Two decades ago, less than 10 percent of corn and soybean acres were planted with genetically engineered seeds. Last year, nearly every single acre of corn and soybean was planted with GMOs. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows St. Louis-based seed company Monsanto has propelled that rapid incr
Highlights from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting's package on GMOs and climate change. In the last 20 years, U.S. farmers have widely turned to genetically engineered seeds to help counter more prevalent pests and other climate change consequences. U.S. Department of Agriculture data o
St. Louis-based seed company Monsanto’s attempts to merge with Swiss chemical business Syngenta are still going strong – even though Syngenta deemed Monsanto’s latest offer “inadequate.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has followed the ongoing saga closely. On June 14, it reported that taxes will likely
Swiss chemical company Syngenta received a second offer from St. Louis-based agribusiness Monsanto over the weekend. The value of the offer was roughly equal to when Monsanto tried to buy Syngenta in April. At the time, the seed giant offered Syngenta a reported $45 billion, a figure that Syngenta p
Each year, state agencies and the federal government together send tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to some of the largest corporations in America, several of which are major agribusinesses. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting explains.
Powerful agribusiness companies that regularly net billions in profits are major recipients of state and federal tax breaks, subsidies, grants and loans. Just seven of those companies have pocketed billions since 2000, according to government subsidy data from Good Jobs First. Tax experts say the co
Tens of millions of people live off of government welfare in the United States. Some say that giant agriculture corporations do, too. An analysis of data attained by the policy research organization Good Jobs First shows that just seven agribusinesses have received billions of dollars in state and f
Agribusiness giant Monsanto is steadily moving forward on the introduction of its next major wave of genetically engineered crops. It's a bid to stop a super weed, but with critics.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service deregulated Monsanto GM soybean and cotton varieties in January. Organic farmers and environmental advocates say they are concerned the seeds may prompt an increase in costly herbicide drift.
To help farmers win the war on herbicide-resistant weeds, Monsanto is working on new varieties of genetically engineered soybean and cotton. Many farmers look forward to the GMOs, but some critics argue the varieties are shortsighted solutions to a long-term problem.
The $956 billion Farm Bill, which set U.S. food policy for the next decade, is no longer the purview solely of agricultural interests. It has evolved from a spotlight on commodities to a focus on consumers, a joint investigation by Harvest Public Media and the Midwest Center for Investigative Report
Danish Ombudsman Jørgen Steen Sørensen recently declared his support for the confidentiality of test results for experimental cultivation of Monsanto’s genetically modified corn. Critics, however, believe the test results should be immediately available to the public.
