07 March 2008 - International
— A new movie has dealt yet another severe
blow to the credibility of US based Monsanto,
one of the biggest chemical
companies in the world and the provider
of the seed technology for 90 percent of
the world’s genetically engineered (GE)
crops.
A new movie has dealt
yet another severe blow to the credibility
of US based Monsanto, one of the biggest
chemical companies in the world and the
provider of the seed technology for 90 percent
of the world’s genetically engineered (GE)
crops.
The French documentary,
called “The world according to Monsanto”
and directed by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique
Robin, paints a grim picture of a company
with a long track record of environmental
crimes and health scandals.
The story starts in
the White House, where Monsanto often got
its way by exerting disproportionate influence
over policymakers via the “revolving door”.
One example is Michael Taylor, who worked
for Monsanto as an attorney before being
appointed as deputy commissioner of the
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in
1991. While at the FDA, the authority that
deals with all US food approvals, Taylor
made crucial decisions that led to the approval
of GE foods and crops. Then he returned
to Monsanto, becoming the company’s vice
president for public policy.
Thanks to these intimate links between Monsanto
and government agencies, the US adopted
GE foods and crops without proper testing,
without consumer labeling and in spite of
serious questions hanging over their safety.
Not coincidentally, Monsanto supplies 90
percent of the GE seeds used by the US market.
Monsanto’s long arm
stretched so far that, in the early nineties,
the US Food and Drugs Agency even ignored
warnings of their own scientists, who were
cautioning that GE crops could cause negative
health effects. Other tactics the company
uses to stifle concerns about their products
include misleading advertising, bribery
and concealing scientific evidence.
Monsanto's background
Monsanto was founded
in 1901 as a chemical company. Its history
is intimately linked to the production and
promotion of highly toxic chemicals such
as Agent Orange (used as a chemical weapon
in the Vietnam war) and PCBs (widespread
toxic pollutants). Robin’s movie reveals
that Monsanto already knew about the “systematic
toxic effects” of PCBs for decades, but
instructed its salespeople to stay silent
because, “we can’t afford to lose one dollar.”
More recently Monsanto
received a bad reputation for the promotion
of growth hormones from GE organisms known
as rBGH, which the company sells in the
US under the brand name Posilac. Monsanto
claims that Posilac holds, “benefits to
consumers”. The reality is that, rBGH growth
hormones were banned in Europe and Canada
after the authorities found out about the
health risks resulting from drinking milk
from cows treated with rBGH hormones. Monsanto's
way of "addressing" this problem
was to sue the Oakhurst dairy company in
the state of Maine (US) - attempting to
force them, and other dairies, to stop labelling
diary products “rBGH-free” and “rBST-free”.
Global reach, control
Over the last decade,
Monsanto aggressively bought up over 50
seed companies around the globe. Seeds are
the source of all food. Whoever owns the
seeds, owns the food. The process of genetic
engineering allows companies, such as Monsanto,
to claim patent rights over seeds. Ninety
percent of all GE seeds planted in the world
are patented by Monsanto and hence controlled
by them.
Patents on seeds give
companies like Monsanto unprecedented power.
Monsanto prohibits farmers saving patented
GE seeds from one crop to replant the next
season, an age-old practice. To ensure that
farmers do not reuse seeds, Monsanto created
its own 'gene police', and encourages farmers
to turn in their neighbors.
Even farmers that do
not use GE seeds are not safe. According
to an investigative report by the Centre
for Food Safety (CFS) farmers have even
been sued for patent infringement after
their field was contaminated by pollen or
seed from someone else’s GE crop.
But Monsanto’s influence
doesn't stop at the US border. “The world
according to Monsanto”, documents the devastating
impact of Monsanto's malpractices around
the world. Among others, it includes the
real-life stories of cotton farmers in India
that ended up in hopeless debts after using
Monsanto genetically engineered (so called
Bt) cotton, and of a family in Paraguay,
South America whose dreams have turned to
nightmares after their farm became surrounded
by fields planted with Monsanto’s GE soya.
A much needed expose
Monsanto wouldn’t address
these issues on camera for Robin, instead
referring to the "Monsanto Pledge"
posted on their website (which we debunk
here).
After seeing “The world
according to Monsanto”, Greenpeace International
campaigner Geert Ritsema said:
“Mrs. Robin should be
congratulated for revealing the sinister
practices of the world’s leading producer
of genetically engineered seeds. Her film
is alarming and should be a call to action
for everybody who cares about the quality
of our food and a healthy future for our
planet.”
