Monsanto

Monsanto Chief Executive Outlines Commitments On New Agricultural Technologies In The 'New Monsanto Pledge'

ST. LOUIS, November 27, 2000 — Monsanto Company President and Chief Executive Officer Hendrik A. Verfaillie today outlined the "New Monsanto Pledge" - principles in five key areas outlining Monsanto's policy for the development, use and stewardship of products of new agricultural technologies.

Speaking before the fifth annual Farm Journal Forum in Washington, D.C., Verfaillie made new commitments unprecedented in the biotechnology industry. The New Monsanto Pledge includes five areas of commitment - dialogue, transparency, respect, sharing and delivering benefits.

"Through the New Monsanto Pledge, we commit to respecting and working with all interested parties, developing technology with benefits that are meaningful to farmers and consumers throughout the world, and only developing products that we are confident are safe and will provide value to our customers," said Verfaillie.

Monsanto has a history of taking a leadership position on matters of public interest. In 1990, the Monsanto Pledge was a statement of environmental responsibility. One principle of the original Pledge applies directly to the issue of biotechnology: "We will work to achieve sustainable agriculture through new technology and practices."

Today, Monsanto has expanded that original 1990 Pledge to include the following elements:

Dialogue

• We commit to an ongoing dialogue with all interested parties to understand the issues and concerns related to this technology.

  • To this end, we commit to create an external Biotechnology Advisory Council from a range of constituencies with an interest in biotechnology to meet, discuss, advise and help us make decisions.
  • And we commit to involving our customers to help us make decisions about the development, use and stewardship of new agricultural technologies.

Transparency

• We commit to transparency by making published scientific data and data summaries on product safety and benefits publicly available and accessible, and we commit to working within the rigorous, science-based regulation as required by appropriate government agencies around the world.

  • We will make both Monsanto research and external research by universities and other institutions available through the Internet and other public venues.

  • We commit our support for a mandatory pre-market notification process for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of all biotechnology products in the United States.

  • We commit to work toward the establishment of global standards for the quality of seed, grain and food products.

Respect

• We commit to respecting the religious, cultural and ethical concerns of people throughout the world by:

  • Commercializing commodity grain products only after they have been approved for consumption by both humans and animals;

  • Not using genes taken from animal or human sources in our agricultural products intended for food or feed;

  • Never commercializing a product in which a known allergen has been introduced;

  • Using alternatives to antibiotic resistance genes to select for new traits as soon as the technology allows us to do so efficiently and effectively in a manner that has been proven safe; and,

  • Underscoring our commitment not to pursue technologies that result in sterile seeds.

Sharing

• We commit to bring the knowledge and advantages of all forms of agriculture to resource-poor farmers in the developing world to help improve food security and protect the environment.

  • To this end, we have created a dedicated team within Monsanto to facilitate technology sharing and agricultural development collaborations with public institutions, non-profit groups and local industry around the world.

Benefits

• We commit to work for and deliver benefits for farmers commercially as well as environmentally.

  • Environmentally, we commit to develop technology that directly contributes to a vision of abundant food and a healthy environment by:
    • Using biotechnology to promote integrated pest management (IPM) and reduce agricultural inputs, such as we have seen with the reduction of pesticides in the United States;
    • Working with growers worldwide to double the use of tillage practices that conserve soil and moisture over the next five years; and
    • Ensuring that all of our products and practices protect wildlife and beneficial species.

  • Commercially, we intend to launch new genetically improved commodity crops in the United States only after they have received full approval for food use and animal feed in the United States and Japan. We hope also to extend this intention to Europe as soon as it has established a working regulatory system.
    
    We're able to state this intention as long as there are science-based regulatory systems that make timely decisions. If the regulatory systems are not functional, we cannot allow the breakdown to deny U.S. farmers the choice of new technologies.

"We have reached a critical crossroads in the debate about biotechnology," said Verfaillie.

"We recognize that people in all arenas have looked to us to explain and defend this technology publicly. We recognize that our role as a leader in this technology means we have to do more than react to what is said publicly - we have an obligation to take a solid stance and look to set benchmark policy on how this technology is developed, used and communicated through this Pledge."

Monsanto Company, an 85 percent owned subsidiary of Pharmacia Corporation (NYSE:PHA), is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. For more information on Monsanto, see: www.monsanto.com.

For the complete text of Monsanto CEO Hendrik Verfaillie's speech as well as additional background materials, click here.

For more information, please contact:

Loren Wassell
(314)-694-7002

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