As Patents Expire, Farmers Plant Generic GMOs

Billy Maddox planted 100 acres of Roundup Ready soybeans this year. The big news is he didn't pay Monsanto a dime. It's been 20 years since Monsanto developed its first genetically modified crops. Now some of its early patents are starting to expire, leading to the first "generic GMOs" - off-patent seeds that cost half as much and which farmers are free to save and replant. Maddox, speaking in a Southern drawl as he drove down a road somewhere near Jonesboro, Arkansas, is a seed dealer who works with conventional varieties. This year was the first time he ever sold any GMOs.©2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2015 Audible, Inc.