'CASE CLOSED - Monsanto Guilty As Charged for Crimes...'

Monsanto exposed

Ninety percent of genetically engineered (GE) seed is made and owned by one US company
called Monsanto, and they don’t want us to know when GE is in our food. Many consumers
around the world are against GE foods and crops, because genetic engineering has been
associated with health risks, loss of biodiversity, increased use of toxic weed killers
(herbicides) and other environmental problems.

Monsanto’s battle to force GE foods and crops onto the world
Monsanto’s agenda is to turn the world’s agriculture and food production into one big
genetic experiment. However, their success has been very limited so far. Only one percent
of the world’s farmers are growing GE crops. Furthermore, eighty-five percent of GE crops
are concentrated in just three countries: the United States, Argentina and Canada, and so
far only four GE crops (cotton, oilseed rape/canola, soya and maize/corn) have been grown
on a commercial scale.

In most parts of the world (e.g. in Europe, Russia, Africa and most Latin American and
Asian countries) major food companies and retailers are refusing to sell GE foods. There
are also many governments who have banned the growing of GE crops or are refusing to
import them.

In response to mounting criticism, Monsanto has been making an effort to green up its
public image. On the surface their 2007 annual report “Growth for a better world” almost
reads as if Monsanto has turned into a philanthropic organization.

But this is a facade. The real Monsanto is in the business of making money - first and
last. Their evident strategy is to make farmers worldwide dependent on their patented
seeds, herbicides and pesticides. The record, as we demonstrate below, shows that
Monsanto does not hesitate to sweep aside everything else...sustainable agriculture, the
environment, farmer’s livelihoods and consumer’s interests... if this is required to
achieve their goal of market domination.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/genetic-engineering-exposed


Monsanto’s seven deadly sins

Agro-chemical companies like Monsanto
systematically conceal the truth about
how much is understood about the risks and
benefits of genetic engineering to farmers
and consumers. Bellow we deconstruct
Monsanto’s ‘pledge’ to the world (copied
from their website), and expose the reality.

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Dialogue: We will listen carefully to diverse
points of view and engage
in thoughtful dialogue to broaden our
understanding of issues in order to better
address the needs and concerns of society and
each other.

TRUTH REVEALED
Monsanto balks at UN-led study because it
doesn’t produce favourable outcomes

In January 2008 Monsanto - together with two other GE companies - resigned from the International
Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), a UN led global multistakeholder
initiative engaging over 4000 experts over three years. The IAASTD intends to map how
science, technology and accumulated good-farming practice can be used to reduce hunger and improve
quality of life for rural people in developing countries. But when Monsanto found out that the draft
report did not uncritically promote GE crops, it decided to pull out. Apparently the company is not
interested in sound science when it doesn’t fit their business plans.

TRUTH REVEALED
INDONESIA: Monsanto bribery ends in court
January 2005 Monsanto, the US agro-chemical company, had to pay 1.5 million US dollars in penalties
to the US government over a bribe paid in Indonesia in a bid to bypass controls on the screening of
new genetically engineered cotton crops.

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Transparency: We will ensure that information is available, accessible and understandable.

TRUTH REVEALED
US: Monsanto campaigns to undermine consumer’s right to know
In the US, several large dairy producers and food companies have been getting rid of Monsanto’s
recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST, from their milk supply. This is great
news for consumers, since this growth hormone produced from GE bacteria is known to cause harm to
cows and may pose health risks to humans. However, in an attack on consumers’ right to know, Monsanto
has sued the Oakhurst dairy company in the state of Maine (US) and tried to force them, and other
dairies, to stop the use of labels identifying “rBGH-free” or “rBST-free” dairy products.

TRUTH REVEALED
Germany: Court hearing only way to get Monsanto
information
In June 2005, a German law court ordered Monsanto to
disclose a suppressed report on rat feeding trials
related to the company’s genetically engineered
maize MON863. The decision follows a request by
Greenpeace to gain access to the document under
European Union law. Monsanto has consistently
tried to prevent the publication of the 1000 page
document. After the documents were finally accessible
for everybody, it soon became clear why Monsanto
had tried to suppress the results. Independent
scientists who studied the Monsanto feeding trials
came to the conclusion that the rats that had been
fed GE maize MON863 showed “signs of toxicity” in
kidney and liver.
http://www.monsanto.com/pdf/pubs/2007/pledge_report.pdf
Deserting the hungry? Nature editorial 451: 223-224, 17 January 2008.
Financial Times. Jonathan Birchall. 6 January 2005
Dohoo, I.. Leslie, K., Descôteaux, L. Shewfelt, W. 2003. A meta-analysis review of the effects of recombinant bovine somatotropin 1
and 2. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 67: 241-251 and 252-264
see: http://www.gene.ch/genet/2003/Jul/msg00073.html
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/releases/seralini_study_MON863
© Greenpeace/Novis

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Sharing: We will share knowledge and technology to advance scientific understanding, to improve
agriculture and the environment, to improve crops, and to help farmers in developing countries.

TRUTH REVEALED
“We strongly object that the image of the poor and hungry from our countries is being used by
giant multinational corporations to push a technology that is neither safe, environmentally
friendly nor economically beneficial...”
Delegates from 20 African Countries to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN meeting on
Plant Genetic Resources
Hunger is a problem of food distribution, lack of access to land, water and income, not the
availability of food, as has been pointed out by people such as the Indian economist and Nobel
Price winner Amartya Sen. These problems are not solved by introducing GE seeds. On the contrary
- GE crops are likely to aggravate the hunger problem and indebtedness of small farmers, because
they require high investments in expensive seeds and huge amounts of pesticides and fertilizers.

