Monsanto Company, was among the leading producers of agrichemical and biochemical products globally. Its expansion during the First World War (WW1) was facilitated by the federal government’s trade policy tariffs, which favored its market dynamics (“History of Monsanto,” 2020). During the WW1, Monsanto produced styrene, a highly valuable substance in the automobile and military industry. In the late 1990s, Monsanto acquired biotechnology and genetics firms and began dealing in modified agricultural seeds. By the early 2000s, it mainly manufactured agricultural and biotechnological products. Monsanto’s involvement with genetically modified products and harmful chemicals started attracting negative reaction from the public (Hanzai, 2019). Following a series of public lawsuits, the business was sold to a Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical establishment. This paper highlights the company’s profile data, major stakeholders, its environmental performance, and its interrelationship with various environmental segments.
Company’s Profile
Monsanto’s mission is to develop solutions and products to address the globe’s increasing food needs, safeguard the environment, and preserve natural resources. Its vision is to provide high-quality products to benefit customers and the environment. Monsanto operates in approximately 150 nations and has over 15,000 employees. Monsanto was sold for €60 billion in 2016 to Bayer Company (Welle, 2016). The firm’s market capitalization rose from €56 billion in 2018 to €72.8 billion in 2019. The annual income was approximately €2.2 and €14.6 billion in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Bayer’s annual stock data report showed an increase in dividend payments from € 2.6 million in 2018 to € 2.7 million in 2019 (“Monsanto stock price,” 2020). Its stock prices and market valuation also increased from 2018 to 2019.
Monsanto’s primary stakeholders include suppliers, Non-governmental organizations, consumer lobbyists, environmental groups, the public, investors, employees, and consumers. Monsanto’s main competitors include the American Dow Chemical Company, Evogene Ltd, Syngenta Company, Agrium, American Vanguard, and CF Industries Holdings (Hanzai, 2019). Although Monsanto’s environmental practices have improved since its acquisition, its competitors are performing better environmental tasks. The Dow Company, for example, recently made a significant milestone in achieving its sustainable ecosystem goal – saving $1 billion by 2025 through avoiding environmentally harmful projects. The organization announced that it had saved $500M of the targeted amount (English & Bandlow, 2020).
Inter-Relationship with Environmental Segments
Negative public reputation typifies Monsanto’s social environment due to its careless environmental practices in the past. The public was pessimistic and critical of the genetically engineered foods because of safety concerns, following the spread of the mad cow disease in Europe (Welle, 2016). The organization still elicits dissenting reactions from the public for importing GMO commodities in Europe. The economic environment is mediated by the establishment’s attempt to merge with the EU Monsanto. Bayer and U.S Monsanto’s merger enabled the two businesses to control 28% of the global pesticide market (Welle, 2016). Currently, Monsanto is trying to amalgamate with the EU Monsanto to acquire the agrochemical sectors (Welle, 2016). The proposed integration has attracted scrutiny from environmental regulators, activities, the public, and investors.
The political environment involves the company’s anti-competitive practices that violate the patent and antitrust laws, which support healthy competitive practices in the transgenic seed market. The American Antitrust Institute recently published a report accusing Monsanto of illicit competitive practices that negatively affect product prices, quality, and choices for farmers and consumers. The firm recently invested in biotechnology in response to the inefficient nature of traditional herbicides. It combines seeds with round ready herbicide, which can selectively kill weeds and spare the plant. Using cutting-edge technology has helped the organization to gain support from stakeholders, farmers, and customers to stay competitive in the market.
In conclusion, Monsanto was among the world’s leading producers of agrichemical and biochemical products, whose expansion took place during the WW1. Its involvement in toxic chemicals and genetically engineered foods attracted negative responses from the public, and after a series of lawsuits, the organization was acquired by Bayer. Monsanto has seen significant improvements in their stock and financial performance following this acquisition. Furthermore, its interrelationship with various environmental segments has both negative and positive impacts on its overall success.
References
English, C., & Bandlow, K. (2020). Dow reaches midpoint of “Valuing Nature” Goal; Company continues to deliver environmental and financial value through 2025 Sustainability Goals. Businesswire. Web.
Monsanto stock price – MON (2020). Investing. Web.
Hanzai, E. (2019). The complete history of Monsanto, “the world’s most evil corporation.” Global Research. Web.
History of Monsanto (2020). Trustwell Law Group. Web.
Welle, D. (2016). What the Bayer-Monsanto merger means for food, farmers and the environment. DW. Web.