
Seed Money
Monsanto's Past and Our Food Future
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sean Patrick Hopkins
-
By:
-
Bartow J. Elmore
About this listen
An authoritative and eye-opening history that examines how Monsanto came to have outsized influence over our food system.
Monsanto, a St. Louis chemical firm that became the world’s largest maker of genetically engineered seeds, merged with German pharma-biotech giant Bayer in 2018 - but its Roundup Ready® seeds, introduced 25 years ago, are still reshaping the farms that feed us.
When researchers found trace amounts of the firm’s blockbuster herbicide in breakfast cereal bowls, Monsanto faced public outcry. Award-winning historian Bartow J. Elmore shows how the Roundup story is just one of the troubling threads of Monsanto’s past, many told here and woven together for the first time.
A company employee sitting on potentially explosive information who weighs risking everything to tell his story. A town whose residents are urged to avoid their basements because Monsanto’s radioactive waste laces their homes’ foundations. Factory workers who peel off layers of their skin before accepting cash bonuses to continue dirty jobs. An executive wrestling with the ethics of selling a profitable product he knew was toxic.
Incorporating global fieldwork, interviews with company employees, and untapped corporate and government records, Elmore traces Monsanto’s astounding evolution from a scrappy chemical start-up to a global agribusiness powerhouse. Monsanto used seed money derived from toxic products - including PCBs and Agent Orange - to build an agricultural empire, promising endless bounty through its genetically engineered technology.
Skyrocketing sales of Monsanto’s new Roundup Ready system stunned even those in the seed trade, who marveled at the influx of cash and lavish incentives into their sleepy sector. But as new data emerges about the Roundup system, and as Bayer faces a tide of lawsuits over Monsanto products past and present, Elmore’s urgent history shows how our food future is still very much tethered to the company’s chemical past.
©2021 Bartow J. Elmore (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
A Taste for Poison
- Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them
- By: Neil Bradbury Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals, and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin and tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads listeners on a fascinating tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive - or don’t.
-
-
Poison, Murder, and So Much More!
- By Rebecca Hill on 02-12-22
-
Eating to Extinction
- The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them
- By: Dan Saladino
- Narrated by: Dan Saladino
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past several decades, globalization has homogenized what we eat, and done so ruthlessly. The numbers are stark: Of the roughly 6,000 different plants once consumed by human beings, only nine remain major staples today. Just three of these - rice, wheat, and corn - now provide 50 percent of all our calories. Dig deeper and the trends are more worrisome still.
-
-
Must read
- By Morgan German on 10-06-22
By: Dan Saladino
-
Checkmate in Berlin
- The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a master of popular history, the lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II as it’s never been told before.
-
-
Excellent history of the early days of the Cold War
- By Matt on 08-28-21
By: Giles Milton
-
The Next Great Migration
- The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move
- By: Sonia Shah
- Narrated by: Sonia Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A prize-winning journalist upends our centuries-long assumptions about migration through science, history, and reporting - predicting its lifesaving power in the face of climate change.
-
-
BRAVA!!!!
- By Liz Jardine on 08-03-20
By: Sonia Shah
-
T
- The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone That Dominates and Divides Us
- By: Carole Hooven
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through riveting personal stories and the latest research, Harvard evolutionary biologist Carole Hooven shows how testosterone drives the behavior of the sexes apart and how understanding the science behind this hormone is empowering for all.
-
-
I wanted more science
- By L on 09-04-21
By: Carole Hooven
-
The Better Half
- On the Genetic Superiority of Women
- By: Dr. Sharon Moalem MD PhD
- Narrated by: Dr. Sharon Moalem MD PhD
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here are some facts: Women live longer than men. They have stronger immune systems. They're better at fighting cancer and surviving famine, and even see the world in a wider variety of colors. They are simply stronger than men at every stage of life. Why is this? And why are we taught the opposite? To find out, Dr. Sharon Moalem drew on his own medical experiences - treating premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit; recruiting the elderly for neurogenetic studies; and more - and tried to understand why in every instance men were consistently less likely to thrive.
-
-
very good
- By Anabelle Cardona on 04-16-22
-
A Taste for Poison
- Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them
- By: Neil Bradbury Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals, and political assassins to show how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin and tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon’s bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads listeners on a fascinating tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive - or don’t.
-
-
Poison, Murder, and So Much More!
- By Rebecca Hill on 02-12-22
-
Eating to Extinction
- The World's Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them
- By: Dan Saladino
- Narrated by: Dan Saladino
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the past several decades, globalization has homogenized what we eat, and done so ruthlessly. The numbers are stark: Of the roughly 6,000 different plants once consumed by human beings, only nine remain major staples today. Just three of these - rice, wheat, and corn - now provide 50 percent of all our calories. Dig deeper and the trends are more worrisome still.
-
-
Must read
- By Morgan German on 10-06-22
By: Dan Saladino
-
Checkmate in Berlin
- The Cold War Showdown That Shaped the Modern World
- By: Giles Milton
- Narrated by: Giles Milton
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a master of popular history, the lively, immersive story of the race to seize Berlin in the aftermath of World War II as it’s never been told before.
