Monsanto Will Wait For Studies Of Disputed New Gene Technology

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Publication 23apr99

Monsanto's "terminator technology" may not be terminated, but neither will it be germinated soon because of the global furor it has caused.

St. Louis-based [ Monsanto Co. ] announced Thursday that it would not market the controversial new gene technology until the completion of studies that examine the environmental, economic and social effects.

"We believe that the concerns about gene protection technologies should be heard and carefully considered before any decisions are made to commercialize them," the company said in a statement.

So-called terminator technology is one of the seed-sterilization methods being developed to prevent genetically modified seeds from being used for free. If crops produce sterile seeds, farmers must buy new seeds at the next planting.

For Monsanto, Thursday's announcement amounts to a retreat from its spirited defense of the technology. Philip Angell, Monsanto's director of communications, said the company had taken its new position "because the reaction to terminator in a lot of different quarters in many countries was clearly becoming the dominant discussion about biotechnology."