Monsanto’s legacy: What went wrong for one of the world’s most innovative companies?

David Zilberman | October 27, 2016 | Berkeley Blog

By introducing transparent pay for seeds and traits, Monsanto modernized the seed business and provided an incentive to the public sector to get engaged and provide improved genetic material. There is vast evidence that GMO varieties tend to increase yields, reduce insecticide use (while increasing herbicide use), especially in developing countries, and increase farmer profit.

Nevertheless, this new approach angered purists and caused significant backlash and legal cases against Monsanto and “GMOs” in general.

The opposition to Monsanto wasn’t confined to activists. Some chemical companies lost billions in sales of chemicals that were replaced by genetics. Their interest was to ban, or at least slow, the introduction of GM traits to maintain profit….Transgenic crops were introduced in Europe … during the Mad Cow disease outbreak that triggered high levels of mistrust of governments and science......To Read More....

My Take - It may seem strange to some to think companies would work at stopping innovation - especially innovation that would save lives and help protect the environment.  But let me ask you this.  Who was the strongest opponent of Edison's electric light revolution?  Rockefeller!  Why?  What was Rockefeller's number one product?  Kerosene!  That's what illuminated homes and businesses and the electric light would end that.  He was putting his own interests before all else.....and that's not untypical of industry.   Big business leaders aren't conservative or liberal.  They're self interested and will go in any direction that fulfills that interest.  Big business, as a ally, is at the best of times a leaky vessel.