St. Louis, Missouri
April 18, 2002

Thirty-two years after the first Earth Day in 1970, increasingly complex environmental issues continue to challenge the sustainability of the planet. As the world celebrates Earth Day 2002, Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is publicly reaffirming its commitment to use its resources and technological
capabilities to work toward solutions to those challenges.

"Helping address environmental issues by reducing the use of pesticides, protecting biodiversity, and facilitating the adoption of more sustainable farming systems is at the core of Monsanto's vision of abundant food and a healthy environment," said Robert T. Fraley, Ph.D., Monsanto's chief technology officer.

"Monsanto's technologies and products are already providing important solutions to help small- and large-scale farmers in both developed and developing countries conserve resources and protect the environment," Fraley explains.

He cites International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) statistics that show that from 1996 to 2001, the global area of crops enhanced by plant biotechnology has increased more than 30-fold, from 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to 52.6 million hectares (130 million acres) in 2001. "This high rate of adoption reflects the benefits these crops offer to farmers in both industrialized and developing countries," he says.

Fraley states that biotech-enhanced products like Roundup Ready crops help facilitate conservation tillage, a more sustainable form of agriculture that dramatically reduces soil erosion and pesticide runoff into streams and rivers. A study by the American Soybean Association estimates herbicide- tolerant soybeans reduce the amount of plowing farmers need to do, conserving almost 250 million tons of topsoil and saving about 234 million gallons of fuel that wasn't needed for the heavy tillage. And biotech crops resulting in a more abundant food supply can be grown on fewer acres, he says, which means less forest will be cleared and fewer species will be lost.

Other biotechnology products like Monsanto's insect-resistant Bollgard cotton and YieldGard Corn Borer corn significantly reduce the amount of insecticides that are applied as well as preventing large yield losses to insects. According to the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, insect-resistant corn annually saves between 60 million and 70 million bushels of corn that otherwise would be lost to insects, and insect-resistant cotton has reduced annual pesticide spraying by 2.7 million pounds.

An article published in 2002 by R. H. Phipps and J. R. Park states that around the world, the use of genetically enhanced soybean, oil seed rape, cotton and maize varieties modified for herbicide tolerance or insect protection, reduced pesticide use by a total of 22.3 million kg. of formulated product in the year 2000 alone. Biotech crops offer significant benefits to agriculture, Fraley believes, and its worldwide acceptance is moving forward which is good news for both the environment and for growers.

So on this Earth Day 2002, Fraley says Monsanto is restating and renewing its commitment to its world vision of abundant food and a healthy environment. He puts it best when he says, "We must work together using all our resources and technology tools to find new and better ways to feed and clothe the growing world."

Roundup Ready, Bollgard and YieldGard are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.