-
-
Excellent history of the early days of the Cold War
- By Matt on 08-28-21
By: Giles Milton
-
The Next Great Migration
- The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move
- By: Sonia Shah
- Narrated by: Sonia Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A prize-winning journalist upends our centuries-long assumptions about migration through science, history, and reporting - predicting its lifesaving power in the face of climate change.
-
-
BRAVA!!!!
- By Liz Jardine on 08-03-20
By: Sonia Shah
-
T
- The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone That Dominates and Divides Us
- By: Carole Hooven
- Narrated by: Rachel Perry
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through riveting personal stories and the latest research, Harvard evolutionary biologist Carole Hooven shows how testosterone drives the behavior of the sexes apart and how understanding the science behind this hormone is empowering for all.
-
-
I wanted more science
- By L on 09-04-21
By: Carole Hooven
-
The Better Half
- On the Genetic Superiority of Women
- By: Dr. Sharon Moalem MD PhD
- Narrated by: Dr. Sharon Moalem MD PhD
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here are some facts: Women live longer than men. They have stronger immune systems. They're better at fighting cancer and surviving famine, and even see the world in a wider variety of colors. They are simply stronger than men at every stage of life. Why is this? And why are we taught the opposite? To find out, Dr. Sharon Moalem drew on his own medical experiences - treating premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit; recruiting the elderly for neurogenetic studies; and more - and tried to understand why in every instance men were consistently less likely to thrive.
-
-
very good
- By Anabelle Cardona on 04-16-22
-
The Cult of Smart
- How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice
- By: Fredrik deBoer
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved.
-
-
Part of the Content from Human Diversity
- By Amazon Customer on 10-28-20
By: Fredrik deBoer
-
Long Live Latin
- The Pleasures of a Useless Language
- By: Nicola Gardini, Todd Portnowitz
- Narrated by: Todd Portnowitz
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Long Live Latin, Gardini shares his deep love for the language - enriched by his tireless intellectual curiosity - and warmly encourages us to engage with a civilization that has never ceased to exist, because it’s here with us now, whether we know it or not. Thanks to his careful guidance, even without a single lick of Latin grammar listeners can discover how this language is still capable of restoring our sense of identity, with a power that only useless things can miraculously express.
-
-
Pronunciation of Latin is lacking
- By C on 04-01-21
By: Nicola Gardini, and others
-
The End of Bias: A Beginning
- The Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias
- By: Jessica Nordell
- Narrated by: Jessica Nordell
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unconscious bias: persistent, unintentional prejudiced behavior that clashes with our consciously held beliefs. We know that it exists, to corrosive and even lethal effect. We see it in medicine, the workplace, education, policing, and beyond. But when it comes to uprooting our prejudices, we still have far to go. With nuance, compassion, and ten years' immersion in the topic, Jessica Nordell weaves gripping stories with scientific research to reveal how minds, hearts, and behaviors change.
-
-
An awesome book about understanding unconscious bias and how to end its powerful grip on our behavior.
- By Jose R. Nino on 10-10-21
By: Jessica Nordell
-
A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence
- What It Is, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going
- By: Michael Wooldridge
- Narrated by: Glen McCready
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Oxford's leading AI researcher comes a fun and accessible tour through the history and future of one of the most cutting edge and misunderstood field in science: artificial intelligence.
-
-
very basic.
- By Placeholder on 11-11-21
-
The Crime Book
- Big Ideas Simply Explained
- By: DK, Peter James
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Jack the Ripper to the modern-day drug cartels, discover the most notorious crimes and criminals in history. With a foreword written and narrated by best-selling crime author Peter James, The Crime Book explores over 100 crimes and examines the science, psychology and sociology of criminal behavior. Hear the gory details of each crime and how they were solved, with renowned quotes and detailed criminal profiles letting you delve into the criminal mind.
-
-
It covers a huge span of time. But what is covered is shallow rather than in depth.
- By DJ on 12-06-23
By: DK, and others
-
The Quick Fix
- Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills
- By: Jesse Singal
- Narrated by: Jesse Singal
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An investigative journalist exposes the many holes in today’s best-selling behavioral science and argues that the trendy, TED Talk-friendly psychological interventions that are so in vogue at the moment will never be enough to truly address social injustice and inequality.
-
-
TDS detracts from otherwise ok book
- By Eric on 06-22-21
By: Jesse Singal
-
Citizen Coke
- The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism
- By: Bartow J. Elmore
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Outsourcing and a trim corporate profile enabled Coke to scale up production of a low-price beverage and realize huge profits. But the costs shed by Coke have fallen on the public at large. Coke now uses an annual 79 billion gallons of water, an increasingly precious global resource, and its reliance on corn syrup has helped fuel our obesity crisis. Bartow J. Elmore explores Coke through its ingredients, showing how the company secured massive quantities of coca leaf, caffeine, sugar, and other inputs.
