October 28, 2005

Monsanto will release new strain of soybean

Monsanto said it would release a new strain of soybean, in partnership with The Solae Co.

Food company Solae is mostly owned by DuPont, which also owns Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a major competitor of Monsanto.

The partnership offered Monsanto an excellent marketing channel for its new soybean strains, as Solae processed and sold soy protein to food makers worldwide.

Solae would gain a new soybean strain that yielded more flavoured protein, and which was easier to mix into other products, both companies said.

Monsanto would also be able to enter a key market in which the crops were genetically modified specifically for human consumers. Monsanto's reputation has so far been in creating GM seeds that suited farmers' needs, with traits such as herbicide or pest resistance.

Monsanto said entering the market for food consumers was also important, since farmers that used their GM products also had to consider consumer preferences as well.

Interestingly, the new strain of soybean was created through traditional plant breeding, not genetic engineering. While there has been no brand name yet for the soybeans, they would be available for planting by the spring of 2007.

Solae said once the soybeans were harvested, they would be processed at one of the company's 15 plants worldwide, then distributed as a soy protein food additive.