Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Exacctnt who wrote (1532)	3/9/1999 11:21:00 AM
From: JGoren	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Looks like Celebrex will pass Viagra's high of 310,000 scrips this week.

To: Exacctnt who wrote (1532)	3/9/1999 1:46:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2539

Genetically Modified Crops to Be Standard in U.S., Sparks Says Bloomberg News March 9, 1999, 11:19 a.m. ET Genetically Modified Crops to Be Standard in U.S., Sparks Says Buenos Aires, March 9 (Bloomberg) -- A majority of U.S. corn, soybean and cotton will be grown with genetically modified seeds by 2007 as farmers are drawn to more efficient growing methods, the chief executive of crop forecaster Sparks Cos. said. Seeds made by companies such as Monsanto Co. and Novartis AG that resist disease, fend off pests or yield more protein will account for 60 percent to 70 percent of those crops, triple the current level of about 20 percent, Sparks CEO Bruce Scherr said. ''The biotechnology revolution is not over, it's just beginning,'' said Scherr, who runs the Memphis, Tennessee-based forecasting firm owned by Willard Sparks. ''This is an unprecedented technological expansion because it relates to lowering costs (and) it relates to much more productivity.'' Monsanto and Novartis have spent billions of dollars developing seeds widely used in the U.S., the largest grower of corn and soybeans, and the second-largest producer of cotton. Expanded use in the world's biggest market will put pressure on other countries to use them even in the face of opposition from some consumers and governments. In Europe, where many consumers oppose eating food made from genetically altered crops, more and more farmers will want to use the seeds because they're more efficient and can produce food more cheaply, Scherr said. Europe will be forced into a two-tier food system of genetically altered crops and those grown organically that are costlier, he said. Genetically modified seeds are becoming more widely used outside the U.S. In Argentina, more than 50 percent of the country's crops are planted with modified seeds, and growth in Canada has been ''dramatic,'' Scherr said. ''Moreover, this doesn't include wheat, and wheat is just about to enter into the global system,'' said Scherr, who spoke at his firm's South American agribusiness seminar in Buenos Aires. --Susan Schneider in Buenos Aires (5411) 4321-7730 through the