孟山都通过诉讼与监视垄断美国农业种子市场

孟山都公司自1996年商业化转基因种子以来，已启动数千项调查并对数百名农民和种子经销商提起诉讼，以强制执行其专利保护。1美国食品安全中心2007年的报告记录了来自27个州的112起诉讼案件。1该公司雇用私人调查机构McDowell & Associates的至少11名调查员从事监视活动，对农民进行跟踪和恐吓。1

通过一系列战略性收购，孟山都实现了对全球种子市场的垄断控制。1公司在2005年以14亿美元收购Seminis公司，该公司控制了美国40%的蔬菜和水果种子市场，随后两周内又以3亿美元收购美国第三大棉籽供应商Emergent Genetics。1目前，孟山都转基因种子占美国大豆生产的90%。1

2007年10月，美国联邦贸易委员会决定不对孟山都进行正式调查和执法行动。1美国最高法院1980年以五比四的多数意见允许对生物体进行专利保护，为孟山都获得674项生物技术专利提供了法律基础。1此外，孟山都与Solutia公司因Anniston地区多氯联苯污染事件向21000名居民支付5.5亿美元赔偿。1

Monsanto has wielded patent protections and litigation as instruments to enforce strict control over genetically modified seed technology across American farming, launching thousands of investigations and filing lawsuits against hundreds of farmers and seed dealers since commercializing genetically modified seeds in 1996 1. According to a 2007 report from the Center for Food Safety, the company had pursued 112 lawsuits across 27 states 1. This enforcement campaign has been accompanied by surveillance tactics: private investigative firms, including McDowell & Associates with at least 11 investigators, have been deployed to monitor farmers suspected of patent violations 1.

The company's market dominance extends beyond enforcement to outright acquisition of competitors. In 2005, Monsanto purchased Seminis for $1.4 billion, gaining control of approximately 40 percent of the American vegetable and fruit seed market, followed two weeks later by the $300 million acquisition of Emergent Genetics, the country's third-largest cottonseed company 1. These consolidations have positioned Monsanto's genetically modified seeds to account for 90 percent of American soybean production 1. In October 2007, the Federal Trade Commission decided against launching a formal investigation or enforcement action against the company 1.

The patent regime enabling this consolidation traces to a 1980 Supreme Court decision, decided five to four, that extended patent protection to biological organisms, paving the way for Monsanto to secure 674 biotechnology patents 1. The company invested over $2 million daily in research and development 1. Former CEO Robert Shapiro characterized genetically modified seeds as "the most successful technology introduction in the history of agriculture" 1. Beyond seed markets, the company's historical practices have left environmental and public health consequences: Monsanto and its subsidiary Solutia paid $550 million in compensation to approximately 21,000 residents of Anniston for polychlorinated biphenyl contamination in the region 1.