Genetically modified company

摘要

"As a man sows, so shall he reap," is a biblical lesson that really means something in the agricultural chemical and seed business, where profits critically depend on timely plantings and rich harvests. One firm, however, knows far better than most what it is to reap the whirlwind: Monsanto, a leading purveyor of genetically modified (GM) crops. two years ago, Monsanto was arguably the world's most controversial company, praised by those who see a future of environmentally friendly farming and healthier diets in high-tech crops, and damned by others who consider them promoters of ecological destruction and corporate control of the global food supply. Under siege from anti-GM protestors and heavily indebted after a $5.3 billion acquisition spree, Monsanto found temporary shelter under the roof of Pharmacia, an American drug company that bought the embattled firm for its successful pharmaceutical division, Searle.