Tuesday 30 April 2013
humminbird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OoxQ7Oh6ueY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=szR3cvcKqU4
Monday 29 April 2013
Wednesday 24 April 2013
seed bank
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seedbank located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the town of Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the North Pole. It was started by conservationist Cary Fowler in association with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and functions to preserve a wide variety of plant seeds in an underground cavern. The seeds are duplicate samples, or "spare" copies, of seeds held in gene banks worldwide. The seed vault is an attempt to provide insurance against the loss of seeds in genebanks, as well as a refuge for seeds in the case of large-scale regional or global crises. The seed vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement between the Norwegian government, the Global Crop Diversity Trust(GCDT) and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen).
Construction of the seed vault, which cost approximately NOK 45 million (US$9 million), was funded entirely by the government of Norway. Storage of seeds in the seed vault is free-of-charge. Operational costs will be paid by Norway and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. Primary funding for the Trust comes from organisations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and from various governments worldwide.
as of well as this seed vault may have good intension of protecting our food reserve supply but there are some question need to be ask such as if this vault is called a boom day vault how will it be access since it is such a remote location and very difficult to access because of it high level of security .why so much security if it already in a remote location .as this is happening gmo are sweeping around the world with many people now complaining how this stuff does not work and it nutrient deficient . another question can be ask if gmo are so good in with standing climate change diseases and other variably that will affect the growth of the plant why the worried that seed gmo or not will not be there in the future question . I thing that gmo does not do what it is supposed to do and those in power are trying to protect them self while we starve let not forget that the Georgia guide stone state that the population should be keep under 500000 that about 90 % of our population .to me that mean that the elite have a depopulation a gender they want to fulfil so that explain gmo and vaccine but enough said let look at the history of the seed bank .
History
The Nordic Gene Bank (NGB) has stored a backup of Nordic plant germplasm as frozen seeds in an abandoned coal mine at Svalbard since 1984. The NGB has deposited more than 10,000 seed samples of more than 2,000 cultivars of 300 different species over the years. In addition, seed samples from the Southern African Development Community have been safely duplicated with the Nordic collection for some years. Both the Nordic and African collections have been transferred to the new Svalbard Global Seed Vault facility. Since 1 January 2008, the Nordic Gene Bank is an integrated part of NordGen.
Construction
Rendered visualisation of the seed vault
The prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Icelandparticipated in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" on 19 June 2006
The seedbank is constructed 120 metres (390 ft) inside a sandstone mountain at Svalbard on Spitsbergen Island .he bank employs a number of robust security systems. Seeds are packaged in special four-ply packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.
Spitsbergen was considered ideal due to its lack of tectonic activity and its permafrost, which will aid preservation. The location 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level will ensure that the site remains dry even if the icecaps meltLocally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard −18 °C (0 °F).Even if the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the temperature rises to the −3 °C (27 °F) of the surrounding sandstone bedrock.
Prior to construction, a feasibility study determined that the vault could preserve seeds from most major food crops for hundreds of years. Some seeds, including those of important grains, could survive far longer, possibly thousands of years.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened officially on 26 February 2008. Approximately 1.5 million distinct seed samples of agricultural crops are thought to exist. The variety and volume of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating – the facility has a capacity to conserve 4.5 million. The first seeds arrived in January 2008 five percent of the seeds in the vault, about 18,000 samples with 500 seeds each, come from the Centre for Genetic Resources of the Netherlands (CGN), part of Wageningen University, Netherlands.
]Public art
Entrance to the seed vault
Running the length of the building's flat roof and down the front face to the doors of the building's concrete entry is a work of art that marks the location of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault from a great distance. In Norway, government-funded construction projects exceeding a certain cost are required to include some kind of art work. KORO, the Norwegian State's agency overseeing art in public spaces, engaged the Norwegian artist Dyveke Sanne to make a lighting installation. The piece highlights the importance of light, and the qualities of light, in the Arctic. The roof and vault entrance are filled with highly reflective stainless steel, mirrors, and prisms. The installation acts as a beacon, reflecting polar light in the summer months, while in the winter, a network of 200 fibre-optic cables gives the piece a muted greenish-turquoise and white light.
Mission
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault's mission is to provide a safety net against accidental loss of diversity in traditional genebanks. While the popular press has emphasized its possible utility in the event of a major regional or global catastrophe, it will certainly be more frequently accessed when genebanks lose samples due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts and natural disasters. Such events occur with some regularity. In recent years, some national genebanks have also been destroyed by war and civil strife. There are some 1,400 "crop diversity collections" around the world, but many are in politically unstable or environmentally threatened nations.
Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations is an important contribution toward the reduction of hunger and poverty in developing countries. This is where the greatest plant diversity originates and where the need for food security and the further development of agriculture is most urgent.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which is established in the permafrost in the mountains of Svalbard, is designed to store duplicates of seeds from seed collections around the globe. Many of these collections are in developing countries. If seeds are lost, e.g. as a result of natural disasters, war or simply a lack of resources, the seed collections may be reestablished using seeds from Svalbard.
The loss of biological diversity is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the environment and sustainable development. The diversity of food crops is under constant pressure. The consequence could be an irreversible loss of the opportunity to grow crops adapted to climate change, new plant diseases and the needs of an expanding population.
Here Why Svalbard was constructed where it is to day
1
Svalbard, as Norwegian territory, enjoys security and political and social stability. Norway understands the importance of preserving Svalbard as an area of undisturbed nature, which is now an important research and reference area. The seed vault fits ideally into this concept.
2
Svalbard has an isolated position far out in the ocean, between 74° and 81° N and only 1000 kilometres from the North Pole. The archipelago is characterised by an undisturbed nature. Permafrost provides stable storage conditions for seeds. Besides which there is little risk of local dispersion of seed.
3
The seed vault, which consists of three chambers, is located right outside Longyearbyen and directly opposite Longyear Airport. The facility is about 130 metres above sea level and has been tunnelled 120 metres into the mountain, in a stable sandstone situation. Each of the three underground chambers is about 1,200 cubic metres (20 metres deep, 10 metres wide and 6 metres high). The location so far below ground guarantees stable permafrost for the foreseeable future and is high enough above sea level to secure the facility against any rise in sea level as a result of global warming.
4
The facility’s open location near the town makes monitoring and security easier. Security is the responsibility of the Governor of Svalbard in cooperation with the University of Svalbard (UNIS).
5
Since Svalbard was a natural choice for physical and security reasons, the Norwegian government decided that Norwegian ownership, operating responsibility and financing of the facility was equally natural. The seed vault is also in line with Norwegian policy with regard to biodiversity, preservation of genetic resources, north-south policy, development policy and food safety, as displayed in the following points:
- In establishing the international seed vault, Norway is making a unique contribution to the preservation of the planet’s most important biodiversity. This will help to fulfil the main objectives of the Biodiversity Convention and the FAO treaty, priority issues for Norway for many years. The seed vault could come to have a special significance for a number of regions in developing countries where the storage conditions in regular gene banks are a constant challenge.
- For many years it has been Norway’s aim to play a bridge-building role in the north-south debate about genetic resources and biological diversity. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily always take the middle line, but rather that we try to see new elements in the positions of all sides with the aim of finding solutions which actually lead to the sensible management of genetic resources. We believe that Svalbard Global Seed Vault can be a unifying initiative, which offers much to countries both north and south and which will hopefully also promote global collaboration in taking care of our most important genetic resources.
- Securing food supplies is one of the most basic issues in any strategy for eliminating poverty. In a time of climate change, this is equally a global issue. The establishment of a global seed vault is therefore very much in line with the principle of informed self-interest.
Access to seeds
The seed samples stored in the seed vault are copies of samples stored in the depositing genebanks. Researchers, plant breeders and other groups wishing to access seed samples cannot do so through the seed vault; instead they must request samples from the depositing genebanks. The samples stored in the genebanks will, in most cases, be accessible in accordance with the terms and conditions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, approved by 118 countries/parties
The seed vault functions like a safe deposit box in a bank. The bank owns the building and the depositor owns the contents of his or her box. The Government of Norway owns the facility and the depositing genebanks own the seeds they send. The deposit of samples in Svalbard does not constitute a legal transfer of genetic resources. In genebank terminology this is called a "black box" arrangement. Each depositor signs a Deposit Agreement with NordGen, acting on behalf of Norway. The Agreement makes clear that Norway does not claim ownership over the deposited samples and that ownership remains with the depositor, who has the sole right of access to those materials in the seed vault. No one has access to anyone else's seeds from the seed vault the database of samples and depositors is maintained by NordGen.
Yes that true with any bank what u put is what u receive but it is the government of each country a lone can put seed and retrieve it and so they alone will decided when it time to access it people like u and me don’t have that access to deposited our seed for safe keeping I under stand the problem that may arise and not that farmer will place seed there but just like the elite don’t place their cash in normal bank like every one else just to evade paying tax while the working class can barely pay the tax rate I think that the 13 blood line family and other miner family will benefit first before us because they make up the government with the small g and capital g if u don’t under stand I mean the temporary government and the permerment government [ the military bank etc ] who tell those who we elect what to do the temporary government where is the democracy so that answer who have the ability to access the seed
Seed storage
Boxes of seeds in a storeroom
The seeds are stored in four-ply sealed envelopes, then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks. The storage rooms are kept at −18 °C (0 °F). The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay seed aging. The permafrost surrounding the facility will help maintain the low temperature of the seeds should the electricity supply fail
Global Crop Diversity Trust
The Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) has played a key role in the planning of the seed vault and is coordinating shipments of seed samples to the Vault in conjunction with the Nordic Genetic Resource Center. The Trust will provide most of the annual operating costs for the facility, and has set aside endowment funds to do so, while the Norwegian government will finance upkeep of the structure itself. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other donors u see what I was telling u just a while ago the elite are involved in this and u can bet ur bottom dallar it more than donation . the GCDT is assisting selected genebanks in developing countries as well as the international agricultural research centers in packaging and shipping seeds to the seed vault. An International Advisory Council is being established to provide guidance and advice. It will include representatives from the FAO, the CGIAR, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources and other institutions.
First anniversary deposits
As part of the vault's one year anniversary, more than 90,000 food crop seed samples were placed into storage, bringing the total number of seed samples to 400,000.mong the new seeds includes 32 varieties of potatoes from Ireland's national gene banks and 20,000 new samples from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service. Other seed samples came from Canada and Switzerland, as well as international seed researchers from Colombia, Mexico and Syria.his 4-tonne (3.9-long-ton; 4.4-short-ton) shipment brought the total number of seeds stored in the vault to over 20 million. As of this anniversary, the vault contained samples from approximately one-third of the world's most important food crop varieties.Also part of the anniversary, experts on food production and climate change met for a three-day conference in Longyearbyen.
Awards and honors
capacity
International connections
the animals kingdom the first attempt to store genetic material in order to preserve the animals kingdom from extension the frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals (e.g. DNA, sperm, eggs, and embryos) are gathered and thereafter stored at very low temperatures for optimal preservation over a long period (see cryopreservation). Some facilities also collect and cryopreserve plant material (usually seeds).
Zoos such as the San Diego Zoo and research programs such as the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species cryopreserve genetic material in order to protect the diversity of the gene pool of endangered species, or to provide for a prospective reintroduction of such extinct species as the Tasmanian Tigerand the Mammoth.
Frozen Zoo at San Diego Zoo Conservation Research has been freezing biological materials from animals and plants in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) since 1976.They currently store a collection of 8,400 samples from over 800 species and subspecies. Frozen Zoo at San Diego Zoo Conservation Research has acted as a forbearer to similar projects at other zoos in the United States and Europe including the Frozen Ark Project. However, there are still less than a dozen frozen zoos worldwide.
At the United Arab Emirates Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife (BCEAW), Sharjah, the embryos stored include the extremely endangered Gordon’s wildcat (Felis silvestris gordoni) and the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) (of which there are only 50 in the wild).
Like is said for the seed bank a great idea it just that will be use as in tended to protect animals from going extinct because lab around the world are creating their own zoo of animals by mixing different gene together to create a new spices of animals in effect playing god with no regard as to what effect that could have on the ecosystem if it were to get loose in the environment and it only talking about animals but also as small as virous and bacteria which some people say have affected human begin .we should keep our eye on this because playing with mother nature have consequence .
Gathering material for a frozen zoo is rendered simple by the abundance of sperm in males. Sperm can be taken from an animal following death. The production of eggs, which in females is usually low, can be increased through hormone treatment to obtain 10-20 oocytes, dependant on species. Some frozen zoos prefer to fertilize eggs and freeze the resulting embryo, as embryos are more resilient under the cryopreservation process.The zoo also collects skin cell samples if such endangered animals and Scripps Research Center has successfully made them in to a cultures of special cells,induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells. Now, theoretically, they are able to make sperm and egg cells with old skin cells.
Just I was saying a while ago but more in depth Stored material can be stored indefinitely and used for artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation, embryo transfer ,creation new animal and cloning and the media will say if it good for ur pet it good for u and human will join the experience at a past rate .
Artificial insemination provides a remedy for animals who, due to anatomical or physiological reasons, are unable to reproduce in the natural way. Reproduction of stored genetic material also allows for the fostering of genetic improvements, and the prevention of inbreeding.
Modern technology allows for genetic manipulation in animals without keeping them in captivity. However, the success of their restoration into the wild would require the application of new science and a sufficient amount of previously material
Construction of the seed vault, which cost approximately NOK 45 million (US$9 million), was funded entirely by the government of Norway. Storage of seeds in the seed vault is free-of-charge. Operational costs will be paid by Norway and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. Primary funding for the Trust comes from organisations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and from various governments worldwide.
as of well as this seed vault may have good intension of protecting our food reserve supply but there are some question need to be ask such as if this vault is called a boom day vault how will it be access since it is such a remote location and very difficult to access because of it high level of security .why so much security if it already in a remote location .as this is happening gmo are sweeping around the world with many people now complaining how this stuff does not work and it nutrient deficient . another question can be ask if gmo are so good in with standing climate change diseases and other variably that will affect the growth of the plant why the worried that seed gmo or not will not be there in the future question . I thing that gmo does not do what it is supposed to do and those in power are trying to protect them self while we starve let not forget that the Georgia guide stone state that the population should be keep under 500000 that about 90 % of our population .to me that mean that the elite have a depopulation a gender they want to fulfil so that explain gmo and vaccine but enough said let look at the history of the seed bank .
History
The Nordic Gene Bank (NGB) has stored a backup of Nordic plant germplasm as frozen seeds in an abandoned coal mine at Svalbard since 1984. The NGB has deposited more than 10,000 seed samples of more than 2,000 cultivars of 300 different species over the years. In addition, seed samples from the Southern African Development Community have been safely duplicated with the Nordic collection for some years. Both the Nordic and African collections have been transferred to the new Svalbard Global Seed Vault facility. Since 1 January 2008, the Nordic Gene Bank is an integrated part of NordGen.
Construction
Rendered visualisation of the seed vault
The prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Icelandparticipated in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" on 19 June 2006
The seedbank is constructed 120 metres (390 ft) inside a sandstone mountain at Svalbard on Spitsbergen Island .he bank employs a number of robust security systems. Seeds are packaged in special four-ply packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.
Spitsbergen was considered ideal due to its lack of tectonic activity and its permafrost, which will aid preservation. The location 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level will ensure that the site remains dry even if the icecaps meltLocally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard −18 °C (0 °F).Even if the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the temperature rises to the −3 °C (27 °F) of the surrounding sandstone bedrock.
Prior to construction, a feasibility study determined that the vault could preserve seeds from most major food crops for hundreds of years. Some seeds, including those of important grains, could survive far longer, possibly thousands of years.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened officially on 26 February 2008. Approximately 1.5 million distinct seed samples of agricultural crops are thought to exist. The variety and volume of seeds stored will depend on the number of countries participating – the facility has a capacity to conserve 4.5 million. The first seeds arrived in January 2008 five percent of the seeds in the vault, about 18,000 samples with 500 seeds each, come from the Centre for Genetic Resources of the Netherlands (CGN), part of Wageningen University, Netherlands.
]Public art
Entrance to the seed vault
Running the length of the building's flat roof and down the front face to the doors of the building's concrete entry is a work of art that marks the location of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault from a great distance. In Norway, government-funded construction projects exceeding a certain cost are required to include some kind of art work. KORO, the Norwegian State's agency overseeing art in public spaces, engaged the Norwegian artist Dyveke Sanne to make a lighting installation. The piece highlights the importance of light, and the qualities of light, in the Arctic. The roof and vault entrance are filled with highly reflective stainless steel, mirrors, and prisms. The installation acts as a beacon, reflecting polar light in the summer months, while in the winter, a network of 200 fibre-optic cables gives the piece a muted greenish-turquoise and white light.
Mission
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault's mission is to provide a safety net against accidental loss of diversity in traditional genebanks. While the popular press has emphasized its possible utility in the event of a major regional or global catastrophe, it will certainly be more frequently accessed when genebanks lose samples due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts and natural disasters. Such events occur with some regularity. In recent years, some national genebanks have also been destroyed by war and civil strife. There are some 1,400 "crop diversity collections" around the world, but many are in politically unstable or environmentally threatened nations.
Ensuring that the genetic diversity of the world’s food crops is preserved for future generations is an important contribution toward the reduction of hunger and poverty in developing countries. This is where the greatest plant diversity originates and where the need for food security and the further development of agriculture is most urgent.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which is established in the permafrost in the mountains of Svalbard, is designed to store duplicates of seeds from seed collections around the globe. Many of these collections are in developing countries. If seeds are lost, e.g. as a result of natural disasters, war or simply a lack of resources, the seed collections may be reestablished using seeds from Svalbard.
The loss of biological diversity is currently one of the greatest challenges facing the environment and sustainable development. The diversity of food crops is under constant pressure. The consequence could be an irreversible loss of the opportunity to grow crops adapted to climate change, new plant diseases and the needs of an expanding population.
Here Why Svalbard was constructed where it is to day
1
Svalbard, as Norwegian territory, enjoys security and political and social stability. Norway understands the importance of preserving Svalbard as an area of undisturbed nature, which is now an important research and reference area. The seed vault fits ideally into this concept.
