There is a lot of ambiguity regarding Monsanto’s intention for the expansion of biotechnology. Of course the company will insist only on the benefits of Genetically Modified (GM) food products, but many sources seem to indicate a large number of documented cases which involve the multi-national coercively suing organic-certified farmers for evidently utilizing their products in the absence of a contracted liability waiver. Nearly every source on the internet shares the same endgame conclusion that Monsanto’s agenda has nothing to do with the benefit of society, nor the well being of our health. Instead, they all invoke towards a more ominous ambition behind the company’s agenda.
Monsanto and U.S. Agriculture
More than one third of all the crops in the U.S. are grown with GM seeds. Before a farmer can use Monsanto’s patented farming technology, they first must sign a waiver of liability called the Monsanto Technology/Stewardship Agreement. By signing this waiver, the farmer is agreeing to assume total responsibility for any potential cross-pollination or transgenic contamination incidents which may occur from neighboring farmers. Anthony Patchett, the Retired Assistant Head District Attorney of the Environmental Crimes/OSHA Division, says after reviewing the Monsanto agreement, “In my opinion, it appears to be what we call a contract of adhesion. It is very one-sided and appears to be unconscionable. In the Monsanto Technology Stewardship Agreement, all liability shifts to the growers.”
According to a 2008 documentary called Food, Inc., the multi-national employs a staff of 75 devoted private investigators who travel the country to covertly inspect the crops of farmers for patent infringement of their seeds. In conjunction, Monsanto also owns a private hotline where neighbors are rewarded for narking on their fellow farmers who may be suspect of seed pirating. If a farmer is caught planting the patented seeds without signing the waiver, then Monsanto’s legal department prosecutes him for patent infringement. This often results in the farmer losing his land.
Of course any company should have the right to protect its product from being infringed upon. However, based on data provided by a report written by the Center for Food Safety called Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers, the private investigations are typically conducted in the absense of proper notice or permission by the farmer – which technically puts this under the category of trespassing. The report describes the investigators, or gene-police, often as being aggressive, overly intrusive, and obnoxiously rude. Other farmers shared different stories involving the Monsanto gene-police, stating how they would sometimes deceive the farmers by posing as friendly land mappers while conducting their investigations.
Chapter 3 of the report states: “A Nebraska soybean farmer experienced the threatening conduct of Monsanto’s investigators when they first showed up on his property. After this farmer told the investigators that he was going inside to make some phone calls, one of the men proceeded to step in front of his front door, physically barring the farmer from entering his own home.”
Biological Contamination.
Plants naturally reproduce either by cross-pollinating their seeds through the wind or by attaching seeds to a traveling animal. Just as natural plants follow this process, so do many GMOs. In an article called Monsanto Shifts ALL Liability to Farmers for Losses, Injury, Damages From Monsanto Seeds; hundreds of organic farmers have been sued over the years by Monsanto for supposedly being caught with the unauthorized use of their patented seeds. This happens most commonly after the Monsanto gene-police scope out the organic farmer’s land and discover a GM infestation in his crops. Generally, the GM plant infestation is a result of genetic-drift, but the multi-national still seems to find it necessary to prosecute the organic farmer anyways; for what they claim to be a patent infringement. Many farmers concur that Monsanto's aggression in protecting their patent is just an obvious manipulation of the agricultural system.
Chapter 4 of Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers declares that genetic-drift was confirmed to be frequent and unavoidable by a scientific group called the British Royal Society. The report states that the most famous of these cases involves a Canadian canola farmer who was caught by Monsanto gene-police with having genetically engineered canola on his land. The farmer spent seven years in court trying to prove that he neither purchased nor planted the GM canola – and that it either cross-pollinated over from a neighboring field or spilled out of passing trucks that may have contained it. After seven years of struggling to prove his innocence, the Canadian farmer was found guilty for patent infringement. Fortunately, he was not liable to pay Monsanto for any damages that he may have caused.
Monsanto’s Agenda
“Monsanto has a problem. It’s trying to own a piece of Mother Nature that naturally spreads itself around,” Stated the lawyer of the canola farmer. Between the gene-police secretly inspecting the crops of our farmers and the perpetually increasing account of lawsuits; it seems to appear as though Monsanto’s ambition involves more than just the expansion of bio-technology; but more specifically, the expansion of their multi-national corporation. A vast number of sources seem to agree that Monsanto’s endgame agenda is to establish a totalitarian agricultural superpower – a monopoly which sets organic farmers up for failure in order to force them toward utilizing Monsanto’s GM seeds.
But is this true? Could Monsanto actually be determined to wipe out all transgenic varieties? Is their goal really to wipe out all the local farms so that all their industrialized food products can dominate our agricultural market? Do they really want to negate our ability to feed ourselves? Or is their intention truly to serve a positive impact toward the quality and growth of our food supply? The information has been set in place, but determining the truth is up to you.
Sources
- Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Eric Schlosser. Http://www.foodincmovie.com/. 2008. Web. 7 May 2011.
- "Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers." Http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/. Center for Food Safety, 2005. Web. 6 May 2011.
- Anderson, Cassandra. "Monsanto Shifts ALL Liability to Farmers For Losses, Injury, Damages from Monsanto Seeds." Www.wordpress.com. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 May 2011.
- Takver. "Farm Loses Organic Certification Due to Contamination by Monsanto GM Canola." Www.greenpasture.org. 25 Dec. 2010. Web. 8 May 2011.
- The World According to Monsanto. Perf. Marie-Monique Robin. 2008. Web. Apr.-May 2011. youtube.com
Brandon Boucher - Since I was a young kid, I have always been somewhat of a rebel. From day one of grade school I was always defiant on what others told me ...
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