Monsanto’s control of the seed market is so high that 93% of soybeans, some 82% of corn, 93% of cotton and 95% of sugar beets grown in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented genes.
According to the Monsanto website, they seek to produce more, conserve more and changes lives. Sounds great, right? Monsanto claims that their main goal is to double the world's food supply, which is a noble goal, but at what cost?
As a consumer, it is important to understand the science behind Monsanto engineering. And let's just put it out there, their product is just that- science. Monsanto is a pioneer in GMO's- genetically modified organisms. GMO's use recombinant DNA technology to mass produce. This technology allows Monsanto to be able to produce at a much faster rate then the typical farmer.
So why is this bad? GMO's can iintroduce new allergens into foods and contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. On top of this, seed farmers reclaim and clean seeds at the end of each harvest and re-plant them in the Spring. Thanks to Monsanto, this is really no longer possible. Monsanto developed genetically modified seeds that resist Monsanto's own herbicide, Roundup, offering farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting crops. Monsanto then patented the seeds.
Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds are then required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for re-planting. This means that farmers must buy new seed every year. Those increased sales, coupled with ballooning sales of its Roundup weed killer (now the most popular weed killer not only in agriculture, but also in homes across America), have been a gold mine for Monsanto.
Roundup, independent of its market implications, has its own demons for the American people. In a recent study, the inactive ingredients in Roundup were found not to be quite so inactive. In fact, the inert ingredients were found to cause human cell damage and even death at residual levels. Watch out if you are pregnant too, Monsanto's chemicals were found to have damaging effects on embryonic and placental cells. Think about that as you prepare your lawn this Spring or when you eat your tofu tonight.
Anyway, back to the main point of this rant. With their patents in hand, Monsanto's Roundup has been the leading weed killer since the 1970's. Their are almost no other options for agricultural farmers.
Monsanto states on their website that one of their goals is to change lives. They certainly have changed the lives of America's local farmers by hauling them off to court to drive up their already dominate 93% market share.
Back to the seeds. For generations seed farmers re-planted seeds from year to year. Now, thanks to Monsanto's patent, they cannot do this. Seed farmers historically have little return on investment for their crops and the high cost of Monsanto seeds have left their profit margins pretty desolate. On top of that, the cost of the seeds inflate every year even though the output does not. And Monsanto doesn't stop their. They disenfranchise farmers even further by no longer allowing them to claim ownership of the seeds of the crops they are growing.
So what are the options for farmers? They can buy normal seeds which are not resistant to Roundup (these are virtually non-existent for soy) or they can buy the Monsanto seeds. How's that for options?
And even if they don't go with Monsanto seeds, they can still get sued. Due to wind and other environmental conditions genetically modified seeds can cross pollinate with conventional seed farms. Monsanto has sued several organic farmers after finding genetically modified tainted crops from cross pollination.
So Monsanto is taking them to court and then heading to the bank. They get the organic seed farmers on cross pollination and the farmers using Monsanto seeds for re-planting seeds from harvest to harvest. And the sad part is that in the majority of cases where Monsanto sues, or threatens to sue, farmers settle before going to trial because the costs and stress of litigating against a global corporation are just too great.
Where is the FDA?
You would think that the FDA would have our back as consumer, but you would be wrong. Monsanto was required to submit a scientific report on rBGH to the FDA so they could determine the growth hormone's safety. Margaret Miller put the report together, and in 1989 shortly before she submitted the report, Miller left Monsanto to work for the FDA. Guess what her first job was? Strangely enough, to determine whether or not to approve the report she wrote for Monsanto.
And through Miller, Monsanto approved its own report. Very interesting. But it doesn't end there.
Prior to being the Supreme Court Judge who put G.W. in office, Clarence Thomas was Monsanto's lawyer. The former Secretary of Defense (Donald Rumsfeld) was on the Board of Directors of Monsanto's Searle pharmaceuticals. Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Tommy Thompson, received $50,000 in donations from Monsanto during his winning campaign for Wisconsin's governor. And in 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto executive, as the Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA. Are you feeling sick to your stomach yet?
I know I am. But there are still somethings you can do. First, you can contact your representatives and let them know that you are not okay with Monsanto's practices. Second, educate yourself. Read books, read labels and know what you are eating. Buy organic because clearly we can't trust the FDA to look out for our best interests.
Last year the Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Agriculture held a series of 5 workshops investigating anti-competitive practices in the food and agricultural sectors. Clearly, Monsanto is one of, if not the, worst abusers in agriculture. So it's time to speak up and tell the Department of Justice to break up Monsanto. Join Food Democracy Inc and sign a petition to tell Obama and the DOJ that enough is enough. You can sign the petition here: http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/break_up_monsanto/?akid=303.151696.DJmXl3&rd=1&t=1
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