2
Svalbard has an isolated position far out in the ocean, between 74° and 81° N and only 1000 kilometres from the North Pole. The archipelago is characterised by an undisturbed nature. Permafrost provides stable storage conditions for seeds. Besides which there is little risk of local dispersion of seed.
3
The seed vault, which consists of three chambers, is located right outside Longyearbyen and directly opposite Longyear Airport. The facility is about 130 metres above sea level and has been tunnelled 120 metres into the mountain, in a stable sandstone situation. Each of the three underground chambers is about 1,200 cubic metres (20 metres deep, 10 metres wide and 6 metres high). The location so far below ground guarantees stable permafrost for the foreseeable future and is high enough above sea level to secure the facility against any rise in sea level as a result of global warming.
4
The facility’s open location near the town makes monitoring and security easier. Security is the responsibility of the Governor of Svalbard in cooperation with the University of Svalbard (UNIS).
5
Since Svalbard was a natural choice for physical and security reasons, the Norwegian government decided that Norwegian ownership, operating responsibility and financing of the facility was equally natural. The seed vault is also in line with Norwegian policy with regard to biodiversity, preservation of genetic resources, north-south policy, development policy and food safety, as displayed in the following points:
- In establishing the international seed vault, Norway is making a unique contribution to the preservation of the planet’s most important biodiversity. This will help to fulfil the main objectives of the Biodiversity Convention and the FAO treaty, priority issues for Norway for many years. The seed vault could come to have a special significance for a number of regions in developing countries where the storage conditions in regular gene banks are a constant challenge.
- For many years it has been Norway’s aim to play a bridge-building role in the north-south debate about genetic resources and biological diversity. This doesn’t mean that we necessarily always take the middle line, but rather that we try to see new elements in the positions of all sides with the aim of finding solutions which actually lead to the sensible management of genetic resources. We believe that Svalbard Global Seed Vault can be a unifying initiative, which offers much to countries both north and south and which will hopefully also promote global collaboration in taking care of our most important genetic resources.
- Securing food supplies is one of the most basic issues in any strategy for eliminating poverty. In a time of climate change, this is equally a global issue. The establishment of a global seed vault is therefore very much in line with the principle of informed self-interest.
Access to seeds
The seed samples stored in the seed vault are copies of samples stored in the depositing genebanks. Researchers, plant breeders and other groups wishing to access seed samples cannot do so through the seed vault; instead they must request samples from the depositing genebanks. The samples stored in the genebanks will, in most cases, be accessible in accordance with the terms and conditions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, approved by 118 countries/parties
The seed vault functions like a safe deposit box in a bank. The bank owns the building and the depositor owns the contents of his or her box. The Government of Norway owns the facility and the depositing genebanks own the seeds they send. The deposit of samples in Svalbard does not constitute a legal transfer of genetic resources. In genebank terminology this is called a "black box" arrangement. Each depositor signs a Deposit Agreement with NordGen, acting on behalf of Norway. The Agreement makes clear that Norway does not claim ownership over the deposited samples and that ownership remains with the depositor, who has the sole right of access to those materials in the seed vault. No one has access to anyone else's seeds from the seed vault the database of samples and depositors is maintained by NordGen.
Yes that true with any bank what u put is what u receive but it is the government of each country a lone can put seed and retrieve it and so they alone will decided when it time to access it people like u and me don’t have that access to deposited our seed for safe keeping I under stand the problem that may arise and not that farmer will place seed there but just like the elite don’t place their cash in normal bank like every one else just to evade paying tax while the working class can barely pay the tax rate I think that the 13 blood line family and other miner family will benefit first before us because they make up the government with the small g and capital g if u don’t under stand I mean the temporary government and the permerment government [ the military bank etc ] who tell those who we elect what to do the temporary government where is the democracy so that answer who have the ability to access the seed
Seed storage
Boxes of seeds in a storeroom
The seeds are stored in four-ply sealed envelopes, then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks. The storage rooms are kept at −18 °C (0 °F). The low temperature and limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and delay seed aging. The permafrost surrounding the facility will help maintain the low temperature of the seeds should the electricity supply fail
Global Crop Diversity Trust
The Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) has played a key role in the planning of the seed vault and is coordinating shipments of seed samples to the Vault in conjunction with the Nordic Genetic Resource Center. The Trust will provide most of the annual operating costs for the facility, and has set aside endowment funds to do so, while the Norwegian government will finance upkeep of the structure itself. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other donors u see what I was telling u just a while ago the elite are involved in this and u can bet ur bottom dallar it more than donation . the GCDT is assisting selected genebanks in developing countries as well as the international agricultural research centers in packaging and shipping seeds to the seed vault. An International Advisory Council is being established to provide guidance and advice. It will include representatives from the FAO, the CGIAR, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources and other institutions.
First anniversary deposits
As part of the vault's one year anniversary, more than 90,000 food crop seed samples were placed into storage, bringing the total number of seed samples to 400,000.mong the new seeds includes 32 varieties of potatoes from Ireland's national gene banks and 20,000 new samples from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service. Other seed samples came from Canada and Switzerland, as well as international seed researchers from Colombia, Mexico and Syria.his 4-tonne (3.9-long-ton; 4.4-short-ton) shipment brought the total number of seeds stored in the vault to over 20 million. As of this anniversary, the vault contained samples from approximately one-third of the world's most important food crop varieties.Also part of the anniversary, experts on food production and climate change met for a three-day conference in Longyearbyen.
Awards and honors
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault ranked at No. 6 on Time's Best Inventions of 2008.
- Was awarded the Norwegian Lighting Prize for 2008
capacity
- On 10 March 2010 the seed count at the vault passed half a million (500,000) samples.[24] As of July 2012, the number of distinct samples has increased to 750,000 and could hold lot more than that
International connections
- Japanese sculptor Mitsuaki Tanabe (田辺光彰) presented a work to the vault named "The Seed 2009 / Momi In-Situ Conservation".
- In 2010 a delegation of seven U.S. congressmen handed over a number of different varieties of chili pepper.
Frozen zoo
the animals kingdom the first attempt to store genetic material in order to preserve the animals kingdom from extension the frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals (e.g. DNA, sperm, eggs, and embryos) are gathered and thereafter stored at very low temperatures for optimal preservation over a long period (see cryopreservation). Some facilities also collect and cryopreserve plant material (usually seeds).
Zoos such as the San Diego Zoo and research programs such as the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species cryopreserve genetic material in order to protect the diversity of the gene pool of endangered species, or to provide for a prospective reintroduction of such extinct species as the Tasmanian Tigerand the Mammoth.
Frozen Zoo at San Diego Zoo Conservation Research has been freezing biological materials from animals and plants in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C) since 1976.They currently store a collection of 8,400 samples from over 800 species and subspecies. Frozen Zoo at San Diego Zoo Conservation Research has acted as a forbearer to similar projects at other zoos in the United States and Europe including the Frozen Ark Project. However, there are still less than a dozen frozen zoos worldwide.
At the United Arab Emirates Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife (BCEAW), Sharjah, the embryos stored include the extremely endangered Gordon’s wildcat (Felis silvestris gordoni) and the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) (of which there are only 50 in the wild).
Like is said for the seed bank a great idea it just that will be use as in tended to protect animals from going extinct because lab around the world are creating their own zoo of animals by mixing different gene together to create a new spices of animals in effect playing god with no regard as to what effect that could have on the ecosystem if it were to get loose in the environment and it only talking about animals but also as small as virous and bacteria which some people say have affected human begin .we should keep our eye on this because playing with mother nature have consequence .
Creating a Frozen Zoo
Gathering material for a frozen zoo is rendered simple by the abundance of sperm in males. Sperm can be taken from an animal following death. The production of eggs, which in females is usually low, can be increased through hormone treatment to obtain 10-20 oocytes, dependant on species. Some frozen zoos prefer to fertilize eggs and freeze the resulting embryo, as embryos are more resilient under the cryopreservation process.The zoo also collects skin cell samples if such endangered animals and Scripps Research Center has successfully made them in to a cultures of special cells,induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells. Now, theoretically, they are able to make sperm and egg cells with old skin cells.
Future of Frozen Genetic Material
Just I was saying a while ago but more in depth Stored material can be stored indefinitely and used for artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation, embryo transfer ,creation new animal and cloning and the media will say if it good for ur pet it good for u and human will join the experience at a past rate .
Artificial insemination provides a remedy for animals who, due to anatomical or physiological reasons, are unable to reproduce in the natural way. Reproduction of stored genetic material also allows for the fostering of genetic improvements, and the prevention of inbreeding.
Modern technology allows for genetic manipulation in animals without keeping them in captivity. However, the success of their restoration into the wild would require the application of new science and a sufficient amount of previously material
ison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LZuo2OoChWw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PLMvLH4WhN4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZTDl_57DuM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PLMvLH4WhN4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZTDl_57DuM8
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Monday 22 April 2013
hope this does not happen [watch]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LGqEmwueyD8
2 Predictions Following Boston Bombing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jZyA0_95VXE
Hummingbird027
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=52HZ9bLbUSI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=x7iK8s6NiXE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vgNOGn1lzfM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=x7iK8s6NiXE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=vgNOGn1lzfM
Mark Passio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=x4aW1hGswEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VXxzLy6MPpI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oHq_KeV6JkY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VXxzLy6MPpI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oHq_KeV6JkY
Paul Begley resent vedio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cr-TpKvs7lg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O6lx4hkfSVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O6lx4hkfSVs
Saturday 20 April 2013
12 yr Girl Discovers ALL U.S. Presidents Except One are Related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ta6PxbEH_3A
Evolution of the Twin Souls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-N5j55N3yUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bf3ajWNkKzc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bf3ajWNkKzc
Waco Siege: What Really Happened and Why
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fvjL6ouHhig
Friday 19 April 2013
North Korean crisis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XpPGKMiGLW8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jj9x4AyQ-is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3T9Fkso-FUc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jj9x4AyQ-is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3T9Fkso-FUc
The privacy bargain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=TLU1ElVMSxhGM&v=vdIp4wwu9r4&feature=player_detailpage
brain control
must watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PYFvJOzThwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Sm0yixBY1y0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8kRl_CmVVIs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3clsm5HltnA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0-MBrOBypqg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iksNX6p-KJk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PYFvJOzThwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Sm0yixBY1y0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8kRl_CmVVIs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3clsm5HltnA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0-MBrOBypqg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iksNX6p-KJk
Chinese Fear New Epidemic Spreading From Human To Human
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cqRgodmbO8w
CISPA And The Control of Information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CVC0Op8TD1Q
the groxt
In reality, the narrator posting on the channel TheGroxt (the two words go together) is unique and presents all kinds of tantalizing ideas. I disagree with some of the analysis. And I don’t think that there is only one inevitable future, apocalyptic millenarianism, written in stone. But more on that critique of literalism in Part 2. TheGroxt, by the way, gets quite a lot of heat from regular Christians, saying that he is delusional, a false witness, or worse. Here, I merely introduce the ideas on his youtube channel, providing links to some of the videos at bottom, for further interest. I am showing, not endorsing. TheGroxt uses Google Earth to look at shapes and patterns, on land and on the ocean floor. He then superimposes what he finds on Google Earth with Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Aztec calendar, MTV videos, you name it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sPhxKJxk_Xo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sPhxKJxk_Xo
Accurate Earthquake Forecast BROKE THE LAW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=C2fZkXinj4E
Thursday 18 April 2013
In reality, the narrator posting on the channel TheGroxt (the two words go together) is unique and presents all kinds of tantalizing ideas.
I disagree with some of the analysis. And I don’t think that there is only one inevitable future, apocalyptic millenarianism, written in stone. But more on that critique of literalism in Part 2.
TheGroxt, by the way, gets quite a lot of heat from regular Christians, saying that he is delusional, a false witness, or worse.
Here, I merely introduce the ideas on his youtube channel, providing links to some of the videos at bottom, for further interest. I am showing, not endorsing.
TheGroxt uses Google Earth to look at shapes and patterns, on land and on the ocean floor. He then superimposes what he finds on Google Earth with Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Aztec calendar, MTV videos, you name it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=A0kUoWrklKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=egXMu9t1wz8
I disagree with some of the analysis. And I don’t think that there is only one inevitable future, apocalyptic millenarianism, written in stone. But more on that critique of literalism in Part 2.
TheGroxt, by the way, gets quite a lot of heat from regular Christians, saying that he is delusional, a false witness, or worse.
Here, I merely introduce the ideas on his youtube channel, providing links to some of the videos at bottom, for further interest. I am showing, not endorsing.
TheGroxt uses Google Earth to look at shapes and patterns, on land and on the ocean floor. He then superimposes what he finds on Google Earth with Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Aztec calendar, MTV videos, you name it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=A0kUoWrklKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=egXMu9t1wz8
The Stream - High stakes for marijuana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=KOIzshkQ3DY
Proof of Drills at Marathon: Eyewitness Speaks Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FWp9ZH2rTQA
Ison Could Be a Planet Buster!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kP-ew5wcuV4
Sinkholes Swallows 3 Cars in Chicago / 30 People Shot In Greece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F0TtHybfnjA
PROOF! iLLuminati BoSTon MarathOn eXpLosion - FaLse FLag aTTack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZG2-nyPY2X8
Secrets Police Don't Want You To Know - HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=kuSTLmXrQr0
Wednesday 17 April 2013
Endless hot water without electricity!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=5IRLVCJ1olA
Third Reich Operation UFO Nazi base in Antractica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZUnOwjKxUOc
Santos Bonacci - Understanding The Birth Chart - School Of The Holy Scien
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WZMeuJO16eI
Wash Your Brain - Hollywood Mind Control
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MBkB48zONto
7.8 Quake in Iran Shakes Bayou Corne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dTAKTAxIfmY
Tuesday 16 April 2013
Monday 15 April 2013
Monsanto
Monsanto is the world's leading producer of the herbicide "Roundup", as well as producing 90% of the world'sgenetically modified (GMO) seeds. . It was Founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny, by the 1940s.
Over Monsanto's 110-year history (1901-2012), Monsanto Co (MON.N), the world's largest seed company, has evolved from primarily an industrial chemical it was a major producer of plastics, including polystyrene and synthetic fibers. Notable achievements by Monsanto and its scientists as a chemical company included breakthrough research on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation and being the first company to mass-produce light emitting diodes (LEDs). The company also formerly manufactured controversial products such as the insecticide DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange, and recombinant bovine somatotropin . It remained one of the top 10 U.S. chemical companies until it divested most of its chemical businesses between 1997 and 2002 but now it main a pure agricultural products company. MON profited $2 billion dollars in 2009, but their record profits fell to only $1 billion in 2010 after activists exposed Monsanto for doing terribly evil acts like suing good farmers and feeding uranium to pregnant women. Below is a timeline of Monsanto's dark history.
Monsanto, best know today for its agricultural biotechnology GMO products, has a long and dirty history of polluting this country and others with some of the most toxic compounds known to humankind. From PCBs to Agent Orange toRoundup, we have many reasons to question the motives of this evil corporation that claims to be working to reduce environmental destruction and feed the world with its genetically engineered GMO food crops. Monsanto has been repeatedly fined and ruled against for, among many things: mislabeling containers of Roundup, failing to report health data to EPA, plus chemical spills and improper chemical deposition.
The name Monsanto has since, for many around the world, come to symbolize the greed, arrogance, scandal and hardball business practices of many multinational corporations. A couple of historical factoids not generally known: Monsanto was heavily involved during WWII in the creation of the first nuclear bomb for the Manhattan Project via its facilities in Dayton Ohio and called the Dayton Project headed by Charlie Thomas, Director of Monsanto's Central Research Department (and later Monsanto President) and it operated a nuclear facility for the federal government in Miamisburg, also in Ohio, called the Mound Project until the 80s.
Top 10 Facts YOU Should Know About Monsanto before we go any further
In the frist sentence I mention the compamy was founded by John F. Queeny: Founder of Monsanto what about him whell
According to the Count in Venice, John Francis Queeny (founder of The Monsanto Company) was a Knight of Malta. Irish-American ROMAN Catholic Queeny (1859-1933) founded Monsanto in 1901 within the Jesuit stronghold of St. Lewis - hosting the Black Pope’s Saint Louis University since 1818.
This is the same year J. P. Morgan, Papal Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, founded U.S. Steel Corporation and in 1911 would appoint Knight of Malta John A. Farrell as its president. Interesting: Queeny, Morgan and Farrell were all wicked, pope-serving, White Gentiles - not a Jew in the mix!
Robert B. Shapiro was Monsanto’s CEO from 1995 to 2000. The devil’s Great Conspiracy for world government must always appear to be led by Jews, never by the Pope of Rome using select, Masonic "Court Jews" as his underlings!
Once the manufacturer of the now outlawed DDT and Agent Orange duringFrancis Cardinal Spellman’s CIA-directed Vietnam War, the company also developed and now markets bovine growth hormone, further poisoning the food chain here in America. It is most intriguing that Europe - the pope’s Revived Holy Roman Empire deceptively called "The European Union" - refuses to purchase beef produced in the United States!
Upon purchasing G. D. Searle and Company in 1985, Monsanto, via its NutraSweet Company, is the manufacturer of Aspartame, the notorious neuro-toxin sold to the public as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame is the "artificial sweetener" in the soft drink "Diet Pepsi," Pepisico once employing JFK assassin / FBI liaison to theWarren Commission and Knight of Malta Cartha D. DeLoach.
Monsanto also has strong ties to The Walt Disney Company, with financial backing from the Order’s Bank of Americafounded in Jesuit-ruled San Francisco by Italian-American ROMAN Catholic Knight of Malta Amadeo Giannini in 1904. Disney owns ABC Television Network and its Director Emeritus is Roy Disney (brother of the late Walt Disney) who was inducted into the Knights of St. Gregory during the same ceremony with Fox Network owner Rupert Murdoch. ABC and Fox are both controlled by Rome through brother Knights of the Order of St. Gregory!
Monsanto Company History Overview
Monsanto is a US based agricultural and pharmaceutical monopoly, Monsanto Company is a producer of herbicides, prescription pharmaceutical drugs, and genetically engineered (GMO) seeds. The global Monsanto corporation has operated sales offices, manufacturing plants, and research facilities in more than 100 countries. Monsanto has the largest share of the global GMO crops market. In 2001 its crops accounted for 91% of the total area of GMO crops planted worldwide. Based on 2001 figures Monsanto was the second biggest seed company in the world, and the third biggest agrochemical company.
