Chapter 185 Monsanto-Style Sales
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It's midsummer, and the farmlands of South Dakota are full of lush greenery. The highways that run through the agricultural area seem to be rarely passed, after all, this is a large farm in the countryside, and there are few people around. It is too difficult to meet an outsider on weekdays.
However, if someone pays close attention to this farmland, they will find that there seems to be no weeds in this farmland, only neat corn growing densely in the field. That's right, this family is one of the customers of Monsanto Molecular Biology Company. Their genetically modified corn seeds have almost occupied 70% of the market in South Dakota in just one year, that is to say, 70% Corn seed produced by Monsanto is used in the field.
Why is Monsanto able to occupy such a large market in just one year? First, Monsanto’s first customers simply cannot do without them. Their land has been sprayed with too much Roundup herbicide, except Monsanto's genetically modified crops, this land can't even grow dogtail grass. So the first batch of Monsanto customers had no choice at all. Not only did they have no choice, but they even needed Monsanto to decide on the types of crops they planted, because Monsanto’s corn, soybeans and other crops were all Roundup Ready. But if South Dakota grows too much corn, it will affect the price of corn. So when a farmer becomes a customer of Monsanto, then he has to obey Monsanto to grow whatever he wants in the field.
The agricultural system in South Dakota has been basically controlled by Karim. Now the largest grain purchaser in the United States is the Canada-based Witfa Agribusiness, and Witfa is the agricultural subsidiary of the Glencore Group. subsidiary company. Witfa can control the volume and variety of South Dakota produce through the seeds Monsanto sells.
If there is only this method, it will be very difficult for Karim to win 70% of the market, so Karim has another method to help Monsanto dominate the seed market in South Dakota. That is Monsanto's ubiquitous intellectual property investigation unit.
As early as a year ago, Monsanto had just arrived in South Dakota to develop the market. Karim set out to set up such a department. Karim is not a sudden whim, but has her own considerations. Shortly after Monsanto’s genetically modified corn and soybeans were officially launched on the market, Sergei Sha asked a question, what should farmers do if they are unwilling to use Monsanto’s products? Although Roundup can bind old Monsanto users, it cannot Forcing users who have never used Monsanto products to use genetically modified seeds. For an unknown product, many farmers are reluctant to try it. Americans like freedom by nature, and farmers don't want others to dictate their land. If we only rely on the competitiveness of Monsanto's genetically modified products to compete for the market, even if the patent expires, it is impossible to monopolize the entire American agriculture. Then, is there any way for American farmers to grow their own crops in accordance with Monsanto's requirements? There is only one answer, and that is to use the comprehensive intellectual property legal system of the United States to force these people to become Monsanto's customers.
So after the first batch of customers developed, there will be many investigators sent by Monsanto around the farm.
This is especially true during pollen season. But these people don't just help Monsanto's customers monitor the growth of their crops. They also have a special mission. That is to contaminate the same crops in the neighbors who are not Monsanto customers with pollen from the crops in the fields where the GM crops are planted. In addition, those wind-blown pollen can also give neighbors' crops a Monsanto signature. Pollination—the way plants reproduce for thousands of years—is how Monsanto controls American agriculture.
Monsanto's genetically modified crops have been registered with the US Patent Office, and anyone who uses Monsanto's genetically modified products without authorization is a violation of US patent law. This naturally also includes the neighbor's farmland contaminated by pollen. While the farmers are looking at the green fields with smiles, Monsanto’s intellectual property investigators will drive here and provide the farmers with a copy of the corn or soybeans in their fields containing the gene fragments edited by Monsanto. evidence. Then came a letter from a lawyer. There are only two options waiting for the farmers, either to go to court to sue Monsanto on intellectual property issues, or to accept Monsanto's settlement agreement and only grow Monsanto's crops in the next few years. Under the threat of lawsuits by Monsanto, most people will choose the way of reconciliation, while a small number of wealthy and powerful farmers will reject this settlement agreement, and what awaits them is the most luxurious intellectual property rights in the United States The lawyer team hit back.
Under this semi-coercive marketing approach, Monsanto's promotion in South Dakota has been successful, and it is spreading to North Dakota. And those farmers who have been caught in Monsanto's conspiracy can't get rid of Monsanto's control at all, unless they don't grow food, otherwise, the farmland can only be sown with Monsanto products.
Karim has worked hard in the market for many years, and now the first thing to think about is profit. In Karim's view, although the protection of patents in the US law is very good, it also gives technology monopoly companies like Monsanto the beheading of all opponents. Kill every chance. In South Dakota, Monsanto squeezed all competitors out of the seed business in just one year. And in North Dakota, Monsanto's products are simply unstoppable.
However, Monsanto's use of genetically modified crops is not limited to staple food crops. According to the principles of Roundup and petunia gene herbicide resistance, as long as it is a grass plant, it can be related to development, which means that Monsanto's herbicide-resistant crops Can cover all grass crops, including most vegetables on the American table, many grass fruits, etc.
Now in Monsanto's laboratory, almost every crop in the United States has a corresponding follow-up research team, and many of them have entered the end of research and development. Such as Monsanto's genetically modified wheat.
Both Kareem and Eva have enjoyed the enormous benefits of intellectual property rights, and both Yota Communications and Monsanto's legal departments are exceptionally strong. They are always intimidating the opponents who feel the most about them, telling them that they are not easy to mess with. In front of big companies, those high-ranking gold medal lawyers are nothing more than thugs who guard the house.