-
-
Highly Recommend
- By Laura on 02-22-20
By: Bartow J. Elmore
-
Under the Knife
- A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations
- By: Arnold van de Laar, Andy Brown - translator
- Narrated by: Rich Keeble
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the story of the desperate man from 17th-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe, Under the Knife offers a wealth of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating room. What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell, or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery?
-
-
Why did a surgeon need a fast horse?
- By India Clamp on 10-18-18
By: Arnold van de Laar, and others
-
The Ocean of Churn
- By: Sanjeev Sanyal
- Narrated by: Abhishek Sharma
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this ambitious audiobook, best-selling author Sanjeev Sanyal chronicles the grand sweep of history from East Africa to Australia, conjuring the great cities of Angkor and Vijayanagar, medieval Arab empires, and Chinese "treasure fleets" in rich, vivid detail. He explores remote archaeological sites, maritime trading networks, and half-forgotten oral tales to challenge established historical narratives with fresh evidence. Shining new light on medieval geopolitics and long-lost cities, The Ocean of Churn is a mesmerizing journey into the heart of a vibrant civilization.
-
-
An unputdownable treatise on the history of Indian Ocean
- By Akash Mitra on 06-20-20
By: Sanjeev Sanyal
-
Poison Spring
- The Secret History of Pollution and the EPA
- By: E. G. Vallianatos, McKay Jenkins
- Narrated by: Michael McConnahie
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Imagine walking into a restaurant and finding chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, or neonicotinoid insecticides listed in the description of your entree. They may not be printed in the menu, but many are in your food.These are a few of the literally millions of pounds of approved synthetic substances dumped into the environment every day, not just in the US but around the world.
-
-
A Frightening Wake Up Call!
- By Exec. Chef 'Special K' on 07-02-14
By: E. G. Vallianatos, and others
-
Darwin Comes to Town
- How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution
- By: Menno Schilthuizen
- Narrated by: Chris Nayak
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Menno Schilthuizen is one of a growing number of “urban ecologists” studying how our manmade environments are accelerating and changing the evolution of the animals and plants around us. In Darwin Comes to Town, he takes us around the world for an up-close look at just how stunningly flexible and swift-moving natural selection can be.
-
-
Interesting Overview
- By metasynergy on 06-11-19
-
Ticking Clock
- Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes
- By: Ira Rosen
- Narrated by: Ira Rosen, L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When producer Ira Rosen walked into the 60 Minutes offices in June 1980, he knew he was about to enter television history. His career catapulted him to the heights of TV journalism, breaking some of the most important stories in TV news. But behind the scenes was a war room of clashing producers, anchors, and the most formidable 60 Minutes figure: legendary correspondent Mike Wallace.
-
-
Mike Wallace sounded like an insufferable prick
- By Robert M on 02-20-21
By: Ira Rosen
What listeners say about Seed Money
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lou lou
- 11-21-23
The Lies We’ve Been Told
This is an eye opening book that tells the truth of what the world has been sold for profit since the 1800’s. Worth the listen!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James
- 04-09-22
Fantastic book
Well researched and very good presentation.
It’s a shame what has taken place in our food production. Monopolies have taken over every aspect of our lives. We’ve all known in the back of our head that our food chain is broken. Still, nothing is done about it. Hopefully more people can successfully sue and beat these (criminal) organizations into bankruptcy. A feat that will be nearly impossible while politicians are bought off.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gregory X
- 01-09-24
informative. and a bit depressing
probably the right mix of detail and vague given the long history and ongoing status
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Pepper Rick
- 11-03-21
Very through and easy to follow
Heard about this on the JRE. Bartow did a great job describing the issues and path that created them in an easy to follow and interesting way.
Great job sir!
Thanks
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Echelon
- 11-20-21
Mind boggling
It was one of the best read I had so far for this year, history of Monsanto is one great rollercoaster 😳
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Casey Bradford
- 01-05-23
Powerful
Really great overview of how our food became so covered in toxic poisons. Amazing how we got here!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jason spillett
- 11-28-21
Great book
He doesn't bash but just states the facts crazy story! Makes you think about all the lies big pharma are telling us now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Customer
- 04-28-22
Good and depressing information
This book chronicles the birth, rise, and fall of Monsanto. The only industry who has possibly killed more people than Monsanto is the petroleum industry when they added lead to our fuels. And excellent source of information.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HB
- 01-15-22
A True WTF Story!
I like to think I’m well educated on the history of chemical companies and how they have poisoned lands all over the globe, but Mr Elmore’s writing left me hanging on every word like a crime novel that is too true for fiction. His detailed timeline of the history of Monsanto took me deeper than I had ever been and left me shaking my head, thinking- What the f#*% are we doing? Five stars, ten out of ten, two enthusiastic thumbs up, a gold medal, a blue ribbon, a standing ovation and a big hell yeah!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- India Carlson
- 02-05-23
what you really need to know about Monsanto and big agriculture
tracing the history of the company from making artificially sweeteners to GE roundup ready seeds this gives a great insight into how Monsanto and now Bauer control farmers and our food
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!