The seed industry is controlled by a few large companies
A small number of companies control the world’s supply of seeds. The top 10 seed companies in the world control more than two-thirds of the commercial seed market, according to a report by the Non-GMO Project.
The Monsanto Company, DuPont, and Syngenta AG are the biggest players in the seed industry, and all three companies are based in Switzerland. Together, these three companies control more than 50 percent of the global commercial seed market.
Other companies in the top 10 include Bayer CropScience (Germany), Dow AgroSciences (United States), and BASF Plant Science (Germany). These six companies together control more than 67 percent of the world’s seed market.
The consolidation of the seed industry has been occurring for several decades. In 1996, there were more than 600 independent seed companies in the United States. By 2016, that number had decreased to just over 100. In just 20 years, the top 10 seed companies have come to control more than 60 percent of the U.S. market.
These companies own the patents to many of the world’s most popular seeds
Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, and other large companies own the patents to many of the world’s most popular seeds. These companies have significant control over the global seed market, and they use their patents to keep prices high and limit competition.
Patented seeds are more expensive than traditional seeds, and they can be difficult to obtain. This gives these companies a lot of power over farmers and gardeners, who must either use their products or go without.
These companies also often sell genetically-modified (GM) seeds, which have been altered to resist herbicides or pests. GM crops are controversial, and many people worry about their safety and environmental impact.
They use these patents to control the seed market
Most of the world’s seeds are owned by a handful of companies. These companies use patents to control the seed market. They charge farmers high prices for seeds and prevent them from saving and exchanging seeds.
The top 10 seed companies control more than 60% of the global seed market. The top three companies alone control more than 40%. These companies are Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta. They are all based in the United States.
These companies have been buying up smaller seed companies in recent years. As a result, the number of companies that control the global seed market is getting smaller. This concentration of ownership gives these companies even more power over farmers around the world.
The top 10 seed companies are:
- Monsanto
- DuPont
- Syngenta
- Groupe Limagrain
- Land O’Lakes
- KWS SAAT AG
- DLF-Trifolium A/S
- ‘Euralis Semences SA
- ‘Bayer CropScience AG
- Sakata Seed Corporation
The prices of seeds have been rising in recent years
One of the reasons for the price increase is consolidation in the global seed industry. A few large companies now own most of the world’s seeds. For example, Monsanto owns about 28% of the world’s vegetable seed market.
Some people are concerned that these companies will have too much control over the food supply. They worry that the companies will use their patents to charge high prices for seeds, and that farmers will be forced to buy new seeds every year instead of saving them from one year to the next.
consolidation in the global seed industry has led to a few large companies owning most of the world’s seeds
These companies are also working to control the world’s food supply
Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, and Dow Chemical are the world’s largest seed companies, and they are working hard to control the world’s food supply. These companies produce genetically modified seeds that are designed to be resistant to herbicides and pests. However, these seeds are also designed to produce plants that do not produce seeds of their own. This means that farmers who use these seeds must purchase new seeds from the companies every year.
These companies are also working to control the world’s food supply by buying up smaller seed companies. This gives them an even larger share of the market and allows them to control what farmers can grow. These companies are interested in profits, not people, and they will do whatever it takes to increase their bottom line.
They are doing this by controlling the seeds that are used to grow food
It’s not just that these companies sell us the seeds to grow our food, they are increasingly controlling the very types of seeds we are able to grow. And they are doing this by controlling the seeds that are used to grow food.
The three corporations that now dominate the global seed market are Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta. These companies have been consolidating their control over the world’s seed supply for the past two decades through a series of mergers and acquisitions.
In the late 1990s, Monsanto purchased Calgene, a biotech company that had developed FlavrSavr, the first genetically engineered tomato. In 2005, Monsanto purchased Seminis, one of the world’s largest producers of vegetable seeds. In 2010, DuPont bought Pioneer Hi-Bred, a major producer of corn and soybean seeds. And in 2015, ChemChina announced its intention to purchase Syngenta, one of the world’s largest pesticide and seed companies.
Today, these three companies control more than 60 percent of the global commercial seed market. And as these companies have become increasingly consolidated, prices for seeds have skyrocketed.
The price of soybean seeds has increased by more than 900 percent since 1995. The price of corn seeds has increased by more than 1200 percent since 1995. Cottonseed prices have increased by more than 500 percent since 2001. And pumpkin seed prices have increased by more than 400 percent since 2009.
This consolidation ofcontrol over the world’s seed supply has major implications for our food system—and for our ability to feed ourselves into the future.
They are also working to control the world’s water supply
While Monsanto may be the most well-known company when it comes to genetically modified organisms (GMOs), they are far from the only one. In fact, Monsanto is just one player in an industry that is consolidating rapidly, with just a handful of companies now owning the majority of the world’s seeds.
These companies are also working to control the world’s water supply, through both direct ownership of water utilities and by controlling the crops that need the most water. With control of both the world’s seeds and water, these companies would have a very tight grasp on both the food and agriculture industries.
These companies are a threat to the world’s food security
In recent years, a handful of companies have come to control an increasingly large share of the world’s seed supply. This consolidation of the seed market poses a threat to the world’s food security, as these companies now have considerable power over what we eat.
The top three companies in the seed market are Monsanto, DuPont, and Syngenta, which together control nearly 40% of the global seed market. These companies are frequently criticized for their business practices, which are often seen as harmful to small farmers and the environment. For example, Monsanto is known for its genetically modified (GM) crops, which many people believe are unsafe for human consumption and harmful to the environment.
These companies also often make it difficult for farmers to save and reuse seeds from their crops, as they often require farmers to purchase new seeds each year. This practice creates a financial burden on farmers, and it also undermines food security by making it difficult for farmers to stockpile seeds in case of crop failure.
Critics argue that the consolidation of the seed market is bad for both consumers and farmers. They believe that this concentration of power gives these companies too much control over our food supply, and that this is dangerous for both human health and the environment.