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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1250)	2/19/1999 1:06:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Dan, I haven't missed your point, but I was commenting on the UK government's stance rather than responding on the lawsuit (which your article has addressed most convincingly). The UK govt. knows there's no scientific basis for Greenpeace et al's arguments, but opts for a easy way out: Environment minister Michael Meacher also said that while the government is against a moratorium, it urged industry to impose further voluntary delays[on commercial planting of genetically modified crops].

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1250)	2/19/1999 7:19:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

FOCUS-Novartis challenges Monsanto with new corn seed Friday February 19, 6:52 pm Eastern Time By Julie Vorman ALBUQUERQUE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Novartis Inc. unveiled a new genetically-modified corn seed on Friday to challenge Monsanto Co. (NYSE:MTC - news) in the race to develop designer seeds that can help U.S. farmers control weeds and cut costs. The new gene, known as Acuron, will not be available in seeds sold to farmers until 2003. But one Wall Street analysts said the eagerness of Novartis to announce the product means the usually-conservative company is confident it has a winner. All major U.S. and foreign seed companies are spending millions on research to modify plant genes to produce bigger crop yields, stronger plants or value-added traits such as higher protein or oil content. Acuron is similar to Monsanto's popular Roundup-Ready products in that it will protect a corn plant from farmers' use of herbicides to kill a wide range of weeds. Roundup-Ready contains a gene that resists the herbicide glyphosate, and is used in cotton soybeans, corn and other crops. ''This is a major announcement and should create a level playing field with Monsanto in the mind of the marketplace,'' said Sano Shimoda, head of BioScience Securities Inc., a California firm that specializes in agricultural biotechnology stocks. ''It also means that Novartis is trying to raise its profile about the future value of its products.'' Novartis executives presented the new product at the Commodity Classic conference that attracted more than 1,000 soybean and corn farmers. ''This is an example of us springing forward with a new technology that will truly make a difference to farmers,'' said Ed Shonsey, president of Novartis Seeds. Shonsey likened the expected impact of Acuron to Bt corn, made by Novartis and other companies. ''In many cases during the past year of low prices, this product meant the difference between farmers staying in business and going out of business,'' Shonsey said. Forecasters have estimated that 25 million U.S. acres will be planted with Bt corn this year, up sharply from 6 million acres last year. Bt corn is engineered to protect corn from the European corn borer with a natural insecticide produced by the young plant. Company executives declined to project how much in sales Acuron could mean to Novartis, saying only that sales would be ''substantial'' and could rapidly rival that of Bt corn. Acuron, which builds in resistance to a class of herbicides known as protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors, can also be inserted into other crops with similar results. Work is already underway for sugar beet and soybean varieties, said Bruce Yergler, a Monsanto vice president. Shimoda said Acuron had the potential to challenge Monsanto's Roundup-Ready products. ''If the weed kill is faster, this could be an important factor for customers. Farmers like to see weeds die quickly, and Roundup-Ready takes several days,'' he said. Novartis said it would have Acuron in field tests by 2001, under the supervision of the U.S. Agriculture Department, and indicated it would share the technology with other companies. ''We have to be able to compete, not just through exclusivity because technology always finds a way around that,'' Shonsey said. The announcement came amid debate in Colombia over a biosafety protocol which could affect trade in genetically-modified foods and plants. U.S. transgenic products have faced stiff opposition in the European Union, where consumer and environmental groups fear the new products could be harmful. Novartis executives acknowledged that U.S. exports of its new corn could present trade problems unless transgenic products are addressed in next year's round of world ag trade talks. ''There is a high emotional component in this debate in Europe,'' said Heiri Gugger, president of Novartis Crop Protection. ''We have had a very rapid change... All of the sudden the implementation of this gene technology is happening much faster than anyone expected five years ago.'' Experts expressed confidence that genetically-modified crops are here to stay. ''You're just not going to be able to stop this thing,'' Shimoda said. ''The value of these products is so great, and improves farmers' efficiencies. Other countries cannot afford to ignore this technology for long.''

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1250)	2/20/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

