Over the past decade or so, society has made a turn for the better by putting more importance on their health and well-being. More attention is being put into the importance of fueling the human body with high quality foods. Nutritional labels are being read, ingredients are being deciphered, everyone is becoming more knowledgeable and educated. Food companies everywhere are now advertising symbols that display the common health topics people want: “Fresh, Never Frozen” “100% organic” or “certified Non GMO”. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are a highly controversial biotechnology that has been deemed detrimental to human health by the masses. Scientifically speaking, no evidence has surfaced stating they are harmful to our health, but no evidence proving they are benign has arisen either, yet a lot of people deem them as being harmful. The widespread belief that GMOs and GEs pose a harm to human health is largely due to the fact that a large amount of people are apprehensive at best, with topics involving, Monsanto. Monsanto is a powerhouse company, and founder of the GMO technology. This uneasiness roots from the company’s shaky past and its inability to handle scandal effectively. As a result, Monsanto is seen as being a malicious company who has little regard for human safety as it attempts to monopolize the seed industry by using questionable tactics.
Monsanto was founded in 1901 as a chemical company in St. Louis, Missouri by John Francisco Queeny, a man with a 30-year pharmaceutical background, for the purpose of producing saccharin, an artificial sweetener.
It is a common misbelief that Monsanto has always been one company, in reality, the biotech Monsanto we know today is a conglomerate of seed companies acquired in the 1990s and 2000s. This new Monsanto has little to do with the chemical Monsanto of the past. The first split was in two in 1996; Solutia Inc., was created to produce only chemicals, while Monsanto became responsible for the agricultural technology the company had started producing at the time. Before the split, Monsanto did not begin to research and produce biotech products until 1996 as president and chief operating officer, Robert B. Shapiro persisted in spite of it being a new technology that not many knew about. The company then launched its first biotech product line consisting of, “herbicide-tolerant soybeans, and insect-resistant cotton” (Enclopedia.com). This was the beginning of the agricultural Monsanto of today. Three years after the spinoff of the chemicals business, the remaining Monsanto company responsible for agriculture and pharmaceuticals, was separated again in 2000. Monsanto Company merged with Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc.; “the agricultural biotech business was incorporated as a Monsanto Company subsidiary in February 2000 named the Monsanto Ag Company” (Enclopedia.com). Soon after Pharmacia & Upjohn changed its name to Pharmacia Corporation and the agricultural subsidiary, Monsanto Ag Company, then became the new Monsanto Company. Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in April 2003. Solutia, the chemical business, eventually filed for bankruptcy because of backlash that came from settlements relating to the old Monsanto’s PCB manufacturing, which ended in 1977, leaving the Monsanto focused on agricultural biotechnology we know today. Most people do not know that the company split at all. This lack of knowledge greatly impacts the view people have on the company as on GMOs. The agricultural Monsanto of today still receives backlash for the actions of the chemical company of the past. Unfortunately for them, they decided to keep the same after the split resulting in the actions of the past following the new Monsanto to this day.
In spite of the problems it faces today, Monsanto Company is the leading global supplier of herbicides and seeds; it also leads the world market for genetically modified seed in corn, soybean, and cotton. Monsanto also makes the leading brand of herbicide, Roundup, and has developed genetically engineered seeds for crops to resist it. Roundup was created in the 1980s when Monsanto created the herbicide, Glyphosate and marketed as Roundup. Success from this product did not come until after Monsanto developed genetically modified seeds that would resist Roundup, an herbicide, meaning it kills weeds and unwanted vegetation. This in turn offered farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting their crops. Apart from convenience, this new technology resulted in an immense increase in crop yield and cost reduction as farmers need not till the land as much as before. This in turn caused many farmers to change to Monsanto’s GMO solution very quickly.
The problems with Roundup and the genetically modified seeds came after Monsanto patented the seeds. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready seeds are required to sign an agreement promising not to save the seed produced after each harvest for re-planting, or to sell the seed to other farmers; this means that farmers must buy new seed every year. Monsanto has been known for terrorizing small farmers for allegedly breaching these seed patent agreements. Gary Rinehart, store owner in the small town of Eagleville, Missouri claims to have been verbally attacked by a man who simply walked into his, “old-time country store,” claiming to have proof that Rinehart had planted Monsanto’s genetically modified soybeans, “in violation of the company’s patent” (Barlett and Steele). Rinehart describes the shock and puzzled faces of the customers as the threatening man continued. Except, no one was truly surprised, Rinehart goes on to describe that it was known; Monsanto held a firm hand to those the company suspected of planting or selling any of their precious seed. Except, Rinehart was not a farmer, nor a seed dealer; he was a small business owner in a town of, “350 people” (Barlett and Steele). The man was relentless, as Rinehart showed him the door, he kept spewing threats, greatly damaging the credibility and respectability of Rinehart and his business when he was, in fact, accusing the wrong man. This is just one instance, from many who have reported being harassed and threatened. Monsanto agents allegedly pretend to be surveyors pressuring unknowing people into signing papers disclosing their private papers to Monsanto. Because of the sheer amount of allegations regarding Monsanto’s threats, Monsanto themselves have a page on their website deemed, “Saved Seed and Farmer Lawsuits;” on this page Monsanto acknowledges the use of, “licensed private investigators,” may be used in order to, “look into the facts” (Monsanto Company).
