Case Assignment 1 - BUSI 472
Case Assignment 1 - BUSI 472
Case Assignment 1 - BUSI 472
Shannon Merchent
June 8, 2020
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“The Monsanto Company is the world’s largest seed company, with sales of over $15.9
billion” (Ferrell et al., 2017). Founded by John F. Queeny in 1901, Monsanto became a
genetically modified seed company in the early 1970’s, launching them into one of the top
producers in the world (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2017). Today, Monsanto specializes in
using biotechnology to produce genetically modified seeds that can survive droughts, kill bugs,
and keep weeds at bay. By doing this, the company is aiming to help farmers increase their crop
As Christians, we are taught to live a life that is Godly. We are taught to live, respect,
care, and nurture our neighbors and the earth. For example, Genesis 1:26 says, “The God said,
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures
that move along the ground” (New International Version). We are to care for the earth and all the
things that inhabit it, never to harm but, to care for. Romans 13:9 also says, “The
commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’
You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one
command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (NIV). These verses show how we are called upon
as God’s children to take care of his creation and all who inhabit it and to love others as you do
yourself. Monsanto has taken for granted these callings because of the numerous ethical
dilemmas that the company has brought upon itself. The company needs to remember, without
God, there would not be “The Monsanto Company’, there would not be any of it because God
When it comes to business ethics and ethical culture, it is the moral responsibility for the
company itself to maintain. Unfortunately, Monsanto has let down their shareholders numerous
times. Time and time again, Monsanto seems to throw ethics to the wind and
The first ethical dilemma that Monsanto faced was the acquisition of the Swann
Chemical Company in 1935. Before the acquisition, Swann had started producing
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which has been proven to cause chloracne, a serious skin
condition, and liver abnormalities (Markowitz & Rosner, 2018). Monsanto understood that
Swann was producing the PCBs and they would be used in a variety of different products that
would be introduced into the environment. This caused the snowball effect of the numerous
The next huge ethical dilemma Monsanto was involved was the production of the
chemical Agent Orange in the 1970s. This resulted in a major lawsuit. It was found that one of
the chemicals in Agent Orange, named dioxin, was found to be extremely carcinogenic and
caused harmful side effects for hundreds of American veterans (Ferrell et al., 2017).
Thirdly, the production of the genetically modified seed has caused Monsanto to receive
backlash for the fact that conventional seeds could be contaminated by GM seeds, it has not been
proved whether some of the seeds could harm humans and, because a good majority of foods that
are produced using GMOs are not required to have labeling indicating as such (Haslberger,
2001). Overall, the production of these seeds has caused a lot of concern on whether they are
really helping food production or just hurting the environment even more.
Lastly, the most recent ethical dilemma that Monsanto is facing is their Round-Up weed
killer, containing glyphosate, is causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and several other cancers as
well. This dilemma has also resulted in a major lawsuit which is still being pursued in 2020.
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effectively responds to various stakeholders. There have been more questionable ethics that
Monsanto has participated in than ones that are proper for big business. To effectively respond to
the various stakeholders, Monsanto would have needed to build a strong business model that
respected the government and the environment from the very beginning. Time and time again
Monsanto has proven to its stakeholders that it has not respect for either.
The Monsanto Company is known for having their critics and since the production of genetically
modified seeds, they have even been accused of trying to take over the world’s food supply and
diminish the biodiversity (Ferrell et al., 2017). While there are critics and some negative
consequences, there are some benefits of growing GM seeds. The benefits of Gm seeds can be
categorized into 3 different areas, economic, environmental, and health (Smyth, 2017).
First, the economic benefit that GM seeds has produced for not only the United States but
globally is extremely significant. According to Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot, the economic
benefits of GM seeds continues to be significant at the farming level, amounting to $17.7 billion
in 2014 and $150.3 billion for the 19-year period of 1996-2014 (Brookes & Barfoot, 2016).
These significant numbers have helped farmers all over the globe stay afloat much better than
Secondly, the environmental benefits from GM seeds are rooted in the used of weed
control chemicals. “When comparing chemical applications between GM canola and the
alternate scenario where GM canola had not been commercialized, the authors found the total
volume of chemicals applied to canola dropped by 1.3 million kg/year” (Smyth, 2017). This
significant drop in the use of pesticides and herbicides is greatly helping the environment.
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Humans are not ingesting these chemicals as much as before and now are not contaminating the
ground water near these farms. Unfortunately though, with the decreased use of
pesticides/herbicides and increasing the use of GM seeds, it seems that there is the high
possibility that the bacteria that has been easily killed off, can and will start to mutate and start to
resist the chemicals used. That is a risk that is believed that farmers will take, especially if the
Lastly, the health benefits that GM seeds are remarkable. Pesticide poisoning has
reduced, and farmer suicides have decreased just to name a few (Smyth, 2017). GM seeds are
also claimed to be more nutritious. The latter though is the possibility of humans developing
allergies to these GM crops that were not present in the traditional seeds. The possibility of
allergies could be detrimental to certain GM seed categories and then become obsolete or must
be completely revamped. Overall, there is significant data that suggests that GM seeds are
especially beneficial to farmers because of the guarantee of financial gain from their hard work
Monsanto needs to manage the potential harm from plants and animals while using
products like Round-Up. As the company proceeds to grow larger and society moves towards a
“greener” lifestyle, Monsanto is going to have to fight to keep their products in farmers hands.
With this ever-growing problem, at least for Monsanto, the effects of the chemicals that they
create and use for production of food and the protocols implemented will need constant
reevaluation to ensure safety (Tsatsakis, Nawaz, Tutelyan, Golokhvast, Kalantzi, Chung, Kang,
Another potential harm that Monsanto should manage would be changing its advertising
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for glyphosate-based products (Roundup) because of how misleading they can be. Their
advertisements claim that these products do not cause harm to humans or the environment. The
ads also imply that risks are associated with the active ingredient, glyphosate but, do not taken
into any account for any risks that maybe lingering with other ingredients (Ferrell et al., 2017).
Overall, the best way to make sure that plant and animal life are protected from Roundup it to
halt production completely. With the pending lawsuit of it causing cancer in humans, having
more risks than are public, and how easily it can harm animals, Monsanto should stick to GM
seeds. Stopping production would be the best way to manage the potential harm.
Conclusion
In summary, Monsanto has not maintained an ethical culture that has effectively
responded to various stakeholders. With numerous ethical dilemmas, lawsuits, and the like,
Monsanto has not given its stakeholders much to have faith in. The benefits of growing GM by
far outweighs the harms because of the quantity that can be produced. This is especially
important with the ever-increasing population size. There is going to need to be a way to feed
everyone safely and effectively. Lastly, with the potential harm that products like Roundup can
cause to plants and animals, Monsanto needs to ensure their products are not only being
constantly reevaluated but also engineering new products to try and rid the earth of pesticides
and herbicides. This will ensure that humans, the environment, and everything in between are
References
Brookes, G., & Barfoot, P. (2016). Global income and production impacts of using GM crop
https://doi.org/10.1080/21645698.2016.1176817
Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2017). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and
https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1038/90201
Markowitz, G., & Rosner, D. (2018). Monsanto, PCBs, and the creation of a "world-wide
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-018-0146-8
Smyth, S. (2017). Genetically modified crops, regulatory delays, and international trade. Food
Tsatsakis, A., Nawaz, M., Tutelyan, V., Golokhvast, K., Kalantzi, O., & Chung, D., Kang, S.,
Coleman M., Tyshko, N., Chung, G., & Yang, S. (2017). Impact on environment,
ecosystem, diversity, and health from culturing and using GMOs as feed and food. Food