Monsanto: The weed that we must stop.

There’s a lot of information about Monsanto. Most of the times it’s not easy to read or to understand all what we found on the web about it. Too many links or too many dates makes everything very confusing. In the following article you will find the most important aspects that you should know to start your own research.

The Monsanto Company is a U.S -based- multinational, agricultural, biotechnology corporation. Is the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed (90% of US’s seeds are GE and about 70% of all GE crops grown worldwide derive from Monsanto technology) and at the same time, is the world’s biggest producer of the “herbicide glyphosate” (weed killer) , marketed as “Roundup”(1) .

The company has a fame of controversial around the world. Why?

-Because his development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth: Genetically-modified corn sold by Monsanto causes organ damage in rats, according to a paper by three french scientists published in the “International Journal Of Biological Sciences”(2).
Recent research is beginning to confirm that dairy foods produced with Monsanto’s genetically-engineered Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) may speed the growth of human breast and prostate cancers. Because of the extreme dangers from regular ingestion of such dairy foods, the Cancer Prevention Coalition and a research scientist issued a press release earlier this year detailing the risks. The dangers should have been obvious many years ago when much of this information was presented to Monsanto. Instead, they chose to ignore it and force their rBGH-dairy on the general population (3).

– Its aggressive litigation and political lobbying: According to the Center for Responsive Politics, last year 2009, Monsanto has spent $8.7 million dollars on lobbying efforts.  In 2008 the Center clocked Monsanto’s lobbying efforts at $8.8 million dollars. Similarly, during 2008 election cycle, Monsanto gave $186,250 directly to federal candidates in the U.S.A(4).

– Monsanto’s presence at the BP oil spill: Carl M.Casale is Monsanto’s Executive Vice President as well Nalco’s Holding Company Director, makers of Corexit used for BP oil spill. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered Corexit to be an acute health hazard, potentially harmful to red blood cells, the kidneys and the liver, and may irritate eyes and skin. According to the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the use of Corexit during the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989) caused people “respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders”. Can cause hemolysis (rupture of blood cells) and may also cause internal bleeding (5).

– Seed commercialization practices: Monsanto’s seeds are protected under an ‘Intellectual Property’ patent; the seeds are good for one season. When a farmer buys Monsanto seed, he also signs the Technology Agreement that stipulates he may not collect seed and replant it. While the farmer is free to plant any type of seed he wishes, the courts have maintained that farmers are not tied to Monsanto seeds in future seasons. However, it is difficult and costly to stop using Monsanto seed once a farmer has planted it because he may not collect and replant the Monsanto seeds collected after harvest, and must buy all new seeds for the new season. Even if a farmer, having once planted GMO seed, then wishing to switch back, faces the issue of “volunteers” (seeds in the ground from the previous planting) which appear and Monsanto has aggressively sued farmers for patent infringement. Monsanto is now patenting non GMO seed as well; this is essentially a patent on nature (6).

-“Strong-arming” of the seed industry: Confidential contracts detailing Monsanto Co.’s business practices reveal how the world’s biggest seed developer is squeezing competitors, controlling smaller seed companies and protecting its dominance over the multibillion-dollar market for genetically altered crops, an Associated Press investigation has found (7).

-Chemtrails and Monsanto’s new Aluminum Resistance Gene: Monsanto is currently marketing an aluminum resistance gene. “Small-scale, resource-poor farmers in developing countries face daily stresses, including poor soils, drought, and lack of inputs. Ongoing trends such as climate change and population growth will likely exacerbate binding stresses. A new generation of genetically engineered (GE) crop research aims to alleviate these pressures through the improvement of subsistence crops—such as cassava, sorghum, and millet—that incorporate traits such as tolerance to drought, water, and aluminum in soils as well as plants with more efficient nitrogen and phosphorus use. However, many developing countries lack the necessary biosafety systems for a timely and cost-effective adoption. This brief focuses on the regulatory reforms necessary for farmers and consumers in developing countries to benefit from GE crops”(8). Monsanto will “come to the rescue” with aluminum resistance genes because normal plants die off in the presence of excess aluminum (9).
As a result of its business strategies and licensing agreements, Monsanto came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009 (10).

It’s up to all of us to get informed and stop Monsanto’s practices around the world. We should take responsibility of our actions and our planet, the time to grow as human race has come, what are you waiting for?

Monsanto Wikipedia
Genetically Modified Corn Causes Organ Damage In Rats
Researcher Warns of Cancer Risk From rBGH (non-organic) Dairy Foods
Monsanto’s Aggressive Lobbying in 2009
Washingtons Blog
Intellectual Property Rights in Living Matter: An Overview for Bacteria, Plants & Animals
Monsanto stomps down budding seed competitors
Delivering genetically engineered crops to poor farmers
Chemtrails and Monsanto’s New Aluminum Resistance Gene – Coincidence?
Monsanto Squeezes Out Seed Business Competition, AP Investigation Finds