The Suicide Seeds

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    Monsanto disagrees--and not without reason. Say what they will about Terminator, even some detractors admit that the company designs a hell of a seed. The maker of one of the world's most popular herbicides, Monsanto has created crops that are resistant to the toxin. With it, farmers can spray away weeds without spraying away their harvest. The company has also developed plants with a built-in toxin that is harmless to humans but lethal to insects. If farmers in the developing world use these muscled-up crops--even with Terminator genes--their harvests might increase enough to cover the cost of buying seeds each spring. Says Delta and Pine Land vice president Harry Collins: "It will help them become more production-oriented rather than remaining subsistence farmers."

    Despite the doomsday alarms being sounded by environmentalists, genetic engineers at Monsanto argue that there is no real risk of pollen from Terminator plants causing widespread sterilization in other plants--and they're probably right. Gene drift does occur, but nature doesn't make it easy. Many crops, like rice, are mostly self-pollinated. As for crops that are pollinated by wind or insects, precautions like planting border fields to keep crops isolated help confine genes. What's more, crops tend to mature at the same time--sending out a great puff of pollen all at once--while wild plants reproduce over a longer period. During the brief time Terminator pollen is in the air, relatively few wild plants would notice. "The concern over widespread escape is overblown," insists Toenniessen.

    None of this has deterred Monsanto's detractors. Activists are turning up the pressure on the Internet--supporting the "Cremate Monsanto" campaign in which protesters in India have set fire to company test fields. At the same time, a lawsuit is set to be filed charging that the USDA, by supporting Terminator technology, has violated its mandate to help American farmers. Monsanto will probably respond that without Terminator genes to guarantee seed sales, the company has no incentive to develop better crops. But while such a stop-me-before-I-kill-again argument may work in a business seminar, it may not play well before a jury.

    For the next few years, things should remain unsettled. Although genetic technology is progressing rapidly, it could be years before a seed containing Terminator genes is ready for market. Lawsuits challenging the technology are likely to advance more slowly still. All this gives Monsanto a chance to rethink its marketing strategy. It may decide to limit the number of Terminator crops it develops or sell supercrops to the developing world without Terminator genes. Says Terminator critic Mellon: "There are many, many opportunities for this thing not to work." What worries critics is what happens if it does.

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