Monsanto, bio-engineering, and responsible advertising

This is an interesting post by someone in my program- Lacey Tauber and I wanted to share it here:


"Lately, I've been noticing a lot of advertising by the company Monsanto -- particularly on WNYC as well as in the New Yorker. These stood out to me because of an article I read in a book called "Building the Green Economy: Success Stores from the Grassroots" that profiled Monsanto... I just wanted to share a little about them since they are portraying themselves as promoting sustainable agriculture... (Maybe you all know this already? If so sorry for the review). From the book I mentioned above":

"What is Monsanto? What is Genetic Engineering?
The multinational corporation Monsanto - based in St. Louis, Missouri -- is the world's largest supplier of herbicies, bio-engineered seeds, and hormones to increase milk production. You won't find its name on any label in your pantry, but as one of the most powerful forces in the global food chain, its products are found in nearly every kitchen in America. Monsanto began as a chemical corporation, producing the deadly Agent Orange for the military, as well as manufacturing PCBs and DDT. Its best-known products in the United States are Aspartame sweetenter and Roundup, an herbicide relative of Agent Orange used by farmers to control weeds.
Farmers, governments, and consumers worldwide are facing tremendous pressure to accept genetic engineering as an innovation in food production. Genetic engineering is the process of inserting genes from one species into a wholly different species to create an entirely new organism that is then patented by the company for which it was developed. Beginning in 196, Monsanto led the biotech revolution by genetically engineering seeds that work specifically with Monsanto's herbicieds and pesticides. Its patented seeds are either insect-resistant or herbicide-tolerant.
Ryan Zinn, organizer for the Organic Consumers Association, told us, 'Monsanto has led the way in terms of genetic engineering, which is the peak of the corporate life science movement. Because they have gobbled up the seed market, if you want cotton or soy, or alfalfa, or corn or rice, you have to go to them - pretty ingenious. Now they have everything rolled into one package deal: the patenting of existing life forms such as rice, or even pigs, genetically engineering crops that are dependent on their chemical inputs. Monsanto has led this charge, looking to create an integrated supply chain from top to bottom. They are in a position to tell farmers what to grow, what we'll eat, and how much the seeds and chemicals will cost. And you probably never heard of them.'"

"On top of that, the article details Monsanto's increasing practice of suing small farmers for patent infrigement when Monsanto's genetically-engineered seeds blow onto their land. A reporter was quoted saying, "Essentially, when Monsanto's patented seeds find their way onto a non-engineered crop - no matter how innocently it happens - that crop effectively becomes the property of Monsanto."

Given all this, I am suprised that progressive organizations like WNYC and the New Yorker feel comfortable taking their money... and how in the world Monsanto is allowed to advertise itself as a company that promotes sustainability. (I realize there are no real regulations on this, but I think this situation begs the question, should there be?)".