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Benefits: We will deliver high-quality products that are beneficial to our customers and to the
environment, with sound and innovative science, and thoughtful and effective stewardship

TRUTH REVEALED
Monsanto’s GE cotton fails Indian farmers
A subsidiary of Monsanto in India, Mahyco-Monsanto, has been promoting genetically engineered
(GE) cotton since 2003. Monsanto claims that the GE cotton (also known as “Bt cotton”) reduces
pest damage, increases yields and raises farmer’s incomes. But Monsanto’s claims were never
realised as the GE cotton failed to control the target pest . A coalition of farmer organisations
from Andhra Pradesh, one of India’s biggest cotton growing states, published a statement saying
that, “though Bt cotton was touted with the claim that it would reduce the total cost of
cultivation by reducing the number of sprays and thereby the cost of pesticide consumption, it
totally failed in fulfilling this promise. In fact it increased the costs of cultivation for all
categories of farmers.” 10
Despite these apparent bad results, Monsanto did not acknowledge the failure
of the crops, nor did the company offer compensation to farmers. On the
contrary, they stepped up promotional activities for the use of Bt cotton in
the coming season.11

TRUTH REVEALED
GE maize too expensive for Philippino farmers
In 2004, Thomas Datinguinoo - a small scale farmer in the municipality
of Naujan, on the island Mindoro in the Philippines - decided to grow
Monsanto’s GE maize (also known as Bt maize) after he had been lured by the
company’s promise that the maize would “guarantee yield increases”. However,
Datinguinoo found that the costs (including high seed prices and increased
input of chemicals) associated with Bt corn were so high, that all the profit
was lost. Datinguinoo: “When I first planted GE maize, the yield was good,
but there were so many expenses that I did not earn anything. I was very
disappointed with Monsanto’s seeds and I will never plant them again.”12

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Respect: We will respect the religious, cultural and ethical concerns of people throughout
the world. The safety of our employees, the communities where we operate, consumers and the
environment will be our highest priority.

TRUTH REVEALED
France and South Africa: Monsanto condemned for making false safety claims
In January 2007, a French court convicted Monsanto for falsely claiming that Roundup is a
“biodegradable” toxin. Roundup is the company’s best selling herbicide and is massively
sprayed on GE crops. It is known to be harmful to the environment and human health. After the
French court decision Monsanto was forced to remove the words “biodegradable” from its Roundup
containers in France.13
Just a few months after the court ruling in France, Monsanto was told by the Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) in South Africa to withdraw an advert in which it was falsely claimed that “no
substantiated scientific or medical negative reactions to GM foods have ever been reported”14.
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/upload/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy /gaiafoundation2.pdf
Kranthi, K.R., Naidu, S, Dhawad, C.S., et al 2005. Temporal and intra-plant variability of Cry1Ac expression in Bt-cotton and
its influence on the survival of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera). Current Science
89:291-298.
10 http://www.grain.org/research_files/BT_Cotton_-_A_three_year_report.pdf
11 see: http://www.monsantoindia.com/monsanto/layout/pressreleases/nanaapr2805.asp
12 http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/press/reports/rpt-ge-bteconomics
13 Agence France Presse, 26 january 2007
14 http://www.asasa.org.za/ResultDetail.aspx?Ruling=3719
© Greenpeace/Ritsema

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Act as Owners to Achieve Results:
We will create clarity of direction,
roles and accountability, build strong
relationships with our customers and
external partners; make wise decisions;
steward our company resources; and take
responsibility for achieving agreed
upon results.

TRUTH REVEALED
Monsanto vs. US farmers
A 2007 report from the US based Center
for Food Safety 15 (CFS) documents
Monsanto’s lawsuits against American
farmers, revealing thousands of
investigations, nearly 100 lawsuits
and numerous bankruptcies.
At issue: Monsanto owns its GE
seeds, and the seeds from plants grown from
these seeds. Farmers have been sued for saving seeds from one
season to plant in the next (an age old practice), and even when Monsanto’s GE
crops have accidentally contaminated farmer’s fields.
After extensive research and numerous interviews with farmers and lawyers, CFS found that Monsanto has
used heavy-handed investigations and ruthless litigation. The largest recorded judgment made thus far in
favour of Monsanto as a result of a farmer lawsuit is $3,052,800.00. Total recorded judgments granted to
Monsanto for lawsuits amount to $15,253,602.82. Farmers have paid an average of $412,259.54 for cases with
recorded judgments. The patents that rest on Monsanto’s GE seeds have made US farmers almost defenceless
when faced with litigations. It has led to a truly new era in which farmers are being sued and harassed
for doing what they have always done: saving seeds.
No farmer is safe from the long reach of Monsanto. According to the CFS report, farmers have even been
sued after their field was contaminated by pollen or seed from someone else’s genetically engineered crop;
when genetically engineered seed from a previous year’s crop has sprouted, or “volunteered,” in fields
planted with non-GE varieties the following year.

MONSANTOS PLEDGE
Creating a great place to work: We will ensure
diversity of people and thought; foster
innovation, creativity and learning; practice
inclusive teamwork;
and reward and recognize our people.

TRUTH REVEALED
Former Monsanto employee
“I left the company because I expressed my
concerns regarding the introduction of GM
technology in Romania. I believed that neither
Romania nor the company were ready and able to
monitor and control the GM technology.”16
Dragos Dima, former general manager of Monsanto
in Romania, who left the company in 1998.

CASE CLOSED
Monsanto guilty as charged for crimes against
nature, crimes against the right of farmers to
grow, and consumers to eat, GE-free crops and food.

SENTENCE
To stop the growing of GE crops and focus on GE-free crop
and food production that is grounded in the principles of
sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing
all people to have access to safe and nutritious food.


15 http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/Monsantovsusfarmersreport.cfm
16 http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/gmo-lamy
Genetix Crime Unit
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