I've been reading about Monsanto in the Locallectual blog and know a little bit about it, but I'm curious to learn more. Can anyone sound off?

I am pretty sure genetically engineered seeds make me queasy. Do they plant food? And what about Roundup? Educate me!

Here's the Wikipedia blurb:

The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as "Roundup". Monsanto is also by far the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed, holding 70%–100% market share for various crops. Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In March 2005, it finalized the purchase of Seminis Inc, making it also the largest conventional seed company in the world. It has over 18,800 employees worldwide, and an annual revenue of USD$8.563 billion reported for 2007.[1]

Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation and political lobbying practices, have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the anti-globalization movement and environmental activists.

Oh wait, the "Roundup ready soybean seed"?

Say what?! Does that mean every time I eat something with soybean oil it's probably linked back to this company? That's everything I think!

A great documentary that covers GMO foods as well as paints an (I think) accurate picture of Monsanto is:

The Future of Food

I actually believe that this documentary is a must-see who care about the origins of their food, and who are concerned about the relationships between our government and large corporations.

Karen