In response to the Rockefeller Foundation's concerns about this technology, Monsanto has decided to abandon plans to commercialize Terminator technology. GE seeds are patented by the company that did the genetic engineering. The right to use the seed is controlled by the corporate owner of the patent. The traditional ability of farmers to save seed is thwarted, destroying sustainable harvesting techniques. There is a potential long-term threat to biodiversity.
Monoculture increases the susceptibility of crops to pests and disease.
Pests and weeds build up resistance to pesticides and other toxins when they are bred into the entire plants, as with Bt, and when the plant is grown in a monoculture setting. Increased resistance to Bt toxins will harm organic farmers who have relied on a natural Bt spray for decades. GE organisms contain proteins from more than one species, with potential for allergenic or other unknown harmful effects. In the United States, there is currently no way for consumers to know if the food they are buying has been genetically engineered because there is no requirement to label GE content of foods. India's Supreme Court ruled in February 1999 that all field trials of Monsanto's genetically engineered Bt cotton must be halted.