SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) – Monsanto expects farmers to plant more of its genetically modified crops this year than last year.
“I feel confident that in every core crop, a core crop being corn, soybeans and cotton, that we will plant more Monsanto biotech acres than we did in 2000,” said Brett Begemann, Monsanto’s vice-president of branded products in the United States.
“I believe we will be up in every one of those crops.”
Begemann said he based his conclusion on information from growers and seed companies that license Monsanto’s technology.
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Heading into the U.S. spring planting season, Begemann said he believes the controversy over GM crops is fading, due in part to stepped-up efforts by the industry to defend biotechnology.
For example, the industry-backed Council for Biotechnology Information maintains a website for consumers that Begemann said has been logging 17,000 hits per month.
Monsanto was among the first to reap the financial rewards of GM grain and was also an early target of activist groups opposed to biotechnology. Begemann said the company has grown more sensitive to the concerns of consumers and activists.
“We’ve learned a lot about biotechnology over the past few years, both from a scientific standpoint, as well as from a standpoint of being able to respond to concerns that consumers might have,” he said.
“Consumers in fact are quite supportive of biotechnology, and the more information we share with them about biotechnology, the more supportive they become.”
Begemann said producers have also become more secure about growing GM crops.
“What growers are telling us, they’re going to plant more (biotech crops) again. And they are finding markets. The products are making it to market, and it’s not costing them a discount.”