Historically Monsanto has been involved with the production of PCBs, DDT, dioxins and the defoliant / chemical weapon ‘Agent Orange' (sprayed on American troops and Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War). Originally a chemical company, Until the late 1990s Monsanto was a much larger ‘lifesciences' company whose business covered chemicals, polymers, food additives and pharmaceuticals, as well as agricultural products.
All of these other chemical business areas have now been demerged or sold off. Monsanto sold its chemical business in 1997 to build a presence in biotechnology, developing NON-ORGANIC GMO soybeans and corn (classified as a pesticide and banned in the EU) to resist the poisonous effects of its Roundup herbicide. Monsanto's key business areas are now agrochemicals, seeds and traits (including GMO crops), Monsanto also produced NutraSweet, a GMO sugar substitute. Monsanto recently sold it's GMO bovine growth hormones monopoly to Eli Lilly, and sold it's aspartame business to Pfizer.
Monsanto's business is currently run in two parts: Agricultural Productivity, and Seeds and Genomics. The Agricultural Productivity segment includes Roundup herbicide and other agri-chemicals, and the Animal Agriculture business. The Seeds and Genomics segment consists of seed companies and related biotechnology traits, and a technology platform based on plant genomics. In reality of course these two segments are inseparable, since the agri-chemicals are becoming increasingly dependent on the seeds segment for sales.
Monsanto's Early 20th-Century Origins
Monsanto traces its roots to John Francisco Queeny, a purchaser for a wholesale drug house at the turn of the century, who formed the Monsanto Chemical Works in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to produce the artificial sweetener saccharin for Coca-Cola.
John Francis Queeny (August 17, 1859 - March 19, 1933) started work at age 12 for a wholesale drug company,Tolman and King. He attended school for 6 years until the Great Chicago Fire forced him, at the age of 12, to look for full-time employment, which he found with Tolman and King for $2.50 per week.
In 1891, he moved to St. Louis to work for Meyer Brothers Drug Company. John was inducted into the Knights of Malta order. His first business, a sulfur refinery in East St.Louis, was destroyed by fire on its first day of operation in 1899. The process of refining beet sugar in 1900, led to Monsanto Corporation's first artificial sweetener, the following year. Butter substitute, MSG and partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening were all soon to follow.
John Francis Queeny married Olga Mendez Monsanto with whom he had two children, one of whom was Edgar Monsanto Queeny, who would later serve as Chairman. n 1901, John then established his own chemical company to produce the sweetener, saccharin, which was only available in Germany at that time. He named the company Monsanto after his wife´s maiden name, Olga Monsanto Queeny.
Queeny was a member of the Missouri Historical Society and was a director of the Lafayette-South Side Bank and Trust Company. "He was also known for his many philanthropic endeavors." [Final Resting Place, p. 83, The St. Louis Portrait, p. 221]
Timeline of Monsanto's Dark History
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Monsanto are:
Jon R. Moeller, chief financial officer of The Procter & Gamble Company.[53][54]
Investigations
2009 antitrust investigation
In 2009, Monsanto came under scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department, which began investigating whether the company's activities in the soybean markets were breaking anti-trust rules. In 2010, the DOJ created a website through which comments on "Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy" could be submitted; over 15,000 comments were submitted including a letter by 14 State Attorneys General. The comments are publicly available. On November 16, 2012, Monsanto announced that it had received written notification from the U.S. Department of Justice that the Antitrust Division had concluded its inquiry and that the D.O.J had closed the inquiry without taking any enforcement action. Opponents of Monsanto's seed patenting and licensing practices expressed frustration that the Department of Justice released no information about the results of the inquiry.
Not a party, but involved
1997 WTVT news story
This is a case where Monsanto was not a party, but was alleged to have been involved in the events under dispute. In 1997, the news division of WTVT (Channel 13), a Fox–owned station in Tampa, Florida, planned to air an investigative report by Steve Wilson and Jane Akre on the health risks associated with Monsanto's bovine growth hormone product,Posilac. Just before the story was to air, Fox received a threatening letter from Monsanto, saying the reporters were biased and that the story would damage the company. Fox tried to work with the reporters to address Monsanto's concerns, and the negotiations between Fox and the reporters broke down. Both reporters were eventually fired. Wilson and Akre alleged the firing was for retaliation, while WTVT contended they were fired for insubordination. The reporters then sued Fox/WTVT in Florida state court under the state's whistleblower statute. In 2000, a Florida jury found that while there was no evidence Fox/WTVT had bowed to any pressure from Monsanto to alter the story, Akre, but not Wilson, was a whistleblower and was unjustly fired. Fox appealed the decision stating that under Florida law, a whistleblower can only act if "a law, rule, or regulation”" has been broken and argued that the FCC's news distortion policy did not fit that definition. The appeals court overturned the verdict, finding that Akre was not a whistleblower because of the Florida "legislature's requirement that agency statements that fit the definition of a “rule” (must) be formally adopted (rules). Recognizing an uncodified agency policy developed through the adjudicative process as the equivalent of a formally adopted rule is not consistent with this policy, and it would expand the scope of conduct that could subject an employer to liability beyond what Florida's Legislature could have contemplated when it enacted the whistle-blower's statute."
Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories scandal
In 1981, four executives of Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories(IBT), an American contract research organization were indicted in federal court on various counts including scientific misconduct and fraud, and were convicted in 1983. IBT was an industrial product safety testing laboratory that was used by pharmaceutical companies, chemical manufacturers and other industrial clients, operated one of the largest facility of its kind in the US, and performed more than one-third of all toxicology testing in the United States. One of convicted executives was Paul Wright, a toxicologist, who had spent 18 months at IBT in the 1970s while IBT was testing an antimicrobial product that Monsanto was developing,triclocarban(TCC). The revelations of misconduct by IBT Labs led to the establishment of Good Laboratory Practice standards and regulations for industrial testing.
In 1991, Philip Smith, a former assistant toxicologist at IBT, testified in a trial in which Monsanto was being sued by workers at Westinghouse over PCBs, that final toxicology reports on PCBs provided to Monsanto by IBT contained falsified data.[204]
Legal actions and controversies outside North America
Argentina
GM soy was approved for cultivation in Argentina in 1996. When Argentina approved the cultivation of GMO in 1996 14 million acres were used for soy production and by 2008 that area grew to 42 million acres.[205] The growth was driven by Argentine investors' interest in buying or leasing land on which to grow soy for the export market.[205] The consolidation has led to a decrease in production of many staples such as milk, rice, maize, potatoes and lentils, and about 150,000 small farmers have left the countryside because they could no longer make a living (as they could not afford GM soya) or were driven off their land.[205][206][207]
The Guardian newspaper interviewed a Monsanto representative and reported that the representative "said that any problems with GM soya were to do with use of the crop as a monoculture, not because it was GM. 'If you grow any crop to the exclusion of any other you are bound to get problems.'"[206]
In 2005 and 2006, Monsanto addressed unlicensed use of its patented "Roundup Ready" technology by farmers and companies in Argentina by enforcing its patents on soymeal imported into Spain from Argentina, which obligated Spanish customs officials to seize the soymeal shipments.[208]
Brazil
Brazil had originally approved GM crops in 1998 but Brazilian advocacy groups had successfully sued to overturn the approval.[209] In 2003 Brazil allowed a one-year exemption when GM soy was found in fields planted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This was a controversial decision, and in response, the Landless Workers' Movement protested by invading and occupying several Monsanto farm plots used for research, training and seed-processing.In 2005 Brazil passed a law creating a regulatory pathway for GM crops, and the agriculture minister Roberto Rodrigues stated that "Brazilian soy farmers, who have used cloned or smuggled versions of the biotechnology company's Roundup Ready variety for years, will no longer have to worry about breaking the law or facing legal action from Monsanto as long as regulators approve the seeds for planting."
China
Monsanto was criticized by Chinese economist Lang Xianping for having controlled the Chinese soybean market, and for trying to do the same to Chinese corn and cotton.
Haiti
After the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Monsanto donated $255,000 to Haiti for disaster reliefand 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid (non-GM) corn and vegetable seeds worth $4 million.However, a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) rapid assessment of seed supply and demand for the 5 most common food security crops found that the Haitians had enough seed and recommended that imported seeds should be introduced only on a small scale
The announcement of the donation initially raised concerns that the donation would include genetically modified seeds, but Monsanto representatives said no such seeds were included and the donation comprised conventional seed and hybrid seeds, which are produced by manually cross-pollinating plants.[214] A report by Haiti Grassroots Watch (HGW) investigated the donation and responses to it.Emmanuel Prophete, head of Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture's Service National Semencier (SNS), that HGW that SNS was not opposed to the hybrid maize seeds because it at least doubles the yield of corn. Louise Sperling, Principal Researcher at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) told HGW that she was not opposed to hybrids, but noted that most hybrids require extra water and better soils and that most of Haiti was not appropriate for maize hybrids.
Another concern was that some of the seeds were coated with the highly toxic fungicides Maxim or thiram. In the United States, pesticides containing thiram are banned in home garden products because most home gardeners do not own adequate protection.HGW found that the coated seeds were handled in a dangerous manner by the recipients and judged that such seeds should not have been donated.
The seeds were donated free of charge, and were in turn sold at a reduced price in local markets. However, farmers feared that they were being given seeds that would "threaten local varieties"and an estimated 8–12,000 farmers attended a protest of the donation on June 4, 2010 organized by a Haitian farmers' association, the Peasant Movement of Papay, where a small pile of seeds was symbolically burned.
India
Monsanto has had a controversial history in India, starting with the accusation that Monsanto used terminator genes in its seeds, causing demonstrations against the company. Later, its GM cotton seed was the subject of NGO agitation because of its higher cost. Indian farmers cross GM varieties with local varieties using plant breeding to yield better strains, an illegal practice termed "seed piracy". In 2009, high prices of Bt Cotton were blamed for forcing farmers of the district Jhabua into severe debts when the crops died due to lack of rain.
Bt resistance
In 2009, Monsanto scientists initially discovered that insects had developed resistance to the Bt Cotton planted in Gujarat and when studies were completed, Monsanto communicated this to the Indian government and its customers, stating that "Resistance is natural and expected, so measures to delay resistance are important. Among the factors that may have contributed to pink bollworm resistance to the Cry1Ac protein in Bollgard I in Gujarat are limited refuge planting and early use of unapproved Bt cotton seed, planted prior to GEAC approval of Bollgard I cotton, which may have had lower protein expression levels."[223] The company advised farmers to switch to its second generation of Bt cotton – Bolguard II – which had two resistance genes instead of one.[224] However, this advice was criticized; an article in The Hindu reported that "an internal analysis of the statement of the Ministry of Environment and Forests says it 'appears that this could be a business strategy to phase out single gene events [that is, the first generation Bollgard I product] and promote double genes [the second generation Bollgard II] which would fetch higher price.'"
Andhra Pradesh state government
In the early 2000s, farmers in the state of Andhra Pradesh, were in economic crisis due to high interest rates and crop failures, leading to widespread social unrest and suicides. Monsanto was one focus of protests with respect to the price of Bt seed and yields of Bt seed. In 2005, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the Indian regulatory authority, released a study on field tests of certain Bt cotton strains in Andhra Pradesh and ruled that Monsanto could not market those strains in Andhra Pradesh because the yields were poor, and extended the ban on one of them, Mech-12 Bt, to all of south India. At about the same time, the state agriculture minister barred the company from selling any Bt cotton seeds in the state, because Monsanto refused a request by the state government to provide a compensation package of about Rs 4.5 crore (about 1 Million US$) to indebted farmers in some districts, and because the government blamed Monsanto's Bt seeds for crop failures. The order was later lifted. In 2006, the Andhra Pradesh state government tried to convince Monsanto to reduce the price at which it sold Bt seeds. When Monsanto did not reduce the price enough to satisfy the government, the state filed several cases against Monsanto and its Mumbai based licensee Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds.
Child labor
As in much of the developing world and especially in agricultural areas, child labor is widespread in India's agricultural sector, which employs ~60% of India's child labor. Child labor is especially used in seed production.[230] The seed production is done mostly through child labor—it is carried out on plots owned by small farmers, who sell the seed to "seed organizers", who in turn sell the seed to public and private seed agencies and companies.[230] The public and private agencies and companies include Indian state corporations, Mahyco-Monsanto, Syngenta, and others.[231] Monsanto's website states that the company complies with all child labor laws and that they are working towards minimizing its occurrence.[232]
Farmer suicides
Main article: Farmers' suicides in India
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, public attention was drawn to suicides by indebted farmers in India following crop failures. Some, including Vandana Shiva, claimed that the crop failures could "often be traced to" Monsanto's Bt cotton, and that the seeds increased farmers' indebtedness. However, a 2008 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute showed that there was no evidence for an increased suicide rate following the 2002 introduction of Bt cotton, but instead that the rate had been consistent since 1997. The report concluded that while the cotton may have been a factor in specific suicides, the contribution was likely marginal compared to socio-economic factors. Various studies identify the important factors as insufficient or risky credit systems, the difficulty of farming semi-arid regions, poor agricultural income, absence of alternative income opportunities, a downturn in the urban economy which forced non-farmers into farming, and the absence of suitable counseling services.[235][237][238] Monsanto has referred to these third-party studies and added that Indian farmers are the "fastest-growing users of biotech crops in the world."
False advertising
In 1996, the New York Times reported that: "Dennis C. Vacco, the Attorney General of New York, ordered the company to pull ads that said Roundup was "safer than table salt" and "practically nontoxic" to mammals, birds and fish. The company withdrew the spots, but also said that the phrase in question was permissible under E.P.A. guidelines."
In 1999, Monsanto was condemned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making "confusing, misleading, unproven and wrong" claims about its products over the course of a £1 million advertising campaign. The ASA ruled that Monsanto had presented its opinions "as accepted fact" and had published "wrong" and "unproven" scientific claims. Monsanto responded with an apology and claimed it was not intending to deceive and instead "did not take sufficiently into account the difference in culture between the UK and the USA in the way some of this information was presented."[242]
In 2001, French environmental and consumer rights campaigners brought a case against Monsanto for misleading the public about the environmental impact of its herbicideRoundup, on the basis that glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is classed as "dangerous for the environment" and "toxic for aquatic organisms" by the European Union. Monsanto's advertising for Roundup had presented it as biodegradable and as leaving the soil clean after use. In 2007, Monsanto was convicted of false advertising and was fined 15,000 euros. Monsanto's French distributor Scotts France was also fined 15,000 euros. Both defendants were ordered to pay damages of 5,000 euros to the Brittany Water and Rivers Association and 3,000 euros to the CLCV (Consommation Logement Cadre de vie), one of the two main general consumer associations in France. Monsanto appealed and the court upheld the verdict; Monsanto appealed again to the French Supreme Court, and in 2009 it also upheld the verdict.
In August 2012, a Brazilian Regional Federal Court ordered Monsanto to pay a $250,000 fine for false advertising. In 2004, advertising that related to the use of GM soya seed, and the herbicide glyphosate used in its cultivation, claimed it was beneficial to the conservation of the environment. The federal prosecutor maintained that Monsanto misrepresented the amount of herbicide required and stated that "there is no scientific certainty that soybeans marketed by Monsanto use less herbicide." The presiding judge condemned Monsanto and called the advertisement "abusive and misleading propaganda." The prosecutor held that the goal of the advertising was to prepare the market for the purchase of genetically modified soybean seed (sale of which was then banned) and the herbicide used on it, at a time when the approval of a Brazilian Biosafety Law, enacted in 2005, was being discussed in the country.
Political contributions and lobbying
United States
Monsanto lobbies the United States Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture about regulations that would affect the production and distribution of genetically engineered produce. In 2011, Monsanto spent about $6.3 million.For comparison, the US Chamber of Commerce spent the most in lobbying in 2011, with $66.4 million, and the 20th highest spender, Pfizer, spent $12.9 million.[ US diplomats in Europe have worked directly for Monsanto.In 2008, Monsanto spent $8.8 million for lobbying. $1.5 million was to outside lobbying firms with the remainder used by in-hous lobbyists. In 2011, total money spent on lobbying was about $6.3 million, more than any other agribusiness firm except the tobacco company Altria, and $2 million of which was spent on matters concerning "Foreign Agriculture Biotechnology Laws, Regulations, and Trade."
Monsanto gave $186,250 to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC) – 42% to Democrats, 58% to Republicans. For the 2010 election cycle they gave $305,749 – 48% to Democrats, 52% to Republicans.
Monsanto spent $8.1 million opposing the passage of Proposition 37 in the US state of California, making it the largest donor against the initiative. Proposition 37, which was rejected by a 53.7% majority in November 2012, would have mandated the disclosure of genetically modified crops used in the production of California food products. Biotechnology labeling is not required by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it has been adopted by over 40 countries. According to public disclosures, the Council for Biotechnology Information and The Grocery Manufacturers Association, have each made matching donations of $375,000 to fight the initiative.
Michael R. Taylor, a former Monsanto Vice President for Public Policy and the current Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration,was described by Businessweek during his tenure as Monsanto's VP for Public Policy as "Monsanto's chief rep in Washington."
Monsanto is a member of the Washington D.C based Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotechnology trade association, which provides "advocacy, business development, and communications services. Between 2010 and 2011 BIO spent a total of $16.43 million on lobbying initiatives.
