How does Monsanto feel about being voted as the most hated corporation over and over again? They beat out solid competitors like McDonald's and the tobacco companies.

Expert response from Aimee Hood

Regulatory Science Communications Lead, Bayer Crop Science

Thursday, 31/10/2013 14:38

I have worked for Monsanto for 20 years, and my father worked for the company for 35 years as well.  I am proud to work for Monsanto, and I can comfortably say that my colleagues at Monsanto are as well.  In fact, Monsanto continues to be recognizedas a great place to work.  Employees are aware that others have a negative perception of our company and we understand that we need to be better at communicating the good things that we are doing.  Here are some recent examples of recognitions that we have received:

• #12 on the Top 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces (Great Place to Work® Institute, Oct. 2013)
• #14 of the Top 20 Employers (Science, 2013)
• #42 on Top 50 Companies for Diversity (DiversityInc, 2013)
• One of the Top 50 Companies for Executive Women (National Association for Female Executives, 2013)
• #44 on the 22^nd Annual “Top 50 Employers” (Minority Engineer, 2013)
• #11of the 40 Best Companies for Leaders (Chief Executive, 2013).

More information on these recognitions can be found here.   

Additionally, I am proud to say that in 2012, Monsanto Company and Monsanto Fund – our philanthropic arm – collectively provided more than $32.2 million across the globe in support of various causes such as rural farming, education programs, and ending hunger.  Monsanto also encourages its employees to volunteer in the community; in fact, I received a US Presidential Award for Service this year for my volunteerism.  Additionally, more than 4,600 employees logged more than 54,000 volunteer hours in the Americas alone.  I discussed more about how our company gives back to our community in the post on GMO answers here.

Lastly, our company is focused on sustainability to feed a growing world knowing that it is predicted that 9 billion people will inhabit the earth by 2050. Our 2012 Sustainability Report was released in June 2013 and highlights progress on our three-fold sustainable agriculture goal: produce more, conserve more and improving lives and progress on five of our signature partnerships: Monsanto's Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, Mississippi River Watershed Partnership, Water Efficient Maize for Africa, Brazilian partnership with Conservation International, and Project SHARE (Sustainable Harvest – Agriculture, Resources, Environment) in India.   I hope this give you a bit of insight on why I have always been and continue to be proud to say that I am a Monsanto employee.