Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Monsanto (MON) the New Sheriff ... its Own!

Monsanto (NYSE:MON) will be allowed to conduct its own environmental impact studies as a result of a two-year experiment by the USDA, effectively making them the sheriff of its own town.

They are not the only biotech company to be handed its own policing powers, as others will also be able to conduct their own assessments, or have it farmed out to contractors.

According to the USDA, by allowing the companies to do this, the process will be more "timely, efficient, and cost-effective," according to the Federal Register.

What will probably happen from all this will indeed be a smoother process, but also the gradual release of crops and pesticides to farmers in a way that won't appear alarming to those that don't understand the overall process.

This is true of anything as far as speed goes, as anything that changes too quickly, will be considered suspect by most people.

It remains to be seen whether this is a good or bad move by the USDA.

But with the food crisis hitting the world and the need for answers, it appears they've passed the responsibility on to those part of the industry itself because they don't want to deal with the consequences on either side of the issue.

Monsanto closed Monday at $65.99, falling $1.53, or 2.27 percent.

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