Our people are committed to delivering products that provide both sustainable and healthful options for producers, food companies and consumers. By applying breeding and biotechnology innovations, we help provide farmers with better oilseeds and vegetable seeds. Such innovations help farmers and others in the value chain bring consumers products that help support a healthful lifestyle.  With greater choice and access to appropriate tools, farmers can continue to support food security and nutrition needs around the work.

Improved Oils

Improving soybean oil’s nutritional composition provides the opportunity to positively impact consumer diets and achieve dietary guidance recommendations. The USDA/HHS Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 recommends keeping trans fat consumption as low as possible and consuming no more than seven percent of your daily calories as saturated fat.

Our Vistive^®Gold soybeans, in Phase 4 of our pipeline, produce high-oleic, low-saturate, low-linoleic soybean oil that has 85 percent less saturated fat than palm oil, 70 percent less saturated fat than fry shortening and 60 percent less saturated fat than conventional soybean oil. When commercialized, Vistive^®Gold soybean oil will provide food companies with more stable oil for frying, cracker and snack food production as well as baking applications that can lower levels of saturated fat and eliminate trans fats, allowing consumers to enjoy the foods they love with less saturated fat.

85% LESS SATURATED FAT THAN PALM OIL

70% LESS SATURATED FAT THAN FRY SHORTENING

60% LESS SATURATED FAT THAN CONVENTIONAL SOYBEAN OIL

Health and nutrition experts also recommend increasing omega-3 consumption to help maintain cardiovascular health. Stearidonic acid (SDA) omega-3 soybean oil, in Phase 4 of our pipeline, will allow food companies to offer a wide variety of everyday foods such as dairy products, soups, sauces, beverages and bars, with heart-healthy omega-3s, yet without compromising product quality*.  Our life’sSDA™ stearidonate (SDA) omega-3 soybean oil has a superior taste profile* compared with other omega-3 oils and has a nutritional profile that helps support many consumers’ health and wellness goals. Additionally, one acre of SDA omega-3 soybeans provides as much eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a healthy polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, as 10,000 three-ounce servings of salmon, reducing the pressure to overfish.

*“FDA has observed that “supportive but not conclusive” research shows that the consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”

Vegetables and Melons

Despite the well-documented health benefits associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, very few Americans actually meet dietary guidance recommendations. We support balanced diets for people around the world, and we seek to make vegetables and melons more appealing to and convenient for consumers. Our plant breeders are using traditional and advanced plant breeding techniques to develop improved vegetables and melons with excellent quality, nutrition and flavor – all characteristics that help increase the appeal and consumption of vegetables.

Here are some of the appealing and convenient vegetables and melons we’ve been developing:

BellaFina^® sweet mini bell peppers

Perfect size for snacking, salads and recipes with little waste (about one-third the size of typical colored bell peppers), and bursting with flavor and vitamin C.

MelŌränge^®melons

More fragrant and sweeter than wintertime cantaloupes.

Beneforté^®broccoli

Each serving provides two to three times the phytonutrient glucoraphanin compared to a serving of other leading broccoli varieties when produced under similar growing conditions, boosting your body’s antioxidant enzyme levels at least two times more than other broccoli.  Glucoraphanin boosts the body’s antioxidant enzyme levels, which helps maintain antioxidant activity of vitamins A, C and E in your body.

Frescada^®lettuce, cross between romaine and iceberg lettuce

Keeps the sweet taste and crisp texture of iceberg with the high levels of Vitamin C, Folate and deeper green color of Romaine.

Better Vegetable Seeds Lead to Sustainable Practices

Monsanto strives to provide farmers with seeds that require fewer inputs, which helps conserve resources. From disease- and insect-resistant traits to herbicide tolerant varieties, we help farmers improve yields, reduce chemical sprays and continue to increase their productivity. By helping farmers become more sustainable, we reduce their need to expand cultivated acres and help preserve wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

MONSANTO STRIVES TO PROVIDE FARMERS WITH SEEDS THAT REQUIRE FEWER INPUTS, WHICH HELPS CONSERVE RESOURCES

Some examples of how our vegetable seeds help farmers conserve more resources are:

Performance Series^TM broccoli crowns mature uniformly, making them easier to harvest with fewer passes through the field.

Performance Series cucumbers (Downy Mildew resistance) reduce the number and cost of fungicidal sprays.

New tomato hybrids are being developed using molecular and conventional breeding techniques that will provide resistance to devastating Gemini viruses, increasing farmer productivity.

Performance Series sweet corn can reduce insecticide sprays by up to 85 percent, which enables a reduction in fuel and energy use, thanks to fewer trips across the field.