Monsanto Vs. Farmers : Who Has The Victory?

| Monsanto continues to grow with future acquisitions of other companies in the industry (i.e. Asgrow Agronomics, Holden’s Foundation Seeds, Corn States Hybrid Service, and DeKalb Genetics Corp.).- Monsanto expands its production of genetically modified seed products which are herbicide tolerant. These include, “Roundup Ready Canola,” “Roundup Ready Cotton,” and “Roundup Ready Corn.”- Monsanto is also the first company to introduce a dual genetically engineered seed with protection from both insects and herbicides (cotton and corn seeds).

The main ingredient used in Monsanto produce is glyphosate. Companies are injecting the plants’ seeds with glyphosate, which alters the plants’ DNA. Glyphosate is an herbicide, the same chemical used in Roundup. It is toxic to plants. Glyphosates’ purpose is to kill off unwanted weeds. Companies are injecting chemicals, whose main purpose is to kill plants, into the DNA of our foods (Hamblin). The World Health Organization (WHO) cancer agency has declared that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen” (Hamblin). Research conducted by WHO shows that glyphosate increases breast cancer cell growth. Researchers determined that Monsanto’s Roundup is an “exnoestrogen,” which is an unknown estrogen that imitates real estrogen in our bodies. This manipulation of estrogen can cause several problems within our bodies, such as “increased risk of various cancers, premature puberty, thyroid issues, infertility, and more”

Monsanto is a known name in America correlated with the farming industry, but most people do not even scratch the surface in researching the company. The name appears in colleges and in many articles. Monsanto is an international corporation based out of the United States of America. They are accredited with most of the genetically modified crops in the country today. In 1996, Round Up Ready soybeans were introduced to the farming community. (Brown) This was main introduction of GMOs into agriculture. By 2003, Monsanto already

When seed farmers sign a contract with Monsanto, they are required to use their engineered seeds. Monsanto sues the farmer if they do not use the seeds that they require them to use. The regulations of these companies cause

Monsanto has neglected to do their due diligence to protect the American people. Currently, they supply a weed killer called Roundup, that is poisoning both the environment and the American people. Monsanto is not required to disclose what ingredients are in Roundup, but one of the known ingredients is glyphosate, a possible carcinogen. While plants may be ready for this chemical introduction, humans are not. This chemical is potentially dangerous to people as it often ends up in our water sources, poisoning the fish in our food chain. While the potential dangers of Roundup are not known, that of previous Monsanto products are known. Monsanto helped to create the Atomic bomb that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are no other words to describe the outcome of that bomb but devastating.

By 1988, soybeans were successfully being inserted with genes that made them glyphosate tolerant, which is an herbicide (Chassy 169). This is more commonly known today as round-up ready crops. The benefit of this is that now, farmers can spray round-up ready crops and not kill them. Round-up kills all other plants in the field that would otherwise be interfering with the growth of the crop. This is just one of the many traits that can be inserted into the DNA of plants. Crops can now achieve far higher yields than ever before. Corn plots at Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois have increased from 10 bushels an acre, to more than 200 bushels an acre (Chassy

Monsanto is notoriously known for partaking in the industrial production of herbicides and chemical warfare for militant use. Specifically, Monsanto is infamously known for the production of Agent Orange, a defoliant/herbicide used during the Vietnam War. Since its use, one of the many chemically adverse effects Agent Orange has been responsible for to this day are birth defects specifically among children related to veterans who have serviced in the Vietnamese and Korean military. Although Monsanto has moved away from the production of chemical warfare to the production of GMOs for human consumption, it is ethically debatable for Monsanto to be the leading industry to specialize in GMO production. The ethicality of Monsanto's contribution and influence in GMO production is also questionable due to Monsanto's economic position in domineering the seed market and GMO market, raising the possible risk of Monsanto's monopoly in both markets. Due to the intersectionality of GMO technology in socio-political private and public spheres, it is important to further research the credibility and ethicality of GM produces before its consumption and technology begin to raise problematic economic, environmental, and medical

The Monsanto Co. was the first company to introduced GM foods into the market. These foods had built in herbicides

Duke, S. O. (1995). Herbicide-Resistant Crops: Agricultural, Economic, Environmental, Regulatory, and Technological Aspects. 83-84. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

Monsanto’s is an agricultural biotechnology corporation. They are the producers of Roundup ready seeds, which are seeds that are not affected or killed by weed killer. Not only do they produce the seeds but they produce the herbicide Roundup as well that kills unwanted weeds and grass. These things seem like something every gardener would want. What could be better? Well Roundup is not all is thought to be. The herbicide Roundup has been linked to damaging liver and kidneys.

By getting rid of the heritage plants, many of the crops lose many of their nutrients which are replaced by an array of toxins and GMO seeds. According to AgMag, big GMO companies like Monsanto, claimed the use of genetically modified crop were going to increase crop yields. Referring to the “agricultural output” (Staff), in other terms, the amount of a crop that was harvested per unit of land. Instead, the crops were not improved and there was a noticeable increase in the use of glyphosate; as known as, “Glyphosate is an herbicide. It is applied to the leaves of plants to kill both broadleaf plants and grasses. The sodium salt form of glyphosate is used to regulate plant growth and ripen fruit” (Ewg) according to the National Pesticide Center. As the graph below shows, the tremendous increase in the use of Glyphosate used on wheat. In the year 1999, there was approximately 4,000 pounds being dumped into the crops. Yet it did not stop there, as in 2009, the amount of glycophase spiraled upwards to an astonishing sixteen thousand

Louis, Missouri area. Monsanto was founded in 1901 originally as a small chemical company. Around the 1920’s the company began to expand and provide industrial chemicals such as PCB’s and types of acids. Monsanto is most famously known for its products such as Agent Orange, Round up, DDT, and the Bovine growth hormone. In 1996 the company began to get into the seed industry and had access to sales in over 51 country’s, at the time making it the worlds largest seed company.

“Monsanto Company started off its chemical business in 1997, Monsanto traces its roots to John Francisco Queeny, a purchaser for a wholesale drug house, who formed the Monsanto Chemical Works in St. Louis, Missouri”(Barboza). In the mid-1990s, it became the first to widely market genetically engineered

Monsanto Company is the world’s largest seed company. They specialize in genetic manipulation of organisms.

Monsanto is a Saint Louis Chemical manufacturer that is a major player in the weed killing business. Monsanto has quite a portentous past. They developed and produced the notorious defoliant "Agent Orange" used in the Vietnam War, they invented the controversial recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), and they were the inventors and world’s main producer of