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Monsanto Company Inc.
Public
(Acquisition by Bayer pending)
Traded as MON
S&P 500 Component
Industry Agribusiness
Founded 1901; 115 years ago (1901)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Founder John Francis Queeny
Headquarters Creve Coeur, Missouri, U.S.
Key people
Hugh Grant
(Chairman, President and CEO)
Products Herbicides, pesticides, crop seeds
Revenue DecreaseUS$15 billion (2015)
DecreaseUS$3.52 billion (2015)
DecreaseUS$2.3 billion (2015)
Total assets IncreaseUS$21.92 billion (2015)
Number of employees
Increase 25.500 (2015)
Website www.monsanto.com

Monsanto Company is a publicly traded American multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Greater St. Louis, Missouri. Monsanto is a leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed and Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide.

Monsanto's roles in agricultural changes, biotechnology products and lobbying of government agencies and roots as a chemical company have surrounded the company in controversies.

Notable achievements by Monsanto scientists included research on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation and the first mass-produced light emitting diodes (LEDs). The company once manufactured controversial products such as the insecticide DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange and recombinant bovine growth hormone.

Monsanto was one of four groups to introduce genes into plants (1983), and was among the first to conduct field trials of genetically modified crops, (1987). It was one of the top 10 U.S. chemical companies until it divested most of its chemical businesses between 1997 and 2002, through a process of mergers and spin-offs that focused the company on biotechnology.

Monsanto was one of the first companies to apply the biotechnology industry business model to agriculture, using techniques developed by biotech drug companies. In this business model, companies recoup R&D expenses through by exploiting biological patents. Its seed patenting model was criticized as biopiracy and a threat to biodiversity.


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