UK
During the late 1990s, Monsanto lobbied to raise permitted glyphosate levels in soya beans and was successful in convincing Codex Alimentarius and both the UK and American governments to lift levels to 20 milligrams per 1 kilogram of soya.[267] When asked how negotiations with Monsanto were conducted Lord Donoughue, then the Labour PartyAgriculture minister in the House of Lords, stated that all information relating to the matter would be "kept secret."[267] During a period of 24 months prior to the 1997 British election Monsanto representatives had 22 meetings at the departments of Agriculture and the Environment.[268] British newspapers revealed that Stanley Greenberg, an election advisor toTony Blair, went on to work as a Monsanto consultant.[268] It was also reported that a former Labour spokesperson, David Hill, became Monsanto's media adviser at the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger.[268] The Labour government was challenged in parliament about "trips, facilities, gifts and other offerings of financial value provided by Monsanto to civil servants" but only stated that Department of Trade and Industry had two working lunches with Monsanto.[269] It was also revealed that Peter Luff, then a Conservative Party MP and Chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee, had received up to £10,000 a year from Bell Pottinger on behalf of Monsanto.[269][270][271]
Continental Europe
In January 2011, John Vidal of The Guardian reported on Wikileak documents that suggested US diplomats in Europe were responding to a request for help from Spanish government; the article says: "In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto. 'In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] state secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level US government intervention.'"The documents show that in 2009, when the Spanish government's policy allowing MON810 corn to be grown, as allowed under European law, was under pressure from EU interests, Monsanto's Director for Biotechnology for Spain and Portugal requested that the US government support Spain on the matter. The reports also indicated that Spain and the US had worked closely together to "persuade the EU not to strengthen biotechnology laws." Spain was viewed as an EU member that was a key supporter of GM and there was a widespread belief in biotechnology industry that "if Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow." The documents also revealed that in response to an attempt by France to ban a Monsanto's MON810 in late 2007, the then US ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, in a bid to "help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," asked Washington to "calibrate a targeted retaliation list that [would cause] some pain across the EU," in particular those countries that did not support the use of GM crops. This activity transpired after the US, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and New Zealand had brought an action against Europe via the World Trade Organization with respect to the EU's banning of GMOs; in 2006, the WTO had ruled against the EU.
Monsanto is a member of EuropaBio, the leading biotechnology trade group in Europe. One of EuropaBio's initiatives is "Transforming Europe’s position on GM food", and it has stated that there is "an urgent need to reshape the terms of the debate about GM in Europe."[281][282] In an effort to transform European policy relating to the production and distribution of genetically modified foods within the EU, EuropaBio proposed the recruitment of high profile "ambassadors" that might affect opinion on GM policy by lobbying European leaders directly. The organisation also aimed to introduce the ambassadors to high-level European bureaucrats and MEPs with the goal of making a stronger case for GM within the EU.[281][283][284]
Public officials' connections to Monsanto
Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in US government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and the Supreme Court. These include:
Public officials with indirect connections or who worked for Monsanto after leaving public office include:
Sponsorships
Monsanto has been the corporate sponsor of many attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
At Disneyland they include:
And at Walt Disney World they include:
All attractions that the company has ever sponsored (except for the Magic Eye Theatre, in the Future World section of Epcot) were located in Tomorrowland.[citation needed]
Echoing Monsanto's sponsorship of Tomorrowland, in the second episode of the first season of Futurama, "The Series Has Landed", a Moon carnival ride named "The Goophy Gopher Revue" is said to have been sponsored/owned by "Monsanto".[297]
Over Monsanto's 110-year history (1901-2012), Monsanto Co (MON.N), the world's largest seed company, has evolved from primarily an industrial chemical it was a major producer of plastics, including polystyrene and synthetic fibers. Notable achievements by Monsanto and its scientists as a chemical company included breakthrough research on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation and being the first company to mass-produce light emitting diodes (LEDs). The company also formerly manufactured controversial products such as the insecticide DDT, PCBs, Agent Orange, and recombinant bovine somatotropin . It remained one of the top 10 U.S. chemical companies until it divested most of its chemical businesses between 1997 and 2002 but now it main a pure agricultural products company. MON profited $2 billion dollars in 2009, but their record profits fell to only $1 billion in 2010 after activists exposed Monsanto for doing terribly evil acts like suing good farmers and feeding uranium to pregnant women. Below is a timeline of Monsanto's dark history.
Monsanto, best know today for its agricultural biotechnology GMO products, has a long and dirty history of polluting this country and others with some of the most toxic compounds known to humankind. From PCBs to Agent Orange toRoundup, we have many reasons to question the motives of this evil corporation that claims to be working to reduce environmental destruction and feed the world with its genetically engineered GMO food crops. Monsanto has been repeatedly fined and ruled against for, among many things: mislabeling containers of Roundup, failing to report health data to EPA, plus chemical spills and improper chemical deposition.
The name Monsanto has since, for many around the world, come to symbolize the greed, arrogance, scandal and hardball business practices of many multinational corporations. A couple of historical factoids not generally known: Monsanto was heavily involved during WWII in the creation of the first nuclear bomb for the Manhattan Project via its facilities in Dayton Ohio and called the Dayton Project headed by Charlie Thomas, Director of Monsanto's Central Research Department (and later Monsanto President) and it operated a nuclear facility for the federal government in Miamisburg, also in Ohio, called the Mound Project until the 80s.
Top 10 Facts YOU Should Know About Monsanto before we go any further
- No GMO Labeling Laws in the USA!
- Lack of Adequate FDA / USDA Safety Testing
- Monsanto Puts Small Farmers out of Business
Farmer Suicides After GMO Crop Failures - Monsanto Products Pollute the Developing World
500,000 Agent Orange Babies - Monsanto Blocking Government Regulations
- Monsanto Guilty of False Advertising & Scientific FRAUD
- Consumers Reject Bovine Growth Hormone rBGH in Milk
- GMO Crops Do NOT Increase Yields
- Monsanto Controls U.S. Soy Market
- Monsanto's GMO Foods Cause NEW Food Allergies
In the frist sentence I mention the compamy was founded by John F. Queeny: Founder of Monsanto what about him whell
According to the Count in Venice, John Francis Queeny (founder of The Monsanto Company) was a Knight of Malta. Irish-American ROMAN Catholic Queeny (1859-1933) founded Monsanto in 1901 within the Jesuit stronghold of St. Lewis - hosting the Black Pope’s Saint Louis University since 1818.
This is the same year J. P. Morgan, Papal Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, founded U.S. Steel Corporation and in 1911 would appoint Knight of Malta John A. Farrell as its president. Interesting: Queeny, Morgan and Farrell were all wicked, pope-serving, White Gentiles - not a Jew in the mix!
Robert B. Shapiro was Monsanto’s CEO from 1995 to 2000. The devil’s Great Conspiracy for world government must always appear to be led by Jews, never by the Pope of Rome using select, Masonic "Court Jews" as his underlings!
Once the manufacturer of the now outlawed DDT and Agent Orange duringFrancis Cardinal Spellman’s CIA-directed Vietnam War, the company also developed and now markets bovine growth hormone, further poisoning the food chain here in America. It is most intriguing that Europe - the pope’s Revived Holy Roman Empire deceptively called "The European Union" - refuses to purchase beef produced in the United States!
Upon purchasing G. D. Searle and Company in 1985, Monsanto, via its NutraSweet Company, is the manufacturer of Aspartame, the notorious neuro-toxin sold to the public as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame is the "artificial sweetener" in the soft drink "Diet Pepsi," Pepisico once employing JFK assassin / FBI liaison to theWarren Commission and Knight of Malta Cartha D. DeLoach.
Monsanto also has strong ties to The Walt Disney Company, with financial backing from the Order’s Bank of Americafounded in Jesuit-ruled San Francisco by Italian-American ROMAN Catholic Knight of Malta Amadeo Giannini in 1904. Disney owns ABC Television Network and its Director Emeritus is Roy Disney (brother of the late Walt Disney) who was inducted into the Knights of St. Gregory during the same ceremony with Fox Network owner Rupert Murdoch. ABC and Fox are both controlled by Rome through brother Knights of the Order of St. Gregory!
Monsanto Company History Overview
Monsanto is a US based agricultural and pharmaceutical monopoly, Monsanto Company is a producer of herbicides, prescription pharmaceutical drugs, and genetically engineered (GMO) seeds. The global Monsanto corporation has operated sales offices, manufacturing plants, and research facilities in more than 100 countries. Monsanto has the largest share of the global GMO crops market. In 2001 its crops accounted for 91% of the total area of GMO crops planted worldwide. Based on 2001 figures Monsanto was the second biggest seed company in the world, and the third biggest agrochemical company.
Historically Monsanto has been involved with the production of PCBs, DDT, dioxins and the defoliant / chemical weapon ‘Agent Orange' (sprayed on American troops and Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War). Originally a chemical company, Until the late 1990s Monsanto was a much larger ‘lifesciences' company whose business covered chemicals, polymers, food additives and pharmaceuticals, as well as agricultural products.
All of these other chemical business areas have now been demerged or sold off. Monsanto sold its chemical business in 1997 to build a presence in biotechnology, developing NON-ORGANIC GMO soybeans and corn (classified as a pesticide and banned in the EU) to resist the poisonous effects of its Roundup herbicide. Monsanto's key business areas are now agrochemicals, seeds and traits (including GMO crops), Monsanto also produced NutraSweet, a GMO sugar substitute. Monsanto recently sold it's GMO bovine growth hormones monopoly to Eli Lilly, and sold it's aspartame business to Pfizer.
Monsanto's business is currently run in two parts: Agricultural Productivity, and Seeds and Genomics. The Agricultural Productivity segment includes Roundup herbicide and other agri-chemicals, and the Animal Agriculture business. The Seeds and Genomics segment consists of seed companies and related biotechnology traits, and a technology platform based on plant genomics. In reality of course these two segments are inseparable, since the agri-chemicals are becoming increasingly dependent on the seeds segment for sales.
Monsanto's Early 20th-Century Origins
Monsanto traces its roots to John Francisco Queeny, a purchaser for a wholesale drug house at the turn of the century, who formed the Monsanto Chemical Works in St. Louis, Missouri, in order to produce the artificial sweetener saccharin for Coca-Cola.
John Francis Queeny (August 17, 1859 - March 19, 1933) started work at age 12 for a wholesale drug company,Tolman and King. He attended school for 6 years until the Great Chicago Fire forced him, at the age of 12, to look for full-time employment, which he found with Tolman and King for $2.50 per week.
In 1891, he moved to St. Louis to work for Meyer Brothers Drug Company. John was inducted into the Knights of Malta order. His first business, a sulfur refinery in East St.Louis, was destroyed by fire on its first day of operation in 1899. The process of refining beet sugar in 1900, led to Monsanto Corporation's first artificial sweetener, the following year. Butter substitute, MSG and partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening were all soon to follow.
John Francis Queeny married Olga Mendez Monsanto with whom he had two children, one of whom was Edgar Monsanto Queeny, who would later serve as Chairman. n 1901, John then established his own chemical company to produce the sweetener, saccharin, which was only available in Germany at that time. He named the company Monsanto after his wife´s maiden name, Olga Monsanto Queeny.
Queeny was a member of the Missouri Historical Society and was a director of the Lafayette-South Side Bank and Trust Company. "He was also known for his many philanthropic endeavors." [Final Resting Place, p. 83, The St. Louis Portrait, p. 221]
| World War I: Petrochemicals While prior to World War I America relied heavily on foreign supplies of chemicals, the increasing likelihood of U.S. intervention meant that the country would soon need its own domestic producer of chemicals. Looking back on the significance of the war for Monsanto, Queeny's son Edgar remarked, "There was no choice other than to improvise, to invent and to find new ways of doing all the old things. The old dependence on Europe [Hitler's IG Farben in Nazi Germany] was, almost overnight, a thing of the past." Among other problems, Monsanto researchers discovered that pages describing German chemical processes had been ripped out of library books. Monsanto developed severalpharmaceutical products, including phenol as an antiseptic, in addition to acetylsalicyclic acid, or aspirin. Under Edgar Queeny's direction Monsanto, now the Monsanto Chemical Company, began to substantially expand and enter into an era of prolonged growth. Acquisitions expanded Monsanto's product line to include the new field ofpetrochemical plastics and the manufacture of phosphorus. |
| Postwar Expansion & New Leadership Largely unknown by the public, Monsanto experienced difficulties in attempting to market consumer goods. However, attempts to refine a low-quality detergent led to developments in grass fertilizer, an important consumer product since the postwar housing boom had created a strong market of homeowners eager to perfect their lawns. Under Hanley, Monsanto more than doubled its sales and earnings between 1972 and 1983. Toward the end of his tenure, Hanley put into effect a promise he had made to himself and to Monsanto when he accepted the position of president, namely, that his successor would be chosen from Monsanto's ranks. Hanley and his staff chose approximately 20 young executives as potential company leaders and began preparing them for the head position at Monsanto. Among them wasRichard J. Mahoney. When Hanley joined Monsanto, Mahoney was a young sales director in agricultural products. In 1983 Hanley turned the leadership of the company over to Mahoney. Wall Street immediately approved this decision with an increase in Monsanto's share prices. |
| 1976, Monsanto announced plans to phase out production of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). In 1979 a lawsuit was filed against Monsanto and other manufacturers of agent orange, a defoliant used during theVietnam War. Agent orange contained a highly-toxic chemical known as dioxin, and the suit claimed that hundreds of veterans had suffered permanent damage because of the chemical. In 1984 Monsanto and seven other manufacturers agreed to a $180 million settlement just before the trial began. With the announcement of a settlement Monsanto's share price, depressed because of the uncertainty over the outcome of the trial, rose substantially. Also in 1984, Monsanto lost a $10 million antitrust suit to Spray-Rite, a former distributor of Monsanto agricultural herbicides. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the suit and award, finding that Monsanto had acted to fix retail prices with other herbicide manufacturers. In August 1985, Monsanto purchased G. D. Searle, the "NutraSweet" firm. NutraSweet, an artificial sweetener, had generated $700 million in sales that year, and Searle could offer Monsanto an experienced marketing and a sales staff as well as real profit potential - not to mention the fact that Searle's CEO Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was well-connected among a cabal of corrupt politicians in Washington DC. Since the late 1970s the company had sold nearly 60 low-margin businesses and, with two important agriculture product patents expiring in 1988, a major new cash source was more than welcome. What Monsanto didn't count on, however, was the controversy surrounding Searle's intrauterine birth control device called the Copper-7. Soon after the acquisition, disclosures about hundreds of lawsuits over Searle's IUD surfaced and turned Monsanto's takeover into a public relations disaster. The disclosures, which inevitably led to comparisons with those about A. H. Robins, the Dalkan Shield manufacturer that eventually declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, raised questions as to how carefully Monsanto management had considered the acquisition. In early 1986 Searle discontinued IUD sales in the United States. By 1988 Monsanto's new subsidiary faced an estimated 500 lawsuits against the Copper-7 IUD. As the parent company, Monsanto was well insulated from its subsidiary's liabilities by the legal "corporate veil". Toward the end of the 1980s, Monsanto faced continued challenges from a variety of sources, including government and public concern over hazardous wastes, fuel and feedstock costs, and import competition. At the end of the 99th Congress, then President Ronald Reagan signed a $8.5 billion, five-year cleanup superfund reauthorization act. Built into the financing was a surcharge on the chemical industry created through the tax reform bill. Biotechnology regulations were just being formulated, and Monsanto, which already had types of genetically engineered bacteriaready for testing, was poised to be an active participant in the GMO biotech field. In keeping with its strategy to become a leader in the health field, Monsanto and the Washington University Medical School entered into a five-year research contract in 1984. Two-thirds of the research was to be directed into areas with obviously commercial applications, while one-third of the research was to be devoted to theoretical work. One particularly promising discovery involved the application of the bovine growth factor, MARKETED as a way to greatlyincrease milk production. In the burgeoning low-calorie sweetener market, challengers to NutraSweet were putting pressure on Monsanto. Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical company, was preparing to market its product, called alitame, which it claimed was far sweeter than NutraSweet and better suited for baking. In an interview with Business Week, senior vice-president for research and development Howard Schneidermancommented, "To maintain our markets - and not become another steel industry - we must spend on research and development." Monsanto, which has committed 8% of its operating budget to research and development, far above the industry average, hoped to emerge in the 1990s as one of the leaders in the fields of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals that are only now emerging from their nascent stage. By the end of the 1980s, Monsanto had restructured itself and become a producer of specialty chemicals, with a focus on biotechnology products. Monsanto enjoyed consecutive record years in 1988 and 1989 - sales were $8.3 billion and $8.7 billion, respectively. In 1988 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Cytotec, a drug that prevents gastric ulcers in high-risk cases. Sales of Cytotec in the United States reached $39 million in 1989. The Monsanto Chemical Co. unit prospered with products like Saflex, a type of nylon carpet fiber. The NutraSweet Company held its own in 1989, contributing $180 million in earnings, with growth in the carbonated beverage segment (which Monsanto originated from since 1901 seed money from Coca-Cola to produce carcinogenic Saccharin). Almost 500 new products containing NutraSweet were introduced in 1989, for a total of 3,000 products. Monsanto continued to invest heavily in research and development, with 7% of sales allotted for R&D. The investment began to pay off when the research and development department developed an all-natural fat substitute called Simplesse. The FDA declared in early 1990 that the Simplesse product was "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) for use in frozen desserts. That year, the NutraSweet Company introduced Simple Pleasures frozen dairy dessert. Monsanto hoped to see Simplesse used eventually in salad dressings, yogurt, and mayonnaise. Despite these successes, Monsanto remained frustrated by delays in obtaining FDA approval for bovine somatotropin (BST), a hormore chemical MARKETED to increase milk production in cows that causes mastitis (pus milk). Opponents toBST said it would upset the balance of supply and demand for milk, but Monsanto countered that BST would provide high-quality food supplies to consumers worldwide. The final year of the 1980s also marked Monsanto's listing for the first time on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Monsanto officials expected the listing to improve opportunities for licensing and joint venture agreements. |
