NAPA, CA. - October 23, 2008 - Harrington Investments, Inc., (HII) a socially responsible investment advisory firm, has announced the introduction of a binding amendment to Monsanto's corporate bylaws that would require directors to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Monsanto management is currently seeking permission from the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to disqualify the proposal on grounds that it is vague, unfair, illegal, difficult to implement, and would violate directors fiduciary duty.

"Monsanto's attorneys are certainly stretching the truth in attempting to keep this resolution off the shareholder ballot," said John Harrington, President of Harrington Investments, Inc.

"There is nothing vague, unfair, illegal, or in violation of fiduciary duty in requiring corporate directors to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Constitution."

Monsanto is chartered, traded, and headquartered in the U.S. It is protected and defended by the same constitution that guarantees the company all of the rights and freedom's that you and I have, except Monsanto is worth many billions of dollars, employs legions of lawyers and lobbyists, and is virtually immortal, so I might argue that Monsanto is a little more free than the rest of us."

Monsanto is among the world's largest agri-chemical and biotech companies. It reported $8.5 billion in 2007 revenues and is the dominant player in the seed industry, boasting a major market share of sales of genetically modified foods.

"As was recently noted by the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations during the opening of the High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals, Monsanto Corporation has tremendous influence over the food security of every nation. It stands to reason that while Monsanto Corporation "“ a Delaware company - is guaranteed certain rights and privileges under the United States Constitution, Americans would also want to be assured that directors are not antagonistic to the ideals and principles the Constitution espouses," said John Harrington.

This resolution is the latest in Harrington Investments' longstanding ownership-advocacy relationship with Monsanto management. Last year a proposal to eliminate Director indemnification in cases of egregious negligence or ineptitude was rejected by the stockholders. In 2005 Harrington submitted a resolution that called for the formation of an ethics oversight committee in response to Monsanto being fined for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. However, the SEC allowed Monsanto to omit the resolution from the proxy statement and ballot, asserting that it related to the company's "ordinary business."

For the past 30 years, Harrington Investments, Inc. has been pioneering socially responsible investing and shareholder advocacy. HII manages approximately $200 million in assets for institutional and individual investors concerned with social and environmental, as well as financial performance.

In addition to Monsanto, Harrington has introduced several other binding corporate bylaw amendment resolutions this year. If approved, these bylaw proposals would result in innovations such as the creation of board level human rights or environmental sustainability committees.

Harrington Investments, Inc.

Harrington Investments, Inc.

Registered Investment Advisor:Exclusively Socially Responsible Investment Management

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