Monsanto Nixes Terminator Seeds

Monsanto, the leading developer and marketer of genetically engineered crops, says it won't commercialize technologies that render second- generation seeds sterile. Such "terminator" technologies have been a contentious issue in the intensifying debate surrounding genetically modified plants and foods. Although companies see such technologies as ways to protect and recoup their R&D investments through seed sales, opponents see them as a threat to farmers' centuries-old practice of collecting seeds from year to year for replanting, an economic necessity in developing countries. Monsanto will gain ownership of the technology through its still-pending acquisition of cottonseed producer Delta & Pine Land. The Scott, Miss.-based company jointly developed and patented the technology—still several years away from commercialization—through a cooperative R&D agreement with the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). A U.S. patent was awarded in March 1998. Delta & Pine Land is free to do what it wants with the technology until the acquisition by Monsanto goes ...