| Monsanto's Early 1990s Transitional Period Monsanto had expected to celebrate 1990 as its 5th consecutive year of increased earnings, but numerous factors - theincreased price of OIL due to the Persian Gulf War, a recession in key industries in the United States, and droughts in California and Europe — prevented Monsanto from achieving this goal. Net income was $546 million, a dramatic drop from the record of $679 the previous year. Nonetheless, subsidiary Searle, which had experienced considerable public relations scandals and headaches in the 1980s, had a record financial year in 1990. The subsidiary had established itself in the global pharmaceutical market and was beginning to emerge as an industry leader. The Monsanto Chemical Co., meanwhile, was a $4 billion business that made up the largest percentage of Monsanto's sales. Monsanto continued to work at upholding hypocritical "The Monsanto Pledge", a 1988 declaration to reduce emissions of toxic substances. By its own estimates, Monsanto devoted $285 million annually to environmental expenditures. Furthermore, Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to a cleanup program at Monsanto'sdetergent and phosphate plant in Richmond County, Georgia. Monsanto restructured during the early 1990s to help cut losses during a difficult economic time. Net income in 1991 was only $296 million, $250 million less than the previous year. Despite this showing, 1991 was a good year for some of Monsanto's newest products. Bovine somatotropin finally gained FDA approval and was sold in Mexico and Brazil, and Monsanto received the go-ahead to use the fat substitute, Simplesse, in a full range of food products, including yogurt, cheese and cheese spreads, and other low-fat spreads. In addition, the herbicide Dimension was approved in 1991, and scientists at Monsanto controversially tested genetically engineered (GE or GMO) plants in field trials. Furthermore, Monsanto expanded internationally, opening an office in Shanghai and a plant in Beijing, China. Monsanto also hoped to expand in Thailand, and entered into a joint venture in Japan with Mitsubishi Chemical Co. Monsanto's sales in 1992 hit $7.8 million. However, as net income dropped 130% from 1991 due to several one-time aftertax charges, Monsanto prepared itself for challenging times. The patent on NutraSweet brand sweetener expired in 1992, and in preparation for increased competition, Monsanto launched new products, such as the NutraSweet Spoonful, which came in tabletop serving jars, like sugar. Monsanto also devoted ongoing research and development toSweetener 2000, a high-intensity product. In 1992, Monsanto denied that it planned to sell G. D. Searle and Co., pointing out that Searle was a profitable subsidiary that launched many new products. However, to decrease losses, Monsanto did sell Fisher Controls International Inc., a subsidiary that manufactures process control equipment. Profits from the sale were used to buy the Ortho lawn-and-garden business from Chevron Chemical Co. |
| Monsanto Reinvents Itself in the 1990s Monsanto expected to see growth in its agricultural, chemical, and biotechnological divisions. In 1993, Monsanto andNTGargiulo joined forces to produce a (GMO) genetically altered tomato. As the decade progressed, biotechnologyplayed an increasingly important role, eventually emerging as the focal point of Monsanto's operations. The foray intobiotechnology, begun in the mid-1980s with a $150-million investment in a genetic engineering lab in Chesterfield, Missouri, had been faithfully supported by further investments in the ensuing years. Monsanto's efforts finally yielded tangible success in 1993, when BST was approved for commercial sale after a frustratingly slow FDA approval process. In the coming years, the development of further biotech products moved to the forefront of Monsanto's activities, ushering in a period of profound change. Fittingly, the sweeping, strategic alterations to Monsanto's focus were preceded by a change in leadership, making the last decade of the 20th century one of the most dynamic eras in Monsanto's history. Toward the end of 1994, Mahoney announced his retirement, effective the following year in March 1995. As part of the same announcement, Mahoney revealed that Robert B. Shapiro, Monsanto's president and chief operating officer, would be elected by Monsanto's board of directors as his successor. Shapiro, who had joined Searle in 1979 before being named executive vice-president of Monsanto in 1990, did not waver from exerting his influence over the company he now found himself presiding over. At the time of his promotion, Shapiro inherited a company that ranked as the largest domestic ACRYLIC manufacturer in the world, generating $3 billion of its $7.9 billion in total revenues from chemical-related sales. This dominant side of Monsanto's business, representing the foundation upon which it had been built, was eliminated under Shapiro's stewardship, replaced by a resolute commitment to biotech. Between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, Monsanto had spent approximately $1 billion on developing its biotechbusiness. Although biotech was regarded as a commercially unproven market by some industry analysts, Shapiro pressed forward with the research and development of biotech products, and by the beginning of 1996 he was ready to launchMonsanto's first biotech product line. Monsanto began marketing herbicide-tolerant GMO soybeans, genetically engineered to resist Monsanto's PATENTED Roundup herbicide, and insect-resistant GMO BT cotton, beginning with 2,000,000 acres of both crops. By the fall of 1996, there were early indications that the first harvests of genetically engineered crops were performing better than expected (yet WORSE results than traditional and organic crops). News of the encouraging results prompted Shapiro to make a startling announcement in October 1996, when he revealed that Monsanto was considering divesting its chemical business as part of a major reorganization into a life-sciences company. By the end of 1996, when Shapiro announced he would spin-off the chemical operations as a separate company, Monsanto faced a future without its core business, a $3 billion contributor to Monsanto's annual revenue volume. Without the chemical operations, Monsanto would be reduced to an approximately $5-billion company deriving half its sales fromagricultural products and the rest from pharmaceuticals and food ingredients, but Shapiro did not intend to leave it as such. He foresaw an aggressive push into biotech products, a move that industry pundits generally perceived as astute. "It would be a gamble if they didn't do it," commented one analyst in reference to the proposed divestiture. "Monsanto is trying to transform itself into a high-growth agricultural and life sciences company. Low-growth cyclical chemical operations do not fit that bill." Spurring Shapiro toward this sweeping reinvention of Monsanto were enticing forecasts for the market growth of plant biotech products. A $450 million business in 1995, the market for plant biotech products was expected to reach $2 billion by 2000 and $6 billion by 2005. Shapiro wanted to dominate this fast-growing market as it matured by shaping Monsanto into what he described as the main provider of "Agricultural Biotechnology". As preparations were underway for the spin-off of Monsanto's chemical operations into a new, publicly owned company named Solutia Inc., Shapiro was busy filling the void created by the departure of Monsanto's core business. A flurry of acquisitions completed between 1995-1997 greatly increased Monsanto's presence in life sciences, quickly compensating for the revenue lost from the spin-off of Solutia. Among the largest acquisitions were Calgene, Inc., a leader in plant biotech, which was acquired in a two-part transaction in 1995 and 1997, and a 40% interest in Dekalb Genetics Corp., the second-largest seed-corn company in the United States. In 1998, Monsanto acquired the rest ofDeKalb, paying $2.3 billion for the Illinois-based company. By the end of the 1990s, Monsanto bore only partial resemblance to the Monsanto company that entered the decade. Theacquisition campaign that added dozens of biotechnology companies to its portfolio had created a new, dominant force in the promising life sciences field, placing Monsanto in a position to reap massive rewards in the years ahead. For example, a rootworm-resistant strain under development had the potential to save $1 billion worth of damages to corn crops per year. Monsanto's pharmaceutical business also faced a promising future, highlighted by the introduction of a new arthritis medication named Celebrex in 1999. During its first year, Celebrex registered a record number of prescriptions. As Monsanto entered the 21st century, however, there were two uncertainties that loomed as potentially serious obstacles blocking its future success. The acquisition campaign of the mid- and late-1990s had greatly increased Monsanto's debt, forcing Monsanto to desperately search for cash. Secondly, there was growing opposition to genetically altered crops at the decade's conclusion, prompting the United Kingdom to ban the yields from GMO crops for a year. A great part of Monsanto's future success depended on the resolution of these two issues. |
Timeline of Monsanto's Dark History
| 1901: Monsanto was founded in St. Louis, Missouri by John Francis Queeny, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. Queeny funded the start-up with capital from Coca-Cola (saccharin). Founder John Francis Queeny namedMonsanto Chemical Works after his wife, Olga Mendez Monsanto. Queeny's father in law was Emmanuel Mendes de Monsanto, wealthy financier of a sugar company active in Vieques, Puerto Rico and based in St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies. 1902: Monsanto manufactures its first product, the artificial sweetener Saccharin, which Monsanto sold to the Coca-Cola Company. The U.S. government later files suit over the safety of Saccharin - but loses. 1904: Queeny persuaded family and friends to invest $15000, Monsanto has strong ties to The Walt Disney Company, it having financial backing from the Order's Bank of America founded in Jesuit-ruled San Francisco by Italian-AmericanRoman-Catholic Knight of Malta Amadeo Giannini. 1905: Monsanto company was also producing caffeine and vanillin and was beginning to turn a profit. 1906: The government's monopoly on meat regulation began, when in response to public panic resulting from the publication of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Teddy Roosevelt signed legislation mandating federal meat inspections. Today, Salatin claims that agricultural regulation favors multinational corporations such as ConAgra and Monsanto because the treasonous science that supports the USDA regulatory framework is paid for by these corporations, which continue to give large grants to leading schools and research facilities. 1908: John Francis Queeny leaves his part-time job as the new branch manager of another drug house the Powers-Weightman-Rosegarten Company to become Monsanto's full-time president. 1912: Agriculture again came to the forefront with the creation of the DeKalb County Farm Bureau, one of the first organizations of its kind. In the 1930s the DeKalb AgResearch Corporation (today MONSANTO) marketed its first hybrid seed corn. 1914–1918: During WWI, cut off from imported European chemicals, Monsanto was forced to manufacture it's own, and it's position as a leading force in the chemical industry was assured. Unable to import foreign supplies from Europe during World War I, Queeny turned to manufacturing his own raw materials. It was then his scientists discovered that the Germans, in anticipation of the war, had ripped out vital pages from their research books which explained various chemical processes. 1915: Business expanded rapidly. Monsanto sales surpass the $1,000,000 mark for the first time. 1917: U.S. government sues Monsanto over the safety of Monsanto's original product, saccharin. Monsanto eventually won, after several years in court. 1917: Monsanto added more and more products: vanillin, caffeine, and drugs used as sedatives and laxatives. 1917: Bayer, The German competition cut prices in an effort to drive Monsanto out of business, but failed. Soon, Monsanto diversified into phenol (a World War I -era antiseptic), and aspirin when Bayer's German patent expired in 1917. Monsanto began making aspirin, and soon became the largest manufacturer world-wide. 1918: With the purchase of an Illinois acid company, Monsanto began to widen the scope of its factory operations. Mar 15, 1918: More than 500 of the 750 employees of the Monsanto Chemical Works, which has big contracts for the Government, went on strike, forcing the plant to dose down. Aug 15, 1919: Thereafter much of it was declared surplus, and a contract was entered into with the Monsanto Chemical Co., of St. Louis, Mo., by which contract the Director of Sales authorized the Monsanto Co. to sell for the United States its surplus phenol, estimated at 27521242 pounds, for a market price to be fixed from time to time by the representative of the contracting officer of the United States, but with a minimum price of 9 cents a pound. 1919: Monsanto established its presence in Europe by entering into a partnership with Graesser's Chemical Works at Cefn Mawr near Ruabon, Wales to produce vanillin, salicylic acid, aspirin and later rubber. This site was later sold and closed in 2010 |
| 1920s: In its third decade, Monsanto expanded into basic industrial chemicals like sulfuric acid and other chemicals. Jan 5, 1920: The petitioner was authorized to sell two tracts of land in the Common Fields of Cahokia, St. Clair County, containing 2.403 acres and 3.46 acres respectively, to the Monsanto Chemical Works for the sum of $1500. 1920-1921: A postwar depression during the early 1920s affected profits, but by the time John Queeny turned over Monsanto to Edgar in 1928 the financial situation was much brighter. 1926: Environmental policy was generally governed by local governments, Monsanto Chemical Company founded and incorporated the town of Monsanto, later renamed Sauget, Illinois, to provide a more business friendly environment for one of its chemical plants. For years, the Monsanto plant in Sauget was the nation's largest producer ofpolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). And although polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were banned in the 1970s, they remain in the water along Dead Creek in Sauget. 1927: Monsanto had over 2,000 employees, with offices across the country and in England. 1927: Shortly after its initial listing on the New York Stock Exchange, Monsanto moved to acquire 2 chemical companies that specialized in rubber. Other chemicals were added in later years, including detergents. 1928: John Queeny's son Edgar Monsanto Queeny takes over the Monsanto company. Monsanto had gone public, a move that paved the way for future expansion. At this time, Monsanto had 55 shareholders, 1,000 employees, and owned a small company in Britain. 1929: Monsanto acquires Rubber Services Laboratories. Charlie Sommer joined Monsanto, and later became president of Monsanto in 1960. October 1929: The folks at Monsanto Co. fished through their records, but they couldn't find out why the company's symbol is MTC. Monsanto went public in October 1929, just a few days before the great stock market crash. Some symbols are holdovers from the 19th century, when telegraph operators used single-letter symbols for the most active stocks to conserve wire space, says the New York Stock Exchange. Mergers, acquisitions and failure have caused many single-letter symbols to change 1929: Monsanto began production of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in the United States. PCBs were considered an industrial wonder chemical - an oil that would not burn, was impervious to degradation and had almost limitless applications. Today PCBs are considered one of the gravest chemical threats on the planet. PCBs, widely used as lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cutting oils, waterproof coatings and liquid sealants, are potent carcinogens and have been implicated in reproductive, developmental and immune system disorders. The world's center of PCB manufacturing was Monsanto's plant on the outskirts of East St. Louis, Illinois, which has the highest rate of fetal death and immature births in the state. Monsanto produced PCBs for over 50 years and they are now virtually omnipresent in the blood and tissues of humans and wildlife around the globe - from the polar bears at the north pole to the penguins in Antarctica. These days PCBs are banned from production and some experts say there should be no acceptable level of PCBs allowed in the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says, "PCB has been demonstrated to cause cancer, as well as a variety of other adverse health effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system and endocrine system." But the evidence of widespread contamination from PCBs and related chemicals has been accumulating from 1965 onwards and internal company papers show that Monsanto knew about the PCB dangers from early on. The PCB problem was particularly severe in the town of Anniston in Alabama where discharges from the local Monsanto plant meant residents developed PCB levels hundreds or thousands of times the average. As The Washington Post reported, "for nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste into a west Anniston creek and dumped millions of pounds of PCBs into oozing open-pit landfills. And thousands of pages of Monsanto documents : many emblazoned with warnings such as 'CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroy' : show that for decades, the corporate giant concealed what it did and what it knew." Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group says that based on the Monsanto documents made public, Monsanto "knew the truth from the very beginning. They lied about it. They hid the truth from their neighbors." One Monsanto memo explains their justification: "We can't afford to lose one dollar of business." Eventually Monsanto was found guilty of conduct "so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency so as to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society". |
| 1930s: DeKalb AgResearch Corporation (today MONSANTO) marketed its first **HYBRID** seed corn (maize). 1933: Incorporated as Monsanto Chemical Company 1934: "I recognized my two selves: a crusading idealist and a cold, granitic believer in the law of the jungle" - Edgar Monsanto Queeny, Monsanto chairman, 1943-63, "The Spirit of Enterprise" 1935: Edward O'Neal (who became chairperson in 1964) came to Monsanto with the acquisition of the Swann Corporation. Monsanto goes into the soap and detergents industry, starts producing phosphorus. 1938: Monsanto goes into the plastic business (the year after DuPont helped ban hemp because it was superior to their new NYLON product made from Rockefeller OIL). Monsanto became involved in plastics when it completely took overFiberloid, one of the oldest nitrocellulose production companies, which had a 50% stake in Shawinigan Resins. 1939: Monsanto purchased Resinox, a subsidiary of Corn Products, and Commercial Solvents, which specialized inphenolic resins. Thus, just before the war, Monsanto's plastics interests included phenol-formaldehyde thermosetting resins, cellulose and vinyl plastics. 1939-1945: Monsanto conducts research on uranium for the Manhattan Project in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Charles Thomas, who later served as Monsanto's chairman of the board, was present at the first test explosion of the atomic bomb. During World War II, Monsanto played a significant role in the Manhattan Project to develop the atom bomb. Monsanto operated the Dayton Project, and later Mound Laboratories in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Manhattan Project, thedevelopment of the first nuclear weapons and, after 1947, the Atomic Energy Commission. |
| 1940s: Monsanto had begun focusing on plastics and synthetic fabrics like polystyrene (still widely used in food packaging and other consumer products), which is ranked 5th in the EPA's 1980s listing of chemicals whose production generates the most total hazardous waste. From the 1940s onwards Monsanto was one of the top 10 US chemical companies. 1941: By the time the United States entered World War II, the domestic chemical industry had attained far greater independence from Europe. Monsanto, strengthened by its several acquisitions, was also prepared to produce such strategic materials as phosphates and inorganic chemicals. Most important was Monsanto's acquisition of a research and development laboratory called Thomas and Hochwalt. The well-known Dayton, Ohio, firm strengthened Monsanto at the time and provided the basis for some of its future achievements in chemical technology. One of its most important discoveries was styrene monomer, a key ingredient in synthetic rubber and a crucial product for the armed forces during the war. Edward J. Bock joined Monsanto in 1941 as an engineer - he rose through the ranks to become a member of the board of directors in 1965 and president in 1968. 1943: Massive Texas City plant starts producing synthetic rubber for the Allies in World War II. 1944: Monsanto began manufacturing DDT, along with some 15 other companies. The use of DDT in the U.S. was banned by Congress in 1972. 1945: Following WW2, Monsanto championed the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture, and began manufacturing theherbicide 2,4,5-T, which contains dioxin. Monsanto has been accused of covering up or failing to report dioxin contamination in a wide range of its products. 1949: Monsanto acquired American Viscose from England's Courtauld family. |
| 1950: Monsanto began to produce urethane foam - which was flexible, easy to use, and later became crucial in making automobile interiors. 1953: Toxicity tests on the effects of 2 PCBs showed that more than 50% of the rats subjected to them DIED, and ALLof them showed damage. 1954: Monsanto partnered with German chemical giant Bayer to form Mobay and market polyurethanes in the USA. 1955: Monsanto acquired Lion Oil refinery, increasing its assets by more than 50%. Stockholders during this time numbered 43,000. Monsanto starts producing petroleum-based fertilizer. 1957: Monsanto moved to the suburban community of Creve Coeur, having finally outgrown its headquarters in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. 1957-1967: Monsanto was the creator of several attractions in Disney's Tommorrowland. Often they revolved around the the virtues of chemicals and plastics. Their "House of the Future" was constructed entirely of plastic, but it was NOT biodegradable. "After attracting a total of 20 million visitors from 1957 to 1967, Disney finally tore the house down, but discovered it would not go down without a fight. According to Monsanto Magazine, wrecking balls literally bounced off the glass-fiber, reinforced polyester material. Torches, jackhammers, chain saws and shovels did not work. Finally, choker cables were used to squeeze off parts of the house bit by bit to be trucked away." 1959: Monsanto sets up Monsanto Electronics Co. in Palo Alto, begins producing ultra-pure silicon for the high-tech industry, in an area which would later become a Superfund site. |
