

throughout Brazil. 


Touch n’Taste: the First 

Biotech Product in Restaurants 

and Supermarkets in Sweden 

Faced with consumers wary of genetically-modified crops, 

biotechnology industry leaders in Europe have been seeking 

innovative ways to move discussion of biotech products out 

from the circle of scientists, politicians, and nongovernmental 

organizations and closer to the public. Together with 

Bioteknikcentrum, the Swedish branch of the European 

agricultural biotech industry association, the Monsanto team 

in Sweden worked with master brewer Kenth Persson to 

develop a beer containing biotech maize. The beer, Kenth, 

was introduced in early 2004 at Swedish pubs, restaurants, 

and the state-owned liquor stores, Systembolaget. 

The team’s launch campaign, 

“Touch n’ Taste,” 

provided consumers 

with an opportunity to 

touch, taste, and feel a 

real biotech product, so 

that they could become 

more familiar with 

biotech products. 

“I want people to be able to try this beer,” said Persson, 

“because, as a brewer, I’m excited about the environmental 

benefits of Bt maize.” 

Indeed, when people try Kenth beer and learn about 

the advantages of the biotech maize used in it, they react 

enthusiastically. 

By building public interest in the beer directly, the team 

hopes retailers and politicians will realize that public 

openness to biotech products in Europe is stronger than 

consumer polls have suggested. Allowing labeled products 

such as Kenth on supermarket shelves gives consumers 

the freedom to choose among all types of products. 

The team’s efforts led to a successful launch of Kenth in 

Sweden mainly because of the excellent communication 

and transparency about how the beer is produced. 

The team expects the beer to be introduced in the 

United Kingdom in 2004. 


HELPING TO KEEP FARM CHILDREN 

AND FAMILIES SAFE 

Farm children face many risks of injury. 

Farm Safety 4 Just Kids (FS4JK) is a program 

that makes a difference in the lives of farm 

families by teaching rural children about safety. 

The Monsanto Fund began collaborating with 

FS4JK in 2001. Since then, the Monsanto 

Fund has provided grants totaling $77,200 to 

FS4JK, and the partnership has developed 

educational outreach programs for children 

and teens, and held safety events at 10 seed 

sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. 

In 2004, the Monsanto Fund has provided 

FS4JK with a grant of $28,700. The program 

continues to work with sites from previous 

years, and is working with five new seed 

sites on community programs. In addition, 

FS4JK plans to create a new activity book 

called Keep It Safe on the Farm as well as 

produce Spanish-language farm safety 

programs and materials. 


Community Outreach 

Programs in Pergamino 

and Rojas y Salto 

For the last four years, teams at Monsanto seed-operations 

plants in Argentina have been working to help people in the 

local communities of Pergamino and Rojas y Salto to improve 

their well being. Their efforts have led to many community 

improvements and better education and health for children. 

BACKYARD FOOD PRODUCTION 

FOR THE MIXTECA 

The Mixteca are one of Mexico’s most 

impoverished indigenous populations. 

Their region has suffered from severe 

erosion, and it is difficult for them to 

subsist with traditional farming methods. 

The Institute for the Development of the 

Mixteca (IDEM)is improving the quality 

of life for Mixtecos. It helps them to adopt 

agricultural technologies that are more 

efficient, to increase the value of their 

crops, and to become part of the 

agricultural trading market. 

The Monsanto Fund has provided a 

$100,000 grant to IDEM. The grant will 

support the Backyard Food Production 

loan program for Mixtecos in the states 

of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. The 

program will supply 175 households in 

the region with small livestock, vegetable 

seeds, and fruit trees. The program also 

STUDENTS RECEIVED BOOKS AND OTHER 

SUPPLIES FROM MONSANTO EMPLOYEES. 

The outreach started with monetary donations. However, before long, Monsanto plant staff members began 

volunteering a great deal of their personal time and energy. Monsanto is the first company in the region to develop 

integrated health and educational programs for all levels of social groups in the community. 

Team members have volunteered to screen 15,700 children for vision disorders, to plant 1,100 trees, to provide 

some schools in Pergamino and Rojas with 400 books, to open a municipal daycare center in Salto for children 

with mental handicaps, to create and sponsor an educational television program, and to supply goods for a 

monthly food drive that feeds approximately 1,000 children in six community institutions.

includes training in irrigation, reduced-tillage 

techniques, and business planning to generate 

income from surplus production. After six 

months, the families repay the loans by giving 

in-kind start-up supplies to other families in 

the community. Thus, the initial investment 

multiplies every six months, as 175 more 

families have access to in-kind loans. 

