Big seed, chemical, trading and retailing companies dominate world commerce

When Jack’s mother threw the bean seeds out the window, little did she know of their powers. Overnight, a large stalk had grown and Jack promptly climbed up the beanstalk to their future fortune.

That fairy tale now mirrors reality as we look at the massive growth in GM seeds and their place in gardens and fields. The seed market had grown to US$47 billion last year, with GM seed leading the growth. The big six companies that control 70 per cent of the seed, led by Monsanto, expect GM seed will account for 50 per cent of all seed and an increase in revenue to US$53 billion by 2018.

Monsanto has taken the global lead, largely by acquisition as it scooped up 50-plus seed and related companies since 1996. It, DuPont and Land O’Lakes control half of the seed market globally and have cross-licensing agreements with all the big five. Monsanto GM seed alone now accounts for more than 80 per cent of American corn acres and over 90 per cent of U.S. soybean acres. Although over one billion farmers must rely on farmer-owned seeds, the right to patent seed and own the intellectual property is changing the field — and the garden — globally. (A quarter of the vegetable seed industry is controlled by Monsanto.)

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