The Suicide Seeds

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None of this has deterred Monsanto's detractors. Activists are turning up the pressure on the Internet--supporting the "Cremate Monsanto" campaign in which protesters in India have set fire to company test fields. At the same time, a lawsuit is set to be filed charging that the USDA, by supporting Terminator technology, has violated its mandate to help American farmers. Monsanto will probably respond that without Terminator genes to guarantee seed sales, the company has no incentive to develop better crops. But while such a stop-me-before-I-kill-again argument may work in a business seminar, it may not play well before a jury.

For the next few years, things should remain unsettled. Although genetic technology is progressing rapidly, it could be years before a seed containing Terminator genes is ready for market. Lawsuits challenging the technology are likely to advance more slowly still. All this gives Monsanto a chance to rethink its marketing strategy. It may decide to limit the number of Terminator crops it develops or sell supercrops to the developing world without Terminator genes. Says Terminator critic Mellon: "There are many, many opportunities for this thing not to work." What worries critics is what happens if it does.

--Reported by David Bjerklie/New York, Meenakshi Ganguly/New Delhi and Dick Thompson/Washington