| 1960: Edgar Queeny turned over the chair of Monsanto to Charles Thomas, one of the founders of the research and development laboratory so important to Monsanto. Charlie Sommer, who had joined Monsanto in 1929, became president. According to Monsanto historian Dan Forrestal, "Leadership during the 1960s and early 1970s came principally from ... executives whose Monsanto roots ran deep." Under their combined leadership Monsanto saw several important developments, including the establishment of the Agricultural Chemicals division with focus on herbicides, created to consolidate Monsanto's diverse agrichemical product lines. 1961-1971: Agent Orange was a mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D and had very high concentrations of dioxin. Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the Herbicidal Warfare program as a defoliant during the Vietnam War. Monsanto became one of 10-36 producers of Agent Orange for US Military operations in Vietnam. Dow Chemical and Monsanto were the two largest producers of Agent Orange for the U.S. military. The Agent Orange produced by Monsanto had dioxin levels many times higher than that produced by Dow Chemicals, the other major supplier of Agent Orange to Vietnam. This made Monsanto the key defendant in the lawsuit brought by Vietnam War veterans in the United States, who faced an array of debilitating symptoms attributable to Agent Orange exposure. Agent Orange is later linked to various health problems, including cancer. U.S. Vietnam War veterans have suffered from a host of debilitating symptoms attributable to Agent Orange exposure. Agent Orange contaminated more than 3,000,000 civilians and servicemen. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, plus 500,000 children born with birth defects, leading to calls for Monsanto to be prosecuted for war crimes. Internal Monsanto memos show that Monsanto knew of the problems of dioxin contamination of Agent Orange when it sold it to the U.S. government for use in Vietnam. Look at what the "EFFECTS" of agent orange look like... keep in mind it was used to remove leaves from the trees where AMERICAN SOLDIERS were breathing, eating, sleeping. 1962: Public concern over the environment began to escalate. Ralph Nader's activities and Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring had been influential in increasing the U.S. public's awareness of activities within the chemical industry in the 1960s, and Monsanto responded in several ways to the pressure. 1962: Monsanto's European expansion continued, with Brussels becoming the permanent overseas headquarters. 1964: Monsanto changed its name to Monsanto Company in acknowledgment of its diverse product line. The company consisted of 8 divisions, including petroleum, fibers, building materials, and packaging. Edward O'Neal became chairperson (came to Monsanto in 1935 with the acquisition of the Swann Corporation) was the first chair in Monsanto history who had not first held the post of president. 1964: Monsanto introduced "biodegradable" detergents. 1965: While working on an ulcer drug in December, James M. Schlatter, a chemist at G.D. Searle & Company, accidentally discovers aspartame, a substance that is 180x sweeter than sugar yet has no calories. 1965: AstroTurf (fake grass) was co-invented by Donald L. Elbert, James M. Faria, and Robert T. Wright, employees ofMonsanto Company. It was patented in 1967 and originally sold under the name "Chemgrass". It was renamed AstroTurf by Monsanto employee John A. Wortmann after its first well-publicized use at the Houston Astrodome stadium in 1966. 1965: The evidence of widespread contamination from PCBs and related chemicals has been accumulating and internal Monsanto papers show that Monsanto knew about the PCB dangers from early on. 1967: Monsanto entered into a joint venture with IG Farben = the German chemical firm that was the financial core of the Hitler regime, and was the main supplier of Zyklon-B gas to the German government during the extermination phase of the Holocaust; IG Farben was not dissolved until 2003. 1967: Searle began the safety tests on aspartame that were necessary for applying for FDA approval of food additives. Dr. Harold Waisman, a biochemist at the University of Wisconsin, conducts aspartame safety tests on infant monkeys on behalf of the Searle Company. Of the 7 monkeys that were being fed aspartame mixed with milk, 1 monkey DIED and 5 other monkeys had grand mal seizures. 1968: Edgar Queeny dies, leaving no heirs. Edward J. Bock (who had joined Monsanto in 1941 as an engineer) become a member of the board of directors in 1965, and became president of Monsanto in 1968. 1968: With experts at Monsanto in no doubt that Monsanto's PCBs were responsible for contamination, Monsanto set up a committee to assess its options. In a paper distributed to only 12 people but which surfaced at the trial in 2002, Monsanto admitted "that the evidence proving the persistence of these compounds and their universal presence as residues in the environment is beyond question ... the public and legal pressures to eliminate them to prevent global contamination are inevitable". Monsanto papers seen by The Guardian newspaper reveal near panic. "The subject is snowballing. Where do we go from here? The alternatives: go out of business; sell the hell out of them as long as we can and do nothing else; try to stay in business; have alternative products", wrote the recipient of one paper. 1968: Monsanto became the first organization to mass-produce visible LEDs, using gallium arsenide phosphide to produce red LEDs suitable for indicators. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) ushered in the era of solid-state lights. From 1968 to 1970, sales doubled every few months. Their products (discrete LEDs and seven-segment numeric displays) became the standards of industry. The primary markets then were electronic calculators, digital watches, and digital clocks. 1969: High overhead costs and a sluggish national economy led to a dramatic 29% decrease in earnings. 1969: Monsanto wrote a confidential Pollution Abatement Plan which admitted that "the problem involves the entire United States, Canada and sections of Europe, especially the UK and Sweden". 1969: Monsanto produces Lasso herbicide, better known as Agent Orange, which was used as defoliant by the U.S. Government during the Vietnam War. "[Lasso's] success turns around the struggling Agriculture Division," Monsanto's web page reads. |
| 1970s: Monsanto was a pioneer of optoelectronics in the 1970s. Although Bock had a reputation for being a committed Monsanto executive, several factors contributed to his volatile term as president. Sales were up in 1970, but Bock's implementation of the 1971 reorganization caused a significant amount of friction among members of the board and senior management. In spite of the fact that this move, in which Monsanto separated the management of raw materials from Monsanto's subsidiaries, was widely praised by security analysts, Bock resigned from the presidency in February 1972. 1970: Cyclamate (the reigning low-calorie artificial sweetener) is pulled off the market in November after some scientists associate it with cancer. Questions are also raised about safety of saccharin, the only other artificial sweetener on the market, leaving the field wide open for aspartame. December 18, 1970: Searle Company executives lay out a "Food and Drug Sweetener Strategy" that they feel will put the FDA into a positive frame of mind about aspartame. An internal policy memo describes psychological tactics Monsanto should use to bring the FDA into a subconscious spirit of participation" with them on aspartame and get FDA regulators into the "habit of saying Yes." 1971: Neuroscientist Dr. John Olney (whose pioneering work with monosodium glutamate MSG was responsible for having it removed from baby foods) informs Searle that his studies show that aspartic acid (one of the ingredients of aspartame)caused holes in the brains of infant mice. One of Searle's own researchers confirmed Dr. Olney's findings in a similar study. 1972: The use of DDT was banned by U.S. Congress, due in large part to efforts by environmentalists, who persisted in the challenge put forth by Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring in 1962, which sought to inform the public of the side effects associated with the insecticide, which had been much-welcomed in the fight against malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. 1973: Monsanto developed and patented the glyphosate molecule in the 1970s. Monsanto began manufacturing the herbicide Roundup, which has been marketed as a "safe", general-purpose herbicide for widespread commercial and consumer use, even though its key ingredient, glyphosate, is a highly toxic poison for animals and humans. 1973: After spending tens of millions of dollars conducting safety tests, the G.D. Searle Company applies for FDA approval and submits over 100 studies they claim support aspartame's safety. One of the first FDA scientists to review the aspartame safety data states that "the information provided (by Searle) is inadequate to permit an evaluation of thepotential toxicity of aspartame". She says in her report that in order to be certain that aspartame is safe, further clinical tests are needed. 1974: Attorney Jim Turner (consumer advocate who was instrumental in getting cyclamate taken off the market) meets with Searle representatives in May to discuss Dr. Olney's 1971 study which showed that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of infant mice. 1974: The FDA grants aspartame its first approval for restricted use in dry foods on July 26. 1974: Jim Turner and Dr. John Olney file the first objections against aspartame's approval in August. 1975: After a 9-month search, John W. Hanley, a former executive with Procter & Gamble, was chosen as president. Hanley also took over as chairperson. 1976: The success of the herbicide Lasso had turned around Monsanto's struggling Agriculture Division, and by the time Agent Orange was banned in the U.S. and Lasso was facing increasing criticism, Monsanto had developed the weedkiller "Roundup" (active ingredient: glyphosate) as a replacement. Launched in 1976, Roundup helped make Monsanto the world's largest producer of herbicides. RoundUp was commercialized, and became the world's top-selling herbicide. Within a few years of its 1976 launch, Roundup was being marketed in 115 countries. The success of Roundup coincided with the recognition by Monsanto executives that they needed to radically transform a company increasingly under threat. According to a recent paper by Dominic Glover, "Monsanto had acquired a particularly unenviable reputation in this regard, as a major producer of both dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - bothpersistent environmental pollutants posing serious risks to the environment and human health. Law suits and environmental clean-up costs began to cut into Monsanto's bottom line, but more seriously there was a real fear that a serious lapse could potentially bankrupt the company." According to Glover, Roundup "Sales grew by 20% in 1981 and as the company increased production it was soon Monsanto's most profitable product (Monsanto 1981, 1983)... It soon became the single most important product of Monsanto's agriculture division, which contributed about 20% of sales and around 45% of operating income to the company's balance sheet each year during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Today, glyphosate remains the world's biggest herbicide by volume of sales." 1976: Monsanto produces Cycle-Safe, the world's first plastic soft-drink bottle. The bottle, suspected of posing acancer risk, is banned the following year by the Food and Drug Administration. 1976: Turner & Olney's petition on March 24 triggers an FDA investigation of the laboratory practices of aspartame's manufacturer, G.D. Searle. The investigation finds Searle's testing procedures shoddy, full of inaccuracies and "manipulated" test data. The investigators report they "had never seen anything as bad as Searle's testing." January 10, 1977: The FDA formally requests the U.S. Attorney's office to begin grand jury proceedings to investigate whether indictments should be filed against Searle for knowingly misrepresenting findings and "concealing material facts and making false statements" in aspartame safety tests. This is the first time in the FDA's history that they request a criminal investigation of a manufacturer. January 26, 1977: While the grand jury probe is underway, Sidley & Austin, the law firm representing Searle, begins job negotiations with the U.S. Attorney in charge of the investigation, Samuel Skinner. March 8, 1977: G. D. Searle hires prominent Washington insiderDonald Rumsfeld as the new CEO to try to turn the beleaguered company around. A former Member of Congress and Secretary of Defense in the Ford Administration, Rumsfeld brings in several of his Washington cronies as top management. Donald Rumsfeld followed Searle as CEO, and then as President of Searle from 1977-1985. July 1, 1977: Samuel Skinner leaves the U.S. Attorney's office on July 1st and takes a job with Searle's law firm. (see Jan. 26th) August 1, 1977: The Bressler Report, compiled by FDA investigators and headed by Jerome Bressler, is released. The report finds that 98 of the 196 animals died during one of Searle's studies and weren't autopsied until later dates, in some cases over one year after death. Many other errors and inconsistencies are noted. For example, a rat was reported alive, then dead, then alive, then dead again; a mass, a uterine polyp, and ovarian neoplasms were found in animals but not reported or diagnosed in Searle's reports. December 8, 1977: U.S. Attorney Skinner's withdrawal and resignation stalls the Searle grand jury investigation for so long that the statue of limitations on the aspartame charges runs out. The grand jury investigation is dropped. (borderline treason) 1979: The FDA established a Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) in June to rule on safety issues surrounding NutraSweet. |
| 1980: September 30, FDA Board of Inquiry comprised of 3 independent scientists, confirmed that aspartame "might induce brain tumors". The Public Board of Inquiry concludes NutraSweet should not be approved pending further investigations of brain tumors in animals. The board states it "has NOT been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive." The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (Ford's Secretary of Defense 1975-1977, Bush's Secretary of Defense 2001-2006) vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved in 1981. 1980: Monsanto established the Edgar Monsanto Queeny safety award in honor of its former CEO (1928–1960), to encourage accident prevention. January 1981: Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle, states in a sales meeting that he is going to make a big push to getaspartame approved within the year. Rumsfeld says he will use his political pull in Washington, rather than scientific means, to make sure it gets approved. May 19, 1981: 3 of 6 in-house FDA scientists who were responsible for reviewing the brain tumor issues, Dr. Robert Condon, Dr. Satya Dubey, and Dr. Douglas Park, advise against approval of NutraSweet, stating on the record that the Searle tests are unreliable and not adequate to determine the safety of aspartame. 1981: Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United States. Reagan's transition team, which includes Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of G. D. Searle, hand picksDr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. to be the new FDA Commissioner. On January 21, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, GD Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan's new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision. It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a 6th member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He thenpersonally broke the tie in aspartame's favor. Hull later left the FDA underallegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time Hull has never spoken publicly about aspartame. July 15, 1981: In one of his first official acts, Dr. Arthur Hayes Jr., the new FDA commissioner, overrules the Public Board of Inquiry, ignores the recommendations of his own internal FDA team and approves NutraSweet for dry products. Hayes says that aspartame has been shown to be safe for its' proposed uses and says few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated close scrutiny. G.D. Searle gets FDA approval for aspartame(NutraSweet). Monsanto completes its acquisition of Searle in 1985. 1982: Monsanto GMO scientists genetically modify a plant cell for the first time! 1982: Some 2,000 people are relocated from Times Beach, Missouri, which was found to be so thoroughly contaminated with dioxin, a by-product of PCB manufacturing, that the government ordered it evacuated. Dioxins are endocrine and immune system disruptors, cause congenital birth defects, reproductive and developmental problems, and increase the incidence of cancer, heart disease and diabetes in laboratory animals. Critics say a St. Louis-area Monsanto chemical plant was a source but Monsanto denies any connection. October 15, 1982: The FDA announces that GD Searle has filed a petition that aspartame be approved as a sweetener in carbonated beverages and other liquids. July 1, 1983: The National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) urges the FDA to delay approval of aspartame for carbonated beverages pending further testing because aspartame is very unstable in liquid form. When liquid aspartame is stored in temperatures above 85°F degrees Fahrenheit, aspartame breaks down into known toxins Diketopiperazines (DKP), methyl (wood) alcohol, and formaldehyde. July 8, 1983: The National Soft Drink Association drafts an objection to the final ruling which permits the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages and syrup bases and requests a hearing on the objections. The association says that Searle has not provided responsible certainty that aspartame and its' degradation products are safe for use in soft drinks. August 8, 1983: Consumer Attorney, Jim Turner of the Community Nutrition Institute and Dr. Woodrow Monte, Arizona State University's Director of Food Science and Nutritional Laboratories, file suit with the FDA objecting to aspartame approval based on unresolved safety issues. September, 1983: FDA Commissioner Hayes resigns under a cloud of controversy about his taking unauthorized rides aboard a General Foods jet. (General foods is a major customer of NutraSweet) Burson-Marsteller, Searle's public relation firm (which also represented several of NutraSweet's major users), immediately hires Hayes as senior scientific consultant. Fall 1983: The first carbonated beverages containing aspartame are sold for public consumption. 1983: Diet Coke was sweetened with aspartame after the sweetener became available in the United States. November 1984: Center for Disease Control (CDC) "Evaluation of consumer complaints related to aspartame use." (summary by B. Mullarkey) 1985: Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors". The aspartame business became a separate Monsanto subsidiary, the NutraSweet Company. 1986: Monsanto found guilty of negligently exposing a worker to benzene at its Chocolate Bayou Plant in Texas. It is forced to pay $100 million to the family of Wilbur Jack Skeen, a worker who died of leukemia after repeated exposures. 1986: At a congressional hearing, medical specialists denounce a National Cancer Institute study disputing thatformaldehyde causes cancer. Monsanto and DuPont scientists helped with the study, whose author provided results to the Formaldehyde Institute industry representatives nearly six months before releasing the study to the EPA, labor unions, and the public. 1986: Monsanto spends $50,000 against California's anti-toxics initiative, Proposition 65. The initiative prohibits the discharge of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects into drinking water supplies. 1987: Monsanto conducted the first field tests of genetically engineered (GMO) crops. 1987: Monsanto is one of the companies named in an $180 million settlement for Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange. 1987: Monsanto consolidated its AstroTurf management, marketing, and technical activities in Dalton, Georgia, as AstroTurf Industries, Inc. November 3, 1987: U.S. hearing, "NutraSweet: Health and Safety Concerns," Committee on Labor and Human Resources, Senator Howard Metzenbaum, chairman. 1988: A federal jury finds Monsanto Co.'s subsidiary, G.D. Searle & Co., negligent in testing and marketing of its Copper 7 intrauterine birth control device (IUD). The verdict followed the unsealing of internal documents regarding safety concerns about the IUD, which was used by nearly 10 million women between 1974 and 1986. |