The company’s most popular chemical in the 1920s was Polychlorinated Biphenyl or PCB. This chemical contained carcinogens and pollutants which were resistant to acids and heat; They needed at least 100 days of direct sunlight to even begin to break down. One would expect a substance this toxic to be fairly rare, but on the contrary, it was used as a popular coolant in power transformers and compositors prior to the 1970s. To this day some towns still have transformers which contain this chemical. Monsanto has contaminated the environment with PCBs. Monsanto claims the only side effect of long-time exposure is, “a serious skin condition called chloracne,” which is an acne-like eruption of blackheads and cysts (Chemical Industry Archives). Documents surfaced in 2002 from a series of lawsuits settled in 2001 show that Monsanto was well aware of their toxicity as early as 1937. Monsanto was the only US producer of PCBs for nearly 50 years before Congress banned the substance in 1979. This hurt Monsanto’s revenue significantly. As a result of this loss, in the 1980s the company decided to shift from chemical production to agricultural biotechnology. This is when the company split into Solutia Inc. and Monsanto. During this time period Monsanto’s scientists, led by Robert Frayley were the first in history to successfully genetically modify plants. This is where the era of GMOs began.
Monsanto is a very powerful company with a reach that is far and wide. In order to ensure its success, the company has been known for finding creative ways to manipulate the law in its favor. For instance, in 1926, Monsanto, Illinois, now named Sauget, Illinois, was a company town; or a town where practically all stores and housing are owned by one company, that is also the main employer. The company being Monsanto Co. who, “could operate with a friendly local government” (Barker). During this time, local governments were responsible for most environmental laws. This particular town was very lenient, so lenient in fact, that Monsanto the company built its largest PCB factory in said town. Monsanto town was left incredibly polluted as a result of the, “hazardous chemicals dumped years ago”; to resolve this problem, “The EPA issued decisions for the next phases of the Sauget cleanup… One, which involves a new cap and layers of soil, asphalt, and rock over the contaminated areas, is expected to run north of $20 million… Another governs sites further east along Dead Creek and is expected to cost some $14 million” (Barker). Monsanto Co., going to the lengths it did to ensure its production of PCBs which we know are toxic, greatly shows the tenacity the company has, without regard for those affected. With all of this being said, recognize that although this crucial to understanding Monsanto and its past, this Monsanto is the chemical company that came before the biotechnology Monsanto we know today.
A common rumor that continues to trail Monsanto to this day is that it not only invented, but was also the primary manufacturer of the infamous Agent Orange. Agent Orange is a powerful herbicide and defoliant chemical used for, “tactical purposes,” by the U.S. government during the Vietnam war (Dow Corporation). This herbicide contains a highly toxic chemical known as dioxin. Dioxin was later found out to cause permanent health issue to those exposed to it. Dow Chemical Corporation was actually one of the “major producers and suppliers of the Agent Orange. During the wartime in South of Vietnam… from 1961 to 1971” (Salem-News). The media portrays Monsanto as being the mastermind behind Agent Orange when in fact they were simply a supplier and not the primary one at that. According to Dow Chemical Corporation, companies were, “under the compulsion of the Defense Production Act of 1950,” to supply the chemical, meaning the companies were forced to supply by law. The current Monsanto company themselves acknowledge the former Monsanto Company’s involvement in the matter between 1965 to 1969. The split between the two Monsantos has meant that the current independent agricultural company since 2002 is held responsible for the actions of the Monsanto chemical company of the past (Monsanto).
In the last century Monsanto has overcome a significant amount. The company has switched management, switched businesses, been held responsible and accountable for the actions of its predecessor, the list goes on. But not only that, the company has dealt with an immense amount of hate. There is no denying the company has and is making questionable decisions especially in the ways it attempts to ensure its patents are respected, but it is very likely that other companies do the same to ensure their own growth and prosperity. Calling a company evil is easy; calling anything or anyone evil is. And, if you do it enough times it can become reality, because in fact, reality is defined as being the most common perception. If you say something enough times and everyone believes to be true, then it is. Large or revolutionary creations are the easiest to target as they have the least amount of information available, meaning people cannot be exposed to the information as it does not yet exist. Without these exposures, fear, close-mindedness, and stubbornness are born. When fear is born, panic arises, and with panic, comes the natural fight or flight reactions. Here people begin to ‘fly’ from the fear, by avoiding GMOs altogether or ‘fight’ the fear by starting protests and movements against Monsanto.