Michael White Monopolies

Monopolies of the Past and Present The United States has had its fair share of history with businesses that are considered to be anticompetitive. These types of businesses are known as monopolies and their common characteristic boils down to creating a lack of competition in a market. This lack of competition is known for stifling innovation and usually results in high prices of the product or service. In an attempt to foster competition in the United States economy, The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed in 1890. This anti-trust law is designed to prevent monopolies, that deliberately attempt to dominate the market, by giving the government the right to investigate companies that are accused of such behavior. This paper will explore two companies, …show more content…
He does this is the short documentary Seeding Fear directed by Craig Jackson. This documentary makes the viewer question the morality of the Monsanto having this patent on their GMO-seed because it causes them to take aggressive action against farmers that opt out of using their products. Michael White says, “It’s just not morally, or economically, right to be able to patent anything that reproduces” (Jackson 2015). White is referring to the fact that Monsanto has not only a patent on their formula, but they also have gotten legislators to pass laws that prohibit any farmer saving seed that comes from Monsanto’s GMO-seed (Organic Consumers Association). White goes on to say, “That thousands of years tradition of saving seed is over with” (Jackson 2015). Since the dawn of farming, farmers have saved the seed that comes from their crops for the next year. Monsanto makes this illegal so that farmers have to go buy more seed from them every year. If farmers are caught saving second-generation Monsanto seed they will be sued as well. It becomes clear that Monsanto uses their patent on GMO-seed, to force the hand of farmers in order to keep demand for their product …show more content…
However, the lawsuit was dropped in 2013 when both Monsanto and Dupont agreed to end the lawsuit and actually decided to work together (Huff 2013). Monsanto will license DuPont to use their patented GMO-seed formula. This joint venture between the top contenders of the agricultural industry is essentially making the biggest monopoly on GMO-seed by joining forces. In conclusion, Monsanto has all the characteristics of a monopoly. They are now one buyer to many sellers, with the help of DuPont at their side. They have found ways to ensure that their product has no good substitutes. They control price on their highly in-demand seed. Overall, they make long-term profits in the millions, if not billions, and they make fostering competition deliberately