| 1990: EPA chemists allege fraud in Monsanto's 1979 dioxin study, which found exposure to the chemical doesn't increasecancer risks. 1990: Monsanto spends more than $405,000 to defeat California's pesticide regulation Proposition 128, known as the"Big Green" initiative. The initiative is aimed at phasing out the use of pesticides, including Monsanto's product alachlor, linked to cancer and global warming. 1990: With the help of Roundup, the agriculture division of Monsanto was significantly outperforming Monsanto's chemicals division in terms of operating income, and the gap was increasing. But as Glover notes, while "such a blockbuster product uncorks a fountain of revenue", it "also creates an uncomfortable dependency on the commercial fortunes of a single brand. Monsanto's management knew that the last of the patents protecting Roundup in the United States, its biggest market, would expire in the year 2000, opening the field to potential competitors. The company urgently needed a strategy to negotiate this hurdle and prolong the useful life of its 'cash cow'." 1991: Monsanto is fined $1.2 million for trying to conceal discharge of contaminated waste water into the Mystic River in Connecticut. 1993: By April, the Department of Veterans Affairs had only compensated 486 victims, although it had received disability **CLAIMS** from 39,419 veteran soldiers who had been exposed to monsanto's Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. No compensation has been paid to Vietnamese civilians and though some compensation was paid to U.S. veterans, according to William Sanjour, who led the Toxic Waste Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "thousands of veterans were disallowed benefits" because "Monsanto studies showed that dioxin [as found in Agent Orange] was not a human carcinogen." An EPA colleague discovered that Monsanto had apparently falsified the data in their studies. Sanjour says, "If [the studies] were done correctly, they would have reached just the opposite result." 1994: the first of Monsanto's biotech products to make it to market was not aGMO crop but Monsanto's controversial GMO cattle drug, bovine growth hormone - called rBGH or rBST, Monsanto granted regulatory approval for its first biotech product, a dairy cow hormone. Monsanto developed a recombinant version of BST, brand-named Posilac bovine somatropin (rBST/rBGH), which is produced through a genetically engineered GMO E. coli bacteria. Synthetic Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), approved by the FDA for commercial sale in 1994, despite strong concerns about its safety. Since then, Monsanto has sued small dairy companies that advertised their products as free of the artificial hormone, including Ben & Jerry's ice cream and most recently bringing a lawsuit against Oakhurst Dairy in Maine. 1995: Genetically engineered canola (rapeseed) which is tolerant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide was first introduced to Canada. Today 80% of the acres sown are genetically modified canola. 1995: Monsanto is sued after allegedly supplying radioactive material for a controversial study which involved feeding radioactive iron to 829 pregnant women. 1995: Monsanto ranked 5th among U.S. corporations in EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, having discharged 37 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land, water and underground. Monsanto was ordered to pay $41.1 million to a waste management company in Texas due to concerns over hazardous waste dumping. 1995: The Safe Shoppers Bible says that Monsanto's Ortho Weed-B-Gon Lawn Weed Killercontains a known carcinogen, 2,4 D. Monsanto officials argue that 'numerous studies have found no link to cancer'. 1996: Monsanto introduces its first biotech crop, Roundup Ready soybeans, which tolerate spraying of Roundup herbicide, and biotech BT cotton engineered to resist insect damage. As Monsanto had moved into biotechnology, its executives had the opportunity to create a new narrative for Monsanto. They begun to portray genetic engineering as a ground-breaking technology that could contribute to feeding a hungry world. Monsanto executive Robb Fraley, who was head of the plant molecular biology research team, is also said to have hyped the potential of GMO crops within the company, as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Monsanto to dominate a whole new industry, invoking the monopoly success of Microsoft as a powerful analogy. But, according to Glover, the more down-to-earth pitch to fellow executives was that "genetic engineering offered the best prospect of preserving the commercial life of Monsanto's most important product, Roundup in the face of the challenges Monsanto would face once the patent expired." Monsanto eventually achieved this by introducing into crop plants genes that give resistance to glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup). This meant farmers could spray Roundup onto their fields as a weedkiller even during the growing season without harming the crop. This allowed Monsanto to "significantly expand the market for Roundup and, more importantly, help Monsanto to negotiate the expiry of its glyphosate patents, on which such a large slice of Monsanto's income depended." With glyphosate-tolerant GMO crops, Monsanto was able ìto preserve its dominant share of the glyphosate market through a marketing strategy that would couple proprietary "Roundup Ready" seeds with continued sales of Roundup. 1996-1999: Monsanto sold off its plastics business to Bayer in 1996, and its phenylalanine facilities to Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (GLC) in 1999. Much of the rest of its chemicals division was spun off in late 1997 as Solutia. This helped Monsanto distance itself to some extent not only from direct financial liability for the historical core of its business but also from its controversial production and contamination legacy. 1997: Monsanto introduces new GMO canola(rapeseed), GMO cotton and GMO corn (maize), and buys foundation seed companies. 1997: Monsanto spins off its industrial chemical and fibers business into Solutia Inc. amid complaints and legal claims about pollution from its plants. Solutia was spun off from Monsanto as a way for Monsanto to divest itself of billions of dollars in environmental cleanup costs and other liabilities for its past actions - liabilities that eventually forced Solutia to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to a spokesman for Solutia, "(Monsanto) sort of cherry-picked what they wanted and threw in all kinds of cats and dogs as part of a going-away present," including $1 billion in debt and environmental and litigation costs. Some pre-bankruptcy Solutia equity holders allege Solutia was set up fraudulently as it was always doomed to fail under the financial weight of Monsanto's liabilities. 1997: The New York State Attorney General took Monsanto to court and Monsanto was subsequently forced to stop claiming that Roundup is "biodegradable" and "environmentally friendly". 1997: The Seattle Times reports that Monsanto sold 6,000 tons of contaminated waste to Idaho fertilizer companies, which contained the carcinogenic heavy metal cadmium, believed to cause cancer, kidney disease, neurological dysfunction and birth defects. 1997: Through a process of mergers and spin-offs between 1997 and 2002, Monsanto made a transition from chemical giant to biotech giant. Monsanto's corporate strategy led them for the first time to acquire seed companies. During the 1990s Monsanto spent $10 billion globally buying up seed companies - a push that continues to this day. It has purchased, for example, Holden's Foundations Seeds, Seminis - the largest seed company not producing corn or soybeans in the world, the Dutch seed company De Ruiter Seeds, and the big cotton seed firm Delta & Pine. As a result, Monsanto is now the world's largest seed company, accounting for almost a quarter of the global proprietary seed market. 1998: Monsanto introduces Roundup Ready corn (maize). 1998: In the UK, Monsanto purchased the seed company Plant Breeding International (PBI) Cambridge, a major UK based cereals and potato breeder, which Monsanto then merged with its existing UK agri-chemicals and GMO research businesses to form Monsanto UK Ltd. Monsanto UK has carried out field trials of glyphosate-tolerant sugar / fodder beet, glyphosate-tolerant oilseed rape, and glyphosate-tolerant and male sterility / fertility restorer oilseed rape. 1998: "Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding sources," unpublished: Ralph G. Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed medical literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety. The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%) identified a problem. 6 of the 7 non-industry funded studies that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias. 1999: After international criticism, Monsanto agrees not to [PUBLICLY] commercialize "Terminator" seeds. 1999: Monsanto opens its Beautiful Sciences exhibit at Disneyland. 1999: Monsanto sells their phenylalanine facilities to Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (GLC) for $125 million. In 2000, GLC sued Monsanto because of a $71 million dollar shortfall in expected sales. |
| 2000: 5 pesticide companies, including Monsanto, controlled over 70% of all patents on agricultural biotechnology. Monsanto had the largest share of the global GMO crops market. 2000: Since the inception of Plan Colombia, the US has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in funding aerial sprayings of Monsanto's Roundup herbicides in Colombia. The Roundup is often applied in concentrations 26x higher than what is recommended for agricultural use. Additionally, it contains at least one surfactant, Cosmo-Flux 411f, whose ingredients are a trade secret, has never been approved for use in the US, and which quadruples the biological action of the herbicide. Not surprisingly, numerous human health impacts have been recorded in the areas affected by the sprayings, including respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin problems, and even death, especially in children. Additionally, fish and animals will show up dead in the hours and days subsequent to the herbicide sprayings. 2000-2002: Monsanto merges with Pharmacia & Upjohn, and changes its name to Pharmacia Corporation. Monsanto Company restructures in deal with Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc; separates agricultural and chemicals businesses and becomes stand-alone agricultural company. By 2000 the current Monsanto had emerged from various transactions, including a merger for a time with Pharmacia, as a legally different corporation from the Monsanto that had existed from 1901-2000. This was despite the fact that both Monsantos shared not just the same name, but the same corporate headquarters near St. Louis, Missouri, and many of the same executives and other employees, not to mention much of the responsibility for liabilities arising out of its former activities. 2001: Retired Monsanto chemist William S. Knowles was named a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation, which was carried out at Monsanto beginning in the 1960s until his 1986 retirement. 2001: Monsanto GMO crops accounted for 91% of the total area of GMO crops planted worldwide. 2002: Monsanto entered into an important agreement with DuPont. As a result of this "agreement" both companies agreed to drop a raft of outstanding patent lawsuits against one another and to share their patented GMO cropstechnologies. Some commentators see this ‘agreement' as constituting a pseudo-merger by stealth of the two companies' GMO crops monopolies which are too large to be permitted to merge. August 13, 2002: Monsanto had sales of $4,673,000,000. Based on 2001 figures Monsanto was the second biggest seed company in the world, and the third biggest agrochemical company. The infamous agrochemical and biotechnology division, still known as Monsanto, was spun off as a nominally separate company with Pharmacia originally retaining an 85% share. Monsanto Company became completely separate and independent from Pharmacia on August 13, 2002, when Pharmacia distributed its remaining Monsanto shares to Pharmacia's stockholders. 2002: Events in Argentina also affected the company in other ways: Monsanto's Argentine unit lost $154 million in the 2002 fiscal year, due to the collapse of the Argentine economy and a deepening recession which forced the government to default on most of its public debt, and devalue the peso in January 2002. The government also converted what was a dollar economy into a peso economy and, as a result, Monsanto received devalued pesos for products it had sold in dollars, slashing its sales income. 2002: The Washington Post ran an article entitled, "Monsanto Hid Decades Of Pollution, PCBs Drenched Alabama Town, But No One Was Ever Told" about PCBs. Monsanto share price plummeted in the second half of 2002 following its sell off by former parent company Pharmacia and this was compounded by the departure of Monsanto's CEO at the end of 2002. December 2002: CEO Hendrik Verfaillie resigned after he and the board agreed that his performance had beendisappointing and the company had faced extensive criticism for failing to deal more honestly and effectively with its difficulties. "This is a company that has been optimistic on the borderline of LYING," said Sergey Vasnetsov, senior analyst with Lehman Brothers in New York. "Monsanto has been feeding us these FANTASIES for two years, and when we saw they weren't real, its stock price fell." 2003: Jury fines Monsanto and its former chemical subsidiary, Solutia, Inc. (now owned by Pharmacia Corp.), agreed topay $600 million in August to settle claims brought by more than 20,000+ residents of Anniston, Alabama - over the severe contamination of ground and water by tons of PCBs dumped in the area from the 1930s until the 1970s. Court documents revealed that Monsanto was aware of the contamination decades earlier. 2003: Solutia, Inc. (now owned by Pharmacia Corp.) files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 2004: Monsanto forms American Seeds Inc holding company for corn and soybean seed deals and begins brand acquisitions. 2004-2005: Monsanto filed lawsuits against many farmers in Canada and the U.S. on the grounds of patent infringement, specifically the farmers' sale of seed containing Monsanto's patented genes. In some cases, farmers claimed the seed was unknowingly sown by wind carrying the seeds from neighboring crops, a claim rejected in Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser. These instances began in the mid to late 1990s, with one of the most significant cases being decided in Monsanto's favor by the Canadian Supreme Court. By a 5-4 vote in late May 2004, that court ruled that "bycultivating a plant containing the patented gene and composed of the patented cells without license, the appellants (canola farmer Percy Schmeiser) deprived the respondents of the full enjoyment of the patent." With this ruling, the Canadian courts followed the U.S. Supreme Court in its decision on patent issues involving plants and genes. 2005: Monsanto has patent claims on breeding techniques for pigs which would grant them ownership of any pigs born of such techniques and their related herds. Greenpeace claims Monsanto is trying to claim ownership on ordinary breeding techniques. Monsanto claims that the patent is a defensive measure to track animals from its system. They furthermore claim their patented method uses a specialized insemination device that requires less sperm than is typically needed. 2005: Environmental, consumer groups question safety of Roundup Ready crops, say they create "super weeds," among other problems. 2006: In January, the South Korean Appeals Court ordered Dow Chemical and Monsanto to pay $62 million in compensation to about 6,800 people. 2006: Organic farmers, concerned about the impact of GMO alfalfa on their crops, sued Monsanto (Monsanto Company vs. Geertson Seed Farms). In response, in May 2007, the California Northern District Court issued an injunction order prohibiting farmers from planting Roundup Ready alfalfa until the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) completed a study on the genetically engineered crop's likely environmental impact. As a result, the USDA put a hold on any further planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa. 2006: the Public Patent Foundation filed requests with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to revoke 4 patents that Monsanto has used in patent lawsuits against farmers. In the first round of reexamination, claims in all 4 patents were rejected by the Patent Office in 4 separate rulings dating from February through July 2007. Monsanto has since filed responses in the reexaminations. 2006-2007: Monsanto buys several regional seed companies and cotton seed leader Delta and Pine Land Co. - Competitors allege Monsanto gaining seed industry monopoly. 2007: Monsanto's biotech seeds and traits (including those licensed to other companies) accounted for almost 90% of the total world area devoted toGMOseeds. 2007: California Northern District Court issued an injunction order prohibiting farmers from planting Roundup Ready alfalfa until the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) completed a study on the genetically engineered crop's likely environmental impact. As a result, the USDA put a hold on any further planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa. 2007: USDA Dairy Survey estimated rBGH use at 15.2% of operations and 17.2% of cows. 2008: Monsanto sells Posilac business to Eli Lilly (polio vaccine manufacturer) amid consumer and food industry concerns about the dairy cow hormone supplement. 2008: Acquires sugarcane breeding companies, and a Dutch hybrid seed company. 2008-2009: U.S. Department of Justice says it is looking into monopolistic power in the U.S. seed industry. 2009: Monsanto posts record net sales of $11.7 billion and net income of $2.1 billion for fiscal 2009. 2009: Monsanto announces a project to improve the living conditions of 10,000 small cotton and corn farmers in 1,100 villages in India (keep in mind that 100,000 small cotton farmers in India commit suicide by drinking Roundup AFTER massive GMO crop failures bankrupted their families); donates cotton technology to academic researchers. 2010: Monsanto introduces their new brand Genuity 2010: Farmers in South Africa report 80% of the GMO corn was SEEDLESS at harvest time! 2010: Monsanto was named company of the year by Forbes magazine in January. |
| 2010: Demand for milk without using synthetic hormones has increased 500% in the US sinceMonsanto introduced their rBST product. Monsanto has responded to this trend bylobbying state governments to ban the practice of distinguishing between milk from farms pledged not to use rBST and those that do. 2011: Monsanto posts net income of $1 billion for fiscal 2010. OUCH! a 50% loss from 2009. Today, over 80% of the worldwide area devoted to GMO crops carries at least one genetic trait for (Monsanto's Roundup) herbicide tolerance. Herbicides account for about one-third of the global pesticide market. Monsanto's glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) seeds have reigned supreme on the biotech scene for over a decade - creating a near-monopoly for Monsanto's Roundup herbicide - which is now off patent. Roundup is the world's biggest selling pesticide and it has helped make Monsanto the world's 5th largest agrochemical company. |
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Monsanto are:
- David L. Chicoine, president of South Dakota State University
- Hugh Grant, the president and CEO of Monsanto
- Arthur H. Harper, managing partner of GenNx360 Capital Partners
- Gwendolyn King, president of Podium Prose, a speakers bureau
- Laura K. Ipsen, senior VP and general manager of Connected Energy Networks at Cisco Systems, Inc.
- C. Steven McMillan, former chairman and CEO of the Sara Lee Corporation
- William U. Parfet, chief executive officer of MPI Research Inc.
- Janice L. Fields, president of McDonald's USA
- George H. Poste, chief executive of Health Technology Networks
Jon R. Moeller, chief financial officer of The Procter & Gamble Company.[53][54]
Investigations
2009 antitrust investigation
In 2009, Monsanto came under scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department, which began investigating whether the company's activities in the soybean markets were breaking anti-trust rules. In 2010, the DOJ created a website through which comments on "Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy" could be submitted; over 15,000 comments were submitted including a letter by 14 State Attorneys General. The comments are publicly available. On November 16, 2012, Monsanto announced that it had received written notification from the U.S. Department of Justice that the Antitrust Division had concluded its inquiry and that the D.O.J had closed the inquiry without taking any enforcement action. Opponents of Monsanto's seed patenting and licensing practices expressed frustration that the Department of Justice released no information about the results of the inquiry.
Not a party, but involved
1997 WTVT news story
This is a case where Monsanto was not a party, but was alleged to have been involved in the events under dispute. In 1997, the news division of WTVT (Channel 13), a Fox–owned station in Tampa, Florida, planned to air an investigative report by Steve Wilson and Jane Akre on the health risks associated with Monsanto's bovine growth hormone product,Posilac. Just before the story was to air, Fox received a threatening letter from Monsanto, saying the reporters were biased and that the story would damage the company. Fox tried to work with the reporters to address Monsanto's concerns, and the negotiations between Fox and the reporters broke down. Both reporters were eventually fired. Wilson and Akre alleged the firing was for retaliation, while WTVT contended they were fired for insubordination. The reporters then sued Fox/WTVT in Florida state court under the state's whistleblower statute. In 2000, a Florida jury found that while there was no evidence Fox/WTVT had bowed to any pressure from Monsanto to alter the story, Akre, but not Wilson, was a whistleblower and was unjustly fired. Fox appealed the decision stating that under Florida law, a whistleblower can only act if "a law, rule, or regulation”" has been broken and argued that the FCC's news distortion policy did not fit that definition. The appeals court overturned the verdict, finding that Akre was not a whistleblower because of the Florida "legislature's requirement that agency statements that fit the definition of a “rule” (must) be formally adopted (rules). Recognizing an uncodified agency policy developed through the adjudicative process as the equivalent of a formally adopted rule is not consistent with this policy, and it would expand the scope of conduct that could subject an employer to liability beyond what Florida's Legislature could have contemplated when it enacted the whistle-blower's statute."
Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories scandal
In 1981, four executives of Industrial Bio-Test Laboratories(IBT), an American contract research organization were indicted in federal court on various counts including scientific misconduct and fraud, and were convicted in 1983. IBT was an industrial product safety testing laboratory that was used by pharmaceutical companies, chemical manufacturers and other industrial clients, operated one of the largest facility of its kind in the US, and performed more than one-third of all toxicology testing in the United States. One of convicted executives was Paul Wright, a toxicologist, who had spent 18 months at IBT in the 1970s while IBT was testing an antimicrobial product that Monsanto was developing,triclocarban(TCC). The revelations of misconduct by IBT Labs led to the establishment of Good Laboratory Practice standards and regulations for industrial testing.
