The 1973 movie Soylent Green depicts a dystopian future set in 2022 in which overpopulation, pollution and climate change have destroyed agriculture. The population is forced to survive on a food ration called "soylent green" (which is processed humans).

This week, the year 2022 perhaps got a little closer. A new scientific report released on January 6 reveals that droughts, heat waves, floods, and hurricanes have wiped out roughly a tenth of the globe's wheat, corn, and other cereal crops over the last five decades. These disturbing findings were underscored on January 7, when the U.S. government released its annual National Climate Monitoring Annual Report.

Let's face the hard truth: The best way for investors to make money over the long haul is to buy the stocks of companies that meet crucial demands that are generated by multi-year, unstoppable trends. Whether the trend is good or bad makes no difference; investors must dispassionately deal with the world as they find it.

One of the most urgent of those secular trends today is crop damage from climate change, and the company best positioned to mitigate this damage is Monsanto (MON) . Here's why this stock should be a part of your long-term growth portfolio.

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As a producer of seeds that protect crops from hostile growing conditions, Monsanto directly benefits from the problems outlined in this week's two troubling reports.

Monsanto's forte is the development and marketing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a politically controversial technology that, despite its occasional bad rap in the press, shows no signs of getting hindered by regulators. At the same time, the courts have consistently ruled in Monsanto's favor, upholding the company's claims on GMO seed patents.

The vast majority of crops are grown with GMO seeds; Monsanto is the leader in the field. Monsanto's engineers are now working on a sophisticated genetic innovation called "RNA interference" to destroy crop-eating pests. As the world's burgeoning population craves ever-more grain, Monsanto stock will feed investors hungry for gains.

Emerging markets represent a huge opportunity for Monsanto. Despite wavering gross domestic product (GDP) growth in certain emerging countries, Asia and South America are showing an insatiable appetite for grain, as rising middle classes in those regions pocket more disposable income and embrace a Western diet that's heavy on meat and processed convenience foods.

However, hostile growing conditions stemming from climate unpredictability and limited arable acreage make it imperative for these farmers to find ways to significantly boost crop yields to meet demand. That's where Monsanto comes in.

Monsanto on January 6 reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings for fiscal 2016 that bode well for 2016. Monsanto's adjusted loss per share was 11 cents, less than the Wall Street consensus of a 23 cents per share loss. Currency devaluations and flagging growth in key markets were behind the quarterly loss, which was less than feared because operating expenses and soybean sales in Brazil exceeded expectations.

These first-quarter headwinds should dissipate in future quarters, as demand grows for GMO seeds and Monsanto proves its appeal as a stock for growth investors with a long-range strategy.

Monsanto management is projecting double-digit earnings increases over the next decade from emerging markets, especially China, Brazil and Argentina. The company also expects 5%-to-7% gross profit growth from its core Seeds and Genomics segment in fiscal year 2016. Management noted that it has completed a plan to reap $500 million in annual savings by the end of 2018.

The stock now trades at a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19, roughly in line with its industry but less than the trailing P/E of major competitor Syngenta AG at 24.

Competitor E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. sports a trailing P/E of 20, which is closer to Monsanto's, but DuPont possesses a broader portfolio of chemical products and is in the midst of a mega-merger with Dow Chemical. With MON stock now trading at about $95, the analyst consensus is calling for a one-year price target of $125, for a gain of nearly 32%.

As I've just explained, Monsanto is a growth stock well suited for long-term retirement investing. Are you making the right investment moves for your retirement, or are you blowing it by making all-too-common money mistakes? There are crucial steps that you should be taking now, to build wealth over the long haul. To find out whether you'll have enough money in your later years, download our free report: Your Ultimate Retirement Guide.

John Persinos is editorial manager and investment analyst at Investing Daily. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.