Who is doing genetic engineering? Why are they doing it?

The genetic engineering industry is dominated by a few major multinational corporations, including Monsanto, Dupont, Syngenta, Dow and Aventis, all of whom have operations in the Hawaiian islands. These corporations account for almost 100% of the global market in genetically engineered seeds. These companies are also the world’s biggest producers of agrochemicals. They are the same companies who created DDT, CFCs, Agent Orange, and dozens of pesticides and chemicals that they promised were safe and that were later determined to be toxic to human health and the environment.

These corporations have made many claims about the benefits genetic engineering can provide for the world, and indeed make the entire enterprise of genetic engineering sound like a humanitarian effort. This is misleading for a number of reasons.

One of the major claims the industry makes is that we need biotechnology to feed the world’s growing population. However, between 1995 and 1999 the global acreage planted in genetically engineered crops went from a negligible amount to 99 million acres, and this did nothing to curb world hunger. The types of genetically engineered crops being developed are also not targeted to reducing world hunger. Nearly 100% of the GMO crops on the market are either herbicide tolerant or pesticide-producing. They are not meant to increase yield, increase nutritional value, help the small farmer, be able to grow in poor soil, or decrease the cost of food production, all things the hungry of the world could truly benefit from. In fact, most of the GMO crops being grown today are made for livestock feed, not for feeding people at all.

Solving world hunger is not solely an issue of abundance of food, either. Right now there is enough food to feed the world one and a half times over, but it is not being distributed in a way to feed all the people of the world. And tellingly, biotechnology companies force farmers to buy new seed each year, preventing them from saving and replanting seed, which is something that poor farmers in particular rely on. This technology is not being used to help the poor and marginalized of the world or to feed the hungry. In fact, many of the world's poorest countries refuse to import GMO food or food aid including Angola and Zimbabwe.

So who does biotechnology benefit? So far, the major beneficiaries are the corporations who produce genetically engineered seeds. Indeed, the genetic engineering revolution is designed by major corporations to enhance their corporate profit, not to benefit humanity. These companies have set up a system in which they first make money selling seed to farmers, lock farmers into buying their agrochemicals, and then guarantee that farmers will be forced to buy new seed from them each year by the threat of lawsuits and fines. For instance, of the 80 million acres of genetically engineered herbicide-resistant soy, corn, and canola that were planted worldwide in 2000, the agrochemical companies that created and sold these seed varieties also sold the corresponding herbicide, without exception.

Since 1980 when the US Supreme Court allowed corporations to patent genetically engineered organisms, the industry has invested more than $20 billion in genetic engineering ventures. They now need a return on this investment, and are working hard to see that they make that money back. In 1995, proceeds were estimated at $75 million. In 1999 they had grown to $2.3 billion.

To learn more about the companies that are conducting genetic engineering experiments in Hawaii, please read these corporate profiles from the Pesticide Action Network:

Monsanto
DuPont/Pioneer
Dow/Mycogen
Syngenta

Find out more:
	What is genetic engineering?		How is genetic engineering different from traditional crop breeding?
	What crops are being genetically engineered?		Who is doing genetic engineering? Why are they doing it?
	How are these crops regulated?		What impact will genetic engineering have on Hawaii's farmers?
	How do genetically engineered crops and foods affect our health?		What effect will genetic engineering have on Hawaii's environment?
	Where are these experiments being conducted?		What are pharmcrops?