In 1991, Philip Smith, a former assistant toxicologist at IBT, testified in a trial in which Monsanto was being sued by workers at Westinghouse over PCBs, that final toxicology reports on PCBs provided to Monsanto by IBT contained falsified data.[204]
Legal actions and controversies outside North America
Argentina
GM soy was approved for cultivation in Argentina in 1996. When Argentina approved the cultivation of GMO in 1996 14 million acres were used for soy production and by 2008 that area grew to 42 million acres.[205] The growth was driven by Argentine investors' interest in buying or leasing land on which to grow soy for the export market.[205] The consolidation has led to a decrease in production of many staples such as milk, rice, maize, potatoes and lentils, and about 150,000 small farmers have left the countryside because they could no longer make a living (as they could not afford GM soya) or were driven off their land.[205][206][207]
The Guardian newspaper interviewed a Monsanto representative and reported that the representative "said that any problems with GM soya were to do with use of the crop as a monoculture, not because it was GM. 'If you grow any crop to the exclusion of any other you are bound to get problems.'"[206]
In 2005 and 2006, Monsanto addressed unlicensed use of its patented "Roundup Ready" technology by farmers and companies in Argentina by enforcing its patents on soymeal imported into Spain from Argentina, which obligated Spanish customs officials to seize the soymeal shipments.[208]
Brazil
Brazil had originally approved GM crops in 1998 but Brazilian advocacy groups had successfully sued to overturn the approval.[209] In 2003 Brazil allowed a one-year exemption when GM soy was found in fields planted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This was a controversial decision, and in response, the Landless Workers' Movement protested by invading and occupying several Monsanto farm plots used for research, training and seed-processing.In 2005 Brazil passed a law creating a regulatory pathway for GM crops, and the agriculture minister Roberto Rodrigues stated that "Brazilian soy farmers, who have used cloned or smuggled versions of the biotechnology company's Roundup Ready variety for years, will no longer have to worry about breaking the law or facing legal action from Monsanto as long as regulators approve the seeds for planting."
China
Monsanto was criticized by Chinese economist Lang Xianping for having controlled the Chinese soybean market, and for trying to do the same to Chinese corn and cotton.
Haiti
After the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, Monsanto donated $255,000 to Haiti for disaster reliefand 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid (non-GM) corn and vegetable seeds worth $4 million.However, a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) rapid assessment of seed supply and demand for the 5 most common food security crops found that the Haitians had enough seed and recommended that imported seeds should be introduced only on a small scale
The announcement of the donation initially raised concerns that the donation would include genetically modified seeds, but Monsanto representatives said no such seeds were included and the donation comprised conventional seed and hybrid seeds, which are produced by manually cross-pollinating plants.[214] A report by Haiti Grassroots Watch (HGW) investigated the donation and responses to it.Emmanuel Prophete, head of Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture's Service National Semencier (SNS), that HGW that SNS was not opposed to the hybrid maize seeds because it at least doubles the yield of corn. Louise Sperling, Principal Researcher at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) told HGW that she was not opposed to hybrids, but noted that most hybrids require extra water and better soils and that most of Haiti was not appropriate for maize hybrids.
Another concern was that some of the seeds were coated with the highly toxic fungicides Maxim or thiram. In the United States, pesticides containing thiram are banned in home garden products because most home gardeners do not own adequate protection.HGW found that the coated seeds were handled in a dangerous manner by the recipients and judged that such seeds should not have been donated.
The seeds were donated free of charge, and were in turn sold at a reduced price in local markets. However, farmers feared that they were being given seeds that would "threaten local varieties"and an estimated 8–12,000 farmers attended a protest of the donation on June 4, 2010 organized by a Haitian farmers' association, the Peasant Movement of Papay, where a small pile of seeds was symbolically burned.
India
Monsanto has had a controversial history in India, starting with the accusation that Monsanto used terminator genes in its seeds, causing demonstrations against the company. Later, its GM cotton seed was the subject of NGO agitation because of its higher cost. Indian farmers cross GM varieties with local varieties using plant breeding to yield better strains, an illegal practice termed "seed piracy". In 2009, high prices of Bt Cotton were blamed for forcing farmers of the district Jhabua into severe debts when the crops died due to lack of rain.
Bt resistance
In 2009, Monsanto scientists initially discovered that insects had developed resistance to the Bt Cotton planted in Gujarat and when studies were completed, Monsanto communicated this to the Indian government and its customers, stating that "Resistance is natural and expected, so measures to delay resistance are important. Among the factors that may have contributed to pink bollworm resistance to the Cry1Ac protein in Bollgard I in Gujarat are limited refuge planting and early use of unapproved Bt cotton seed, planted prior to GEAC approval of Bollgard I cotton, which may have had lower protein expression levels."[223] The company advised farmers to switch to its second generation of Bt cotton – Bolguard II – which had two resistance genes instead of one.[224] However, this advice was criticized; an article in The Hindu reported that "an internal analysis of the statement of the Ministry of Environment and Forests says it 'appears that this could be a business strategy to phase out single gene events [that is, the first generation Bollgard I product] and promote double genes [the second generation Bollgard II] which would fetch higher price.'"
Andhra Pradesh state government
In the early 2000s, farmers in the state of Andhra Pradesh, were in economic crisis due to high interest rates and crop failures, leading to widespread social unrest and suicides. Monsanto was one focus of protests with respect to the price of Bt seed and yields of Bt seed. In 2005, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the Indian regulatory authority, released a study on field tests of certain Bt cotton strains in Andhra Pradesh and ruled that Monsanto could not market those strains in Andhra Pradesh because the yields were poor, and extended the ban on one of them, Mech-12 Bt, to all of south India. At about the same time, the state agriculture minister barred the company from selling any Bt cotton seeds in the state, because Monsanto refused a request by the state government to provide a compensation package of about Rs 4.5 crore (about 1 Million US$) to indebted farmers in some districts, and because the government blamed Monsanto's Bt seeds for crop failures. The order was later lifted. In 2006, the Andhra Pradesh state government tried to convince Monsanto to reduce the price at which it sold Bt seeds. When Monsanto did not reduce the price enough to satisfy the government, the state filed several cases against Monsanto and its Mumbai based licensee Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds.
Child labor
As in much of the developing world and especially in agricultural areas, child labor is widespread in India's agricultural sector, which employs ~60% of India's child labor. Child labor is especially used in seed production.[230] The seed production is done mostly through child labor—it is carried out on plots owned by small farmers, who sell the seed to "seed organizers", who in turn sell the seed to public and private seed agencies and companies.[230] The public and private agencies and companies include Indian state corporations, Mahyco-Monsanto, Syngenta, and others.[231] Monsanto's website states that the company complies with all child labor laws and that they are working towards minimizing its occurrence.[232]
Farmer suicides
Main article: Farmers' suicides in India
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, public attention was drawn to suicides by indebted farmers in India following crop failures. Some, including Vandana Shiva, claimed that the crop failures could "often be traced to" Monsanto's Bt cotton, and that the seeds increased farmers' indebtedness. However, a 2008 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute showed that there was no evidence for an increased suicide rate following the 2002 introduction of Bt cotton, but instead that the rate had been consistent since 1997. The report concluded that while the cotton may have been a factor in specific suicides, the contribution was likely marginal compared to socio-economic factors. Various studies identify the important factors as insufficient or risky credit systems, the difficulty of farming semi-arid regions, poor agricultural income, absence of alternative income opportunities, a downturn in the urban economy which forced non-farmers into farming, and the absence of suitable counseling services.[235][237][238] Monsanto has referred to these third-party studies and added that Indian farmers are the "fastest-growing users of biotech crops in the world."
False advertising
In 1996, the New York Times reported that: "Dennis C. Vacco, the Attorney General of New York, ordered the company to pull ads that said Roundup was "safer than table salt" and "practically nontoxic" to mammals, birds and fish. The company withdrew the spots, but also said that the phrase in question was permissible under E.P.A. guidelines."
In 1999, Monsanto was condemned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for making "confusing, misleading, unproven and wrong" claims about its products over the course of a £1 million advertising campaign. The ASA ruled that Monsanto had presented its opinions "as accepted fact" and had published "wrong" and "unproven" scientific claims. Monsanto responded with an apology and claimed it was not intending to deceive and instead "did not take sufficiently into account the difference in culture between the UK and the USA in the way some of this information was presented."[242]
In 2001, French environmental and consumer rights campaigners brought a case against Monsanto for misleading the public about the environmental impact of its herbicideRoundup, on the basis that glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is classed as "dangerous for the environment" and "toxic for aquatic organisms" by the European Union. Monsanto's advertising for Roundup had presented it as biodegradable and as leaving the soil clean after use. In 2007, Monsanto was convicted of false advertising and was fined 15,000 euros. Monsanto's French distributor Scotts France was also fined 15,000 euros. Both defendants were ordered to pay damages of 5,000 euros to the Brittany Water and Rivers Association and 3,000 euros to the CLCV (Consommation Logement Cadre de vie), one of the two main general consumer associations in France. Monsanto appealed and the court upheld the verdict; Monsanto appealed again to the French Supreme Court, and in 2009 it also upheld the verdict.
In August 2012, a Brazilian Regional Federal Court ordered Monsanto to pay a $250,000 fine for false advertising. In 2004, advertising that related to the use of GM soya seed, and the herbicide glyphosate used in its cultivation, claimed it was beneficial to the conservation of the environment. The federal prosecutor maintained that Monsanto misrepresented the amount of herbicide required and stated that "there is no scientific certainty that soybeans marketed by Monsanto use less herbicide." The presiding judge condemned Monsanto and called the advertisement "abusive and misleading propaganda." The prosecutor held that the goal of the advertising was to prepare the market for the purchase of genetically modified soybean seed (sale of which was then banned) and the herbicide used on it, at a time when the approval of a Brazilian Biosafety Law, enacted in 2005, was being discussed in the country.
Political contributions and lobbying
United States
Monsanto lobbies the United States Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture about regulations that would affect the production and distribution of genetically engineered produce. In 2011, Monsanto spent about $6.3 million.For comparison, the US Chamber of Commerce spent the most in lobbying in 2011, with $66.4 million, and the 20th highest spender, Pfizer, spent $12.9 million.[ US diplomats in Europe have worked directly for Monsanto.In 2008, Monsanto spent $8.8 million for lobbying. $1.5 million was to outside lobbying firms with the remainder used by in-hous lobbyists. In 2011, total money spent on lobbying was about $6.3 million, more than any other agribusiness firm except the tobacco company Altria, and $2 million of which was spent on matters concerning "Foreign Agriculture Biotechnology Laws, Regulations, and Trade."
Monsanto gave $186,250 to federal candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC) – 42% to Democrats, 58% to Republicans. For the 2010 election cycle they gave $305,749 – 48% to Democrats, 52% to Republicans.
Monsanto spent $8.1 million opposing the passage of Proposition 37 in the US state of California, making it the largest donor against the initiative. Proposition 37, which was rejected by a 53.7% majority in November 2012, would have mandated the disclosure of genetically modified crops used in the production of California food products. Biotechnology labeling is not required by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it has been adopted by over 40 countries. According to public disclosures, the Council for Biotechnology Information and The Grocery Manufacturers Association, have each made matching donations of $375,000 to fight the initiative.
Michael R. Taylor, a former Monsanto Vice President for Public Policy and the current Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration,was described by Businessweek during his tenure as Monsanto's VP for Public Policy as "Monsanto's chief rep in Washington."
Monsanto is a member of the Washington D.C based Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotechnology trade association, which provides "advocacy, business development, and communications services. Between 2010 and 2011 BIO spent a total of $16.43 million on lobbying initiatives.
UK
During the late 1990s, Monsanto lobbied to raise permitted glyphosate levels in soya beans and was successful in convincing Codex Alimentarius and both the UK and American governments to lift levels to 20 milligrams per 1 kilogram of soya.[267] When asked how negotiations with Monsanto were conducted Lord Donoughue, then the Labour PartyAgriculture minister in the House of Lords, stated that all information relating to the matter would be "kept secret."[267] During a period of 24 months prior to the 1997 British election Monsanto representatives had 22 meetings at the departments of Agriculture and the Environment.[268] British newspapers revealed that Stanley Greenberg, an election advisor toTony Blair, went on to work as a Monsanto consultant.[268] It was also reported that a former Labour spokesperson, David Hill, became Monsanto's media adviser at the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger.[268] The Labour government was challenged in parliament about "trips, facilities, gifts and other offerings of financial value provided by Monsanto to civil servants" but only stated that Department of Trade and Industry had two working lunches with Monsanto.[269] It was also revealed that Peter Luff, then a Conservative Party MP and Chairman of the Agriculture Select Committee, had received up to £10,000 a year from Bell Pottinger on behalf of Monsanto.[269][270][271]
Continental Europe
In January 2011, John Vidal of The Guardian reported on Wikileak documents that suggested US diplomats in Europe were responding to a request for help from Spanish government; the article says: "In addition, the cables show US diplomats working directly for GM companies such as Monsanto. 'In response to recent urgent requests by [Spanish rural affairs ministry] state secretary Josep Puxeu and Monsanto, post requests renewed US government support of Spain's science-based agricultural biotechnology position through high-level US government intervention.'"The documents show that in 2009, when the Spanish government's policy allowing MON810 corn to be grown, as allowed under European law, was under pressure from EU interests, Monsanto's Director for Biotechnology for Spain and Portugal requested that the US government support Spain on the matter. The reports also indicated that Spain and the US had worked closely together to "persuade the EU not to strengthen biotechnology laws." Spain was viewed as an EU member that was a key supporter of GM and there was a widespread belief in biotechnology industry that "if Spain falls, the rest of Europe will follow." The documents also revealed that in response to an attempt by France to ban a Monsanto's MON810 in late 2007, the then US ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, in a bid to "help strengthen European pro-biotech voices," asked Washington to "calibrate a targeted retaliation list that [would cause] some pain across the EU," in particular those countries that did not support the use of GM crops. This activity transpired after the US, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and New Zealand had brought an action against Europe via the World Trade Organization with respect to the EU's banning of GMOs; in 2006, the WTO had ruled against the EU.
Monsanto is a member of EuropaBio, the leading biotechnology trade group in Europe. One of EuropaBio's initiatives is "Transforming Europe’s position on GM food", and it has stated that there is "an urgent need to reshape the terms of the debate about GM in Europe."[281][282] In an effort to transform European policy relating to the production and distribution of genetically modified foods within the EU, EuropaBio proposed the recruitment of high profile "ambassadors" that might affect opinion on GM policy by lobbying European leaders directly. The organisation also aimed to introduce the ambassadors to high-level European bureaucrats and MEPs with the goal of making a stronger case for GM within the EU.[281][283][284]
Public officials' connections to Monsanto
Former Monsanto employees currently hold positions in US government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) and the Supreme Court. These include:
- Michael A. Friedman, MD, was Senior Vice President of Research and Development, Medical and Public Policy for Pharmacia, and later served as an FDA deputy commissioner.[285][286]
- Linda J. Fisher was an assistant administrator at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before she was a vice president at Monsanto from 1995 to 2000. In 2001, Fisher became the deputy administrator of the EPA.[135]
- Michael R. Taylor was an assistant to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner before working as an attorney for King & Spalding, a private-sector law firm that represented Monsanto among other clients.[287][288] He later served as deputy commissioner for policy to the FDA on food safety between 1991 and 1994 during which time the FDA approved rBST.[135] He was accused of a conflict of interest, but a federal investigation cleared him. Following his tenure at the FDA, Taylor returned to Monsanto as Vice President for Public Policy.[257][258][259] On July 7, 2009, Taylor entered government as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration for the Obama administration.[261][289]
- United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas worked as an attorney for Monsanto in the 1970s. Thomas wrote the majority opinion in the 2001 Supreme Court decision J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. which found that "newly developed plant breeds are patentable under the general utility patent laws of the United States."[135][290][291]
Public officials with indirect connections or who worked for Monsanto after leaving public office include:
- Mickey Kantor served on Monsanto's board after serving in government as a trade representative.
- William D. Ruckelshaus served as the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in 1970, was subsequently acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then Deputy Attorney General of the United States. From 1983 to 1985, he returned as EPA administrator. After leaving government he joined the Board of Directors of Monsanto; he is currently retired from that board.
- Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was chairman and chief executive officer of G. D. Searle & Company, which Monsanto purchased in 1985. Rumsfeld's stock and options in Searle were $12 million USD at the time of the transaction.
Sponsorships
Monsanto has been the corporate sponsor of many attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
At Disneyland they include:
- Hall of Chemistry (1955 to 1966)
- Fashions and Fabrics through the Years (from 1965 to 1966)
- Monsanto House of the Future (from 1957 to 1967)
- Adventure Thru Inner Space (from 1967 to 1986)
And at Walt Disney World they include:
- Magic Eye Theatre at Epcot[citation needed]
- Circle-Vision 360°[citation needed]
All attractions that the company has ever sponsored (except for the Magic Eye Theatre, in the Future World section of Epcot) were located in Tomorrowland.[citation needed]
Echoing Monsanto's sponsorship of Tomorrowland, in the second episode of the first season of Futurama, "The Series Has Landed", a Moon carnival ride named "The Goophy Gopher Revue" is said to have been sponsored/owned by "Monsanto".[297]
| The Future of GMO Crops: Wheat for Humans Monsanto's strategy is based around genetically modifying SUBSIDIZED commodity crops, and refining technologies which it already has commercialized. Monsanto is continuing to develop genetically modified traits that can be stacked in a single seed product, along with Roundup Ready tolerance to provide continuing sales for the herbicide. The most important new product Monsanto is trying to introduce is RoundUp Ready wheat. This has caused an unexpected level of debate in the USA, generally because it is the first major GMO crop which would be used predominantly for products to be consumed by humans rather than as animal feed. Wheat is also a vital export crop for the USA, which currently holds 26-28% of the world market share. The EU was the fourth largest importer of U.S. wheatoverall in 2001, and although this position may diminish due to new EU rules on imports, it would nevertheless be extremely serious for the USA to virtually lose the EU market for its wheat, which is a real possibility if GMO wheat is commercialized. As well as wheat, Monsanto is mainly concentrating on different traits in crops which it has already worked with. The majority of its field trials in the USA during the last two years have involved corn, altered to exhibit various traits. Monsanto is also involved in a joint venture with Cargill Renessen, which is currently developing the following GMO crops:Improved-oil soybeans for feed, Three kinds of improved-energy corn (maize) for feed Healthier oil for food uses,Improved-protein soybeans for feed, High-starch/ethanol corn (maize), Processor Preferred soybeans. Herbicide-tolerant (RoundUp Ready) varieties continue to play a large part in Monsanto's plans, showing that although these are extremely easy to reject due to their obvious benefits to corporations and lack of benefits to humans, Monsanto believes that there is still a large potential for their GMOs. |
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