Dive Brief:
- Monsanto Co. has admitted that it may have contributed to the consumer backlash against genetically modified foods when the company failed to address consumer concerns upon GMOs introduction 20 years ago.
- After receiving recent FDA approval in the U.S., the Arctic Apple has now also been approved by Health Canada for sale in Canada, creator Okanagan Specialty Fruits' home country.
- China's seed producers are trying to stand up to massive global biotech companies like Monsanto and Dupont Co. Because China is the world's second-largest seed market and will potentially be the largest country for food consumption by 2018, China is a target for Monsanto, et al., and local Chinese seed companies may struggle to compete.
Dive Insight:
Monsanto may have admitted its "hubris" when it comes to explaining GMOs to the public, but the company has not backed down from GM foods' importance to the future of food security and feeding a rapidly growing population. According to The Independent, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said, "If you look at (farming) growth in the last 15 years, about 70 per cent came from new land cultivation. When you go from six to nine billion over the next 30/40 years there is no new land. Can you do it without biotech? I don’t think so."