New Scientist Editorial - Monster mash Take one transgenic potato and a colony of lab rats... 20 February 1999 EVERY cause needs a martyr. And in Arpad Pusztai, the scientist at the centre of the row over transgenic potatoes that has engulfed Britain, opponents of GM foods seem finally to have struck gold. Not since King Ludd and his followers marched on the cotton mills of Lancashire has there been such virulent hostility to a new technology intended for peaceful purposes. What have we learnt? First, that nothing sets a nation's pulse racing like a food scare, especially one spiced with allegations that a whistle-blowing scientist has been unfairly sacked and gagged as part of a government-inspired cover-up. Whether Pusztai's science is good, bad or--as seems likely at present--simply inconclusive, the high-ups at the Rowett Research Institute where he worked clearly blundered when they suspended him just days after he appeared on TV. Unless, of course, it was always their intention to hand environmentalists ammunition on a plate. The second lesson is that despite everything that happened with BSE, the British government still doesn't seem to be getting the message. When it comes to evidence concerning food safety--no matter how inconclusive it is, and how overblown the media reports--the government and its research institutes must not only act impartially, they must be seen to be acting impartially. For the Rowett to silence Pusztai at a time when ministers were offering Monsanto financial encouragement to expand its British operations was a gift to conspiracy theorists, even if there was never any conspiracy going on. What is still woefully unclear is what Pusztai's experiments really mean for the safety of GM foods. The lectin gene used in his potato could certainly be hugely important--and not just to the food industry. It may yet end up warding off insect pests from rice, a staple crop for millions. Pusztai's one indisputable result--that the lectin does not in itself harm rats--is therefore reassuring. But if the scientists who are supporting Pusztai's claims are right, there is something else to worry about--an unforeseen and as yet mysterious toxic hazard caused by the extra bits of DNA that are inserted into plants during the genetic engineering process. But extraordinary claims of this kind require extraordinary evidence, and so far the evidence Pusztai has allowed us to see is decidedly weak. There is, in any case, a simpler and less scary explanation for what he claims (see Frankenfears, p4). This is why it was irresponsible of the scientists who are seeking to rehabilitate Pusztai to talk, as some did at a press conference last week, about epidemics of cancer and impaired immunity caused by GM foods. When the alarm bell rang over BSE we at least had some evidence of an infectious agent lurking in the food chain. With GM foods, we have nothing remotely like that. Clearly, Pusztai's experiments need to be repeated on a bigger scale to see whether the effects he reports are reproducible. And a thorough biochemical study of the potatoes he used is needed to get to bottom of what, if anything, is wrong with them. There is also a case for insisting that companies test the safety of the DNA they insert into food, as well as the proteins. And for demanding that they find some way of monitoring the long-term impact of GM foods on humans. What is much less obvious is whether there should be a blanket moratorium on the introduction or testing of further GM crops. In Britain, the chorus calling for such a move is becoming deafening. This magazine has always regarded that option as a kneejerk response which, among other things, ignores the possible environmental benefits of some modifications. Nothing has happened in the past week to change our view. Fortunately for Tony Blair and his ministers, there is another way of calming the hysteria. They must act swiftly to set up an independent commission (and that means no industry representatives and no environmentalists) on the safety of GM foods, along the lines of the Warnock Committee that looked into reproductive medicine and embryology following public alarm over test-tube babies. Its first job: to hold an open inquiry into the Pusztai affair. From New Scientist, 20 February 1999 newscientist.com

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1250)	2/20/1999 10:51:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

02/20 09:15 Monsanto Introduces FARMSOURCE.Com, The Complete, Free, On-Line Network <MTC.N> Monsanto Introduces FARMSOURCE.Com, The Complete, Free, On-Line Network For U.S. Agriculture ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Monsanto Company (NYSE: MTC) announced today the launch of FARMSOURCE.com, a state-of-the-art Internet site, search engine and e-commerce offering sure to grab the attention of U.S. growers, retailers and agriculturists desiring a simple and effective way to manage information and access services on-line. FARMSOURCE.com will launch March 1. Growers and others attending the National Corn Growers Association's Commodity Classic here will be among the first to sample FARMSOURCE.com at Monsanto's exhibit, where four computers with Internet access have been set up. "The Internet has become the preferred communication method/information source for a growing number of our customers," said Len Botkin, Monsanto Farmsource.com manager. "To meet the needs of these customers, we worked with them to develop a completely new on-line resource that connects growers to retailers and retailers to Monsanto, creating a free online network that gives U.S. users a comprehensive, easy-to-use source for important agricultural information and services on the Internet. Monsanto cited l998 market research surveys, as well as results of USDA and Gallup polls, that indicate that 20-25% of growers are currently on the Internet. In addition, a recent Monsanto survey of over 400 U.S. growers found that 60% own computers and 31% are Internet-connected. What is most significant is that the Internet-connected growers have increased in one year by 70% or from 18% in l997 to 31% in l998. FARMSOURCE.com includes up-to-the-minute ag information, including local cash prices, weather, commodities prices, and ag news -- all customized through a dynamic site to meet personal interests. The site will offer business services for retailers that include on-line ordering of Monsanto chemical products, automated monitoring of their Monsanto bulk product inventories, on-line training and the ability to easily create a personalized web page for their business on FARMSOURCE. Other features include comprehensive product and label information about Monsanto's agricultural products, and an agriculture search engine that makes it easy to find agriculture information on the Internet. The ability to easily find agricultural information on the Internet through the search engine on FARMSOURCE.com makes FARMSOURCE.com a portal site for U.S. growers and retailers, said Botkin. "Growers, retailers and distributors told us that access to information that is timely, accurate, complete and relevant is essential to the long-term success of their businesses," Botkin said. "Technologies like the Internet can access more information than anyone could ever absorb. Key for the Internet user is the ability to quickly and easily find complete and accurate information on any relevant subject. FARMSOURCE helps users do exactly that -- it allows users to customize the site into a form that delivers exactly the information they desire." As a life sciences company, Monsanto is committed to finding solutions to the growing global needs for food and health by sharing common forms of science and technology among agriculture, nutrition and health. The company's 30,000 employees worldwide make and market high-value agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and food ingredients. SOURCE Monsanto Company -0- 02/20/99 /CONTACT: Lisa Drake, 314-694-3540, email, lisa.m.drake@monsanto.com, or Robin Johnston, 314-726-5511 ext. 3418, both of Monsanto Company/ /Web site: monsanto.com -- CGSA001 -- 8753 02/20/99 09:00 EST prnewswire.com Copyright PR Newswire 1998. All rights reserved.