TRAINING FARMERS TO BECOME 

BUSINESSPEOPLE 

The Mpumalanga province of South Africa, 

suffers from an average unemployment rate 

of 45 percent. It has the second-lowest 

literacy rate in the country, despite close 

proximity to nearby centers of economic 

activity such as Johannesburg. 

The Monsanto Fund has provided a $135,000 

grant to an organization called TechnoServe 

for an agribusiness training program in the 

Moutse region of Mpumalanga area. The 

program provided basic business, credit management, 

and ag marketing training to 1,000 

entrepreneurial farmers and their families. 

Although the team ran into several challenges, 

such as harder topsoil and fewer experienced 

farmers than they expected, the participants 

showed great enthusiasm to improve their 

business and agricultural skills. 


Major Sustained Reduction 

in Glyphosate Intermediate 

Deepwell Waste Volumes 

Over the past three years, a determined team at the 

Monsanto Luling, Louisiana, Roundup herbicide manufacturing 

plant has achieved a major goal. The Glyphosate 

Intermediate (GI) Yield Team significantly reduced the 

volume of waste discharged to an onsite deepwell. Since 

2000, the team’s efforts have reduced the amount of 

deepwell waste by 65 million pounds, saved $7 million, 

and recovered 14 million pounds of usable GI product. 

The reduction in waste and cost savings occurred through 

improvements in two areas. The team was able to reduce 

the amount of GI crystals lost by improving centrifuge 

designs. It was able to minimize the amount of soluble 

GI in the batch process with statistical process controls. 

These two changes 

reduced the amount of 

GI sent out as waste by 

29 percent. Then, the 

team discovered that an 

adjustment to the batch 

recipe would cut costs 

and reduce hydrochloric 

acid waste by 25 percent. 

The efforts of the Luling team are the outcome of a 

persistent vision, focus, work, and the use of powerful 

improvement methods such as Six Sigma, a set of 

business and statistical tools that help people to understand, 

improve, and control any business process. The 

central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure 

how many defects you have in a process, you can 

systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get 

as close to zero defects as possible. Each year, Luling 

will save an equivalent of 125 million pounds of deepwell 

waste and $5 million in raw materials costs. 



About Monsanto 

Monsanto is a leading provider of agricultural solutions 

to growers worldwide. Monsanto’s employees provide 

top-quality, cost-effective and integrated solutions to 

help farmers improve their productivity and produce 

better quality foods. For more information about 

Monsanto — its products, leadership and Pledge 

commitments — visit www.monsanto.com. 

About the Monsanto Biotech Advisory Council 

Monsanto is grateful to the Monsanto Biotech Advisory 

Council for their insight and advice about application of 

the Monsanto Pledge principles to our work. For more 

information about the Biotech Advisory Council, visit 

www.monsanto.com/monsanto/layout/our_pledge/. 

Trademarks and service marks owned or licensed by 

Monsanto and its subsidiaries are indicated by special 

type throughout this publication. 

Unless otherwise indicated by the context, references to 

Roundup products in this report mean Roundup branded 

herbicides and other glyphosate-based herbicides; all 

such references exclude lawn-and-garden products. 

This report is printed on recycled paper that contains 

at least 10 percent post-consumer waste with 

soy-based inks. 

© 2004 Monsanto Company 

ENDNOTES 

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2 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

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3 Tilman, D., Fargione, J., Wolff, B., D’Antonio, C., Dobson, A., 

Howarth, R., et al. (2001). Forecasting agriculturally driven 

global environmental change. Science, 292, 281-284. 

4 Balmford, A., & Long, A. (1994). Avian endemism and forest 

loss. Nature, 372, 623. 

5 Jepson, P., Jarvie, J. K., MacKinnon, K., & Monk, K. A. (2001). 

The end for Indonesia’s lowland forests? Science, 292, 

859-861. 

6 Wiebe, K. (2004). Linking land quality, agricultural productivity, 

and food security (AER-823). Washington, DC: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, p30. 

