Читать книгу LaCost - Patrick Rizio - Страница 18

“First of all, it is crucial that this conversation not leave this room. There are only two people who know the full scope of this thing, and for the foreseeable future it must stay that way.”

Jason really wanted to get back to the lab, besides, hadn’t they already gone through this?

“I already understand that. It is not a problem.”

“I know you do Jason. It’s just that, at this stage of the game, the importance of keeping this under wraps cannot be overemphasized.”

Schimmel returned to his desk, sat in his chair and leaned forward. He had a little more to enlighten his company genius about.

“A while back the Santino company patented a genetically modified strain of soybeans that were resistant to a pesticide they manufactured. That particular strain of soybeans is now legally owned by them. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, except for one thing. That particular strain now composes eighty percent of the soybeans in the entire country. They are brutally pushing out anyone who doesn’t grow their strain of soybeans, and, of course, helping those who do. They’re out to monopolize the markets and are using deplorable tactics to accomplish their goal. Things like tying up farmers in court who don’t use their products with frivolous lawsuits, and, well, the list goes on and on. They are the definitive bad guys of our industry.”

The big man sipped his black coffee and explained further.

“Once I sell you an apple tree that will grow in the desert, you would think that you have that forever. Harvest the seeds from the first crop, and you’ve eliminated the need to buy from me in the future. If, however, I have that particular strain of genetically modified apples patented, every time you plant, you pay.”

Jason looked down for a moment. “My god, we’re talking about becoming the food police,” he said quietly.

Schimmel smiled. His company genius was a quick study.

“That is exactly what we are talking about, but as we both know, it goes beyond that. Knowingly turning the importing and exporting of foodstuffs on its head is, well, we’ve already been through that.”

The big man walked over to the recessed bar on the south wall of his office and set down his coffee cup. He was smiling again. Some people shrink from captaining a ship, others thrive on it. Bob Schimmel was so far into his comfort zone right now, it was almost knocking Jason out of his chair. He smiled back.

“Please boss, continue.”

“Our objective, then, becomes a bit more complicated. Having something that will benefit all mankind should not be hidden. We will not, however, become the food police. What we are going to do is target specific markets, at specific intervals, and we will not stop farmers from harvesting and reusing our seeds. The only restriction we will impose, will be to prevent our customers from selling our seeds to someone else. However, in the beginning, we will assume a more conventional approach. Focusing on things like, increased yields per acre, and disease and insect resistant crops. The exotic aspect of this, the apples in the desert and pineapples in Minnesota, will be phased in. Timing will be crucial, but it can be done if we’re careful. This should enable us to spread the benefits, without causing turmoil in the marketplace. The crucial element here is our ability to design plants whose key characteristics will achieve only the goals we’ve set. No more and no less. That allows us to maintain control and keep a lid on market fluctuations. This type of arrangement can only continue for a limited amount of time, and requires that the full knowledge of this remain, for the time being, between us.”

“Would that not also allow us to maximize our profits?” Jason asked.

“We are not in business to lose money son.”

Jason thought about all of this. Something didn’t feel right. Suddenly, he realized what it was.

“Boss, if Germany, or the Saudi’s, or someone else who can afford it, needs to ante up for increased production per acre, or insect resistant crops, or crop diversion they never had, or whatever, that’s one thing. But what about the folks who can’t afford to. The ones who are already starving. How do they fit in to this equation?”

Schimmel was still smiling.

“Jason, when this thing takes off, it’s going to be bigger than anything we’ve ever done. That kind of revenue requires some pretty substantial tax write-offs. The best way to accomplish that will be through humanitarian channels. Now, Universal Biotech already supports charitable causes in many areas. We will simply expand our efforts of providing food, and the ability to grow it, to a much greater arena. At the risk of oversimplifying, the more we make, the more we give away.”

The big man sat back in his chair and relaxed, giving the young man in front of him some time. Jason considered what Schimmel was presenting. He really couldn’t see any downside. It seemed the perfect solution. It all hinged however on the ability to modify the crops in very specific ways. Schimmel hadn’t asked him if this was possible, and he hadn’t assumed. He knew they could do it. The information was all there in the lab reports, and Schimmel had, of course, seen the work in its entirety. But the technical knowledge needed to piece it all together would have been beyond anyone on Jason’s staff, had they the same access.

“Boss, modifying the crops...how did you know?”

The big man walked towards the floor to ceiling windows, which comprised the entire east wall of his office, and looked out for a moment.

“Son, there was a time in my life when I could have become one hell of an engineer.”