Monsanto
Juan Colon
GE217 Composition II
Mr. Cardew
Final Paper
August 30, 2012
Monsanto and Genetically Modified Foods
Monsanto is an agricultural biotech corporate giant that genetically modifies animals and crop seeds. On their website, they come across a deeply committed humanitarian organization that provides an ecologically sustainable answer to global hunger and malnutrition. The sad reality is that Monsanto is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and perhaps one of the most unethical corporate giants in the world today. I will argue that Monsanto is on a power trip, and that they have a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with compassion, ecology or human hunger, and everything to do with greed. In the following paragraphs, I will provide a brief history of Monsanto. Then I will examine some of the promises made in their marketing propaganda, and provide evidence that these promises are little more than blatant lies.
Monsanto started out in 1901 developing a highly controversial artificial sweetener called saccharine. Monsanto eventually shifted their focus to genetically modified plants and animals. They are still a major chemical production corporation, developing and marketing Roundup and several other herbicides, Bovine Growth Hormone, and genetically modified seeds. Among the most widely recognized of their genetically modified products include corn, soy and canola. These seeds have a gene inserted that makes them resistant to Monsanto 's own herbicide called Roundup. These seed crops are called Roundup Ready. The purpose of Roundup is to destroy weeds that threaten crops. Seeds that are Roundup Ready can be heavily sprayed with Roundup without killing the plant. The plants are kept weed-free. This sounds like a good thing, but in fact, the plants are being covered in a toxic herbicide. These chemicals have been shown to cause genetic damage and to be endocrine disruptors in both animals and human tissues (Gasnier 184). Endocrine disruptors negatively affect our
GE217 Composition II
Mr. Cardew
Final Paper
August 30, 2012
Monsanto and Genetically Modified Foods
Monsanto is an agricultural biotech corporate giant that genetically modifies animals and crop seeds. On their website, they come across a deeply committed humanitarian organization that provides an ecologically sustainable answer to global hunger and malnutrition. The sad reality is that Monsanto is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and perhaps one of the most unethical corporate giants in the world today. I will argue that Monsanto is on a power trip, and that they have a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with compassion, ecology or human hunger, and everything to do with greed. In the following paragraphs, I will provide a brief history of Monsanto. Then I will examine some of the promises made in their marketing propaganda, and provide evidence that these promises are little more than blatant lies.
Monsanto started out in 1901 developing a highly controversial artificial sweetener called saccharine. Monsanto eventually shifted their focus to genetically modified plants and animals. They are still a major chemical production corporation, developing and marketing Roundup and several other herbicides, Bovine Growth Hormone, and genetically modified seeds. Among the most widely recognized of their genetically modified products include corn, soy and canola. These seeds have a gene inserted that makes them resistant to Monsanto 's own herbicide called Roundup. These seed crops are called Roundup Ready. The purpose of Roundup is to destroy weeds that threaten crops. Seeds that are Roundup Ready can be heavily sprayed with Roundup without killing the plant. The plants are kept weed-free. This sounds like a good thing, but in fact, the plants are being covered in a toxic herbicide. These chemicals have been shown to cause genetic damage and to be endocrine disruptors in both animals and human tissues (Gasnier 184). Endocrine disruptors negatively affect our
Cited: Drinker, Cecil K. Chemical Industry Archives 'Report to The Monsanto Chemical Company ' September 15, 1936: 1-11. Elliott, Charlene. "Unlabelled: Law, Language, and Genetically Modified Foods in Canada." Canadian Journal of Communication Jan. 2006: 247+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Gasnier, Céline, Dumont, Coralie, Benachour, Nora, Clair, Emilie, Chagnon, Christine and Séralini, Gilles-Eric. "Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines". Toxicology June 2009: 262 (3): 184-191. Grunwald, Michael. 'Monsanto Hid Decades of Pollution PCBs Drenched Ala. Town, But No One Was Ever Told ' 1 Jan. 2002. Washington Post: A01. Malone, Andrew. 'The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops ' Global Research 6 Nov. 2008. Monsanto. Monsanto Company 10 2006 http://www.monsanto.ca/ Savich, Jason. "Monsanto V. Scruggs: The Negative Impact of Patent Exhaustion on Self-Replicating Technology." Berkeley Technology Law Journal 22.1 (2007): 115-135. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.