7 Gianessi, L. P., Silvers, C. S., Sankula, S., & Carpenter, J. E. 

(2002). Plant biotechnology: Current and potential impact for 

improving pest management in U.S. agriculture: An analysis 

of 40 case studies (US NCFAP 2002). Washington, DC: 

National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. 

8 Pesticides registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency will not cause unreasonable adverse effects to 

man or the environment, when used in accordance with 

label directions. 

9 Gianessi, L., Sankula, S., & Reigner, N. (2003). Plant 

biotechnology: Potential impact for improving pest 

management in European agriculture: A summary of nine 

case studies (US NCFAP 2003). Washington, DC: National 

Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. 

10 Rice, M. E. (2004, March 1). Transgenic rootworm corn: 

Assessing potential agronomic, economic, and environmental 

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sum.asp?id=3239&photo=1928 

11 Alston, J. M., Hyde, J., & Marra, M. C. (2002). An ex ante 

analysis of the benefits from the adoption of Monsanto’s 

corn rootworm resistant varietal technology — YieldGard 

Rootworm (103). Raleigh, NC: National Science Foundation, 

Center for Integrated Pest Management. 

12 Rosegrant, M., Cai, X., & Cline, S. (2002). World water and 

food to 2005: Dealing with scarcity. Washington, DC: 

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14 Strength of partnerships contributes to lasting success 

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2004, from http://www.cspinet.org/new/200405181.html 

16 De Roos, N. M., Bots, M. L., & Katan, M. B. (2001). 

Replacement of dietary saturated fatty acids by trans fatty 

acids lowers serum HDL cholesterol and impairs endothelial 

function in healthy men and women. Arteriosclerosis, 

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18 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2001). Climate 

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Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 

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greenhouse gases [Electronic version]. Detroit Free Press. 

21 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2000). 

Land: Use, change, and forestry. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge 

University Press. 

Note: No-till CO2 sequestration calculation based on the fact 

that a gallon of gasoline weighs 6.2 lbs., contains 5.39 lbs. 

of carbon and emits 19.8 lbs. of CO2 when burned. Example 

0.75 tons of C sequestered with conservation tillage multiplied 

by 2000 lbs. in a ton divided by 19.8 lbs. of CO2 in a 

gallon of gasoline is equivalent to not burning 75 gallons 

of gasoline. Fuel reduction source: Conservation Technology 

Information Center. 

22 Wang, M., Saricks, C., & Santini, D. (1999). Effects of 

fuel ethanol use on fuel-cycle energy and greenhouse 

gas emissions (ANL/ESD-38). Argonne, IL: Center for 

Transportation Research, Energy Systems Division. 

23 James, C. (2002). Global review of commercialized 

transgenic crops: 2001 Feature: Bt cotton. (ISAAA-26). 

Ithaca, NY: International Service for the Acquisition of 

Agri-Biotech Applications. 

24 Huang, J., Hu, R., Fan, C., Pray C. E., & Rozelle, S. (2003, 

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(IDS working paper 202). Brighton, UK: Institute of 

Development Studies. 

25 Pray, C. E., Huang, J., Hu, R., & Rozelle, S. (2002). Five years 

of Bt cotton in China — the benefits continue. The Plant 

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26 Morse, S., Bennett, R., & Ismael, Y. (2004). Why Bt cotton 

pays for small-scale producers in South Africa. Nature 

Biotechnology, 22, 379-380. 

27 Traxler, G., Godoy-Avila, S., Falck-Zepeda, Espinoza-Arellano, 

& J. De Jesús. (2003). Transgenic cotton in Mexico: A case 

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(Ed.), The economic and environmental impacts of agbiotech 

— a global perspective. New York: Kluwer. 

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grown in France and Spain. Journal of Agricultural and 

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2, 2004, from http://www.fao.org/Gender/en/agri-e.htm 


Feedback on 

This Publication? 

We’d appreciate your thoughts. 

Please send them to: 

Diane Herndon 

Monsanto Company 

800 North Lindbergh Boulevard 

St. Louis, Missouri 63167 

U.S.A. 

diane.b.herndon@monsanto.com 

MAG# 

Monsanto Company 

800 North Lindbergh Boulevard 

St. Louis, Missouri 63167 

U.S.A. 

www.monsanto.com

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