The Invisible Monopoly
William Pittman
3/08/15
Section 79
COMP - Bryant
The Invisible Monopoly By definition, a monopoly is the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service (Webster). In simpler terms, it’s when someone or some organization tries to completely take over the market of a product. Obviously, this is unfair to competitors and most of all, consumers because they are deprived of the decision of where to receive their product from. For this exact reason, the US has put in place laws against monopolization. Sadly though, some of the top members in the food industry seem to be void to these laws. One company in particular that seems to utilize monopolistic tactics is the American biotechnology corporation, Monsanto. They have been taking over the seed market for the past few decades are now a prominent model of a monopoly. The American biotechnology Corporation, Monsanto, which is a prominent model of a monopoly, has been taking over the seed market for the past few decades. In an entry from GM education, the evidence “If you consider that Monsanto - the largest and the best known – licenses its genetically modified traits to other seed companies and as a result, more than 80% of US corn and more than 90% of soybeans planted each year are attributable to Monsanto then monopoly comes to mind”(GM Education). These numbers show exactly how miniscule the competition Monsanto is facing truly is. As an illustration of Monsanto’s devious tactics, writer Peter Whoriskey delivers claims exposing the pricing of Monsanto’s products. According to a farmer that he interviewed, Monsanto’s prices have been steadily increasing despite the complaints of farmers worldwide. “Prices of the Monsanto-patented seeds have steadily increased, roughly doubling during the past decade, to about $50 for a 50-pound bag of soybean seed”(Whoriskey). These price increases are only doable because Monsanto has either stifled, or caused a heap of their competitors to
3/08/15
Section 79
COMP - Bryant
The Invisible Monopoly By definition, a monopoly is the exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service (Webster). In simpler terms, it’s when someone or some organization tries to completely take over the market of a product. Obviously, this is unfair to competitors and most of all, consumers because they are deprived of the decision of where to receive their product from. For this exact reason, the US has put in place laws against monopolization. Sadly though, some of the top members in the food industry seem to be void to these laws. One company in particular that seems to utilize monopolistic tactics is the American biotechnology corporation, Monsanto. They have been taking over the seed market for the past few decades are now a prominent model of a monopoly. The American biotechnology Corporation, Monsanto, which is a prominent model of a monopoly, has been taking over the seed market for the past few decades. In an entry from GM education, the evidence “If you consider that Monsanto - the largest and the best known – licenses its genetically modified traits to other seed companies and as a result, more than 80% of US corn and more than 90% of soybeans planted each year are attributable to Monsanto then monopoly comes to mind”(GM Education). These numbers show exactly how miniscule the competition Monsanto is facing truly is. As an illustration of Monsanto’s devious tactics, writer Peter Whoriskey delivers claims exposing the pricing of Monsanto’s products. According to a farmer that he interviewed, Monsanto’s prices have been steadily increasing despite the complaints of farmers worldwide. “Prices of the Monsanto-patented seeds have steadily increased, roughly doubling during the past decade, to about $50 for a 50-pound bag of soybean seed”(Whoriskey). These price increases are only doable because Monsanto has either stifled, or caused a heap of their competitors to