- Reviews & Essays
- The Problem with Monsanto
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According to the calendar, despite the fact that there is a growing layer of snow upon the soil outside my house, it's supposed to be Spring. With Spring there's the promise of many things, warmer weather, flowers blooming, and fresh fruits and vegetables on their way. For many homeowners this means dealing with their lawns and in particular, dealing with the perceived weeds that spring up in unwanted places. To deal with the unwanted weeds many folks will turn to using the popular solution of herbicides, perhaps the best well known of these being Round-Up. Many farmers will also turn to using this popular herbicide to protect their crops from invading weeds. Who produces this chemical? A company called Monsanto, a name that has become rather infamous over the years as it's been entwined with another phrase, genetically modified organism or GMO. While the consumption of GMO products has been heavily debated, there is another concern about the heavy use of this product that hasn't been so well addressed, the lack of genetic diversity created by the use of GMO products.
Who is Monsanto? Simply put they are a company that either produces or owns other companies that produce various herbicides and seeds. They produce seeds for products like corn, sugar cane, soybeans, wheat, canola, and others. This company also produces herbicides like Round-up and Lariat. They came across the idea in the 1990's to genetically modify their food crops to be resistant to their herbicides. For the company it was a stroke of genius, for the rest of humanity it will prove to have dire consequences in the long term. I understand that yes, in the short term it's worked well to massively increase production of base food crops, it's the long term that it seems few are willing to consider, particularly those who really should be looking at it.
Diversity is nature's way of ensuring survival of a species despite harsh, changing conditions. It's a basic survival trait that has been taken advantage of by farmers since the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution about 12,000 years ago. The system works, it allows for growth of a species to combat the various challenges of an area it's grown in. If there is heavy weed growth that steals a vital nutrient only versions of that crop that can withstand the weeds will survive. Yet this system was bypassed by the invention of Round-up Ready seeds, seeds that had a gene spliced in to allow them to withstand Round-Up. Well, how's that different you might ask? Simply it's the problem that eventually some weeds will survive and their species will adapt to being resistant. By that time however, farmers will have become adjusted to doing things one way and will be hard pressed to keep up production while having to adapt to dealing with the new weeds.
How do I know this will happen? Well, that's because it already has and is already putting a large strain on an agricultural system taxed by droughts, floods, and a booming population. In 2010 Round-up Ready crops accounted for upwards of 70% of the United States corn and 90% of soybean crops, setting up the system for severe problems. It was also about that time that Round up resistant horseweed, pigweed, ragweed, etc., started to appear. It doesn't take a genius to realize that this is going to become a large problem, yet these chemical companies keeping offering modified seeds made to match with their herbicides.
In the meantime farmers who have tried to grow crops that aren't GMO have struggled with the problem that their crops often end up cross pollinating with their neighbors GMO products. To add insult to injury, not only are these farmers crops not what they wanted but often times Monsanto will then sue them claiming the farmers have stolen Monsanto's product. It's a situation that has put a large number of farmers who would prefer to grow non-GMO crops out of the business and further reduced our supply of seeds in different varieties.
Primarily the reason that Monsanto has chosen to pursue these solutions is in the end, money. Yes they will spout off some noble ideas of feeding humanity and being sustainable. If spraying large loads of chemicals into the ground and profiting heavily while billions around the world starve due to lack of economically priced food is their goal then they've achieved it, otherwise they need to just shut their mouths.
As this world's population continues to grow past seven billion people it's become very important that we keep a close eye on the agriculture industry and how it will be able to meet the food requirements for future generations. The manner in which Monsanto has chosen to meet these goals falls short in the long run, as it's just a temporary fix and it's already wearing off as nature has evolved to meet the challenge. What is needed is a solution that doesn't rely on soaking the ground in chemicals that require hazmat suits to apply but are then ingested by the consumer and a solution that is capable of being used in a manner that does not harm the environment. We need to put more money and more effort into finding this solution and tell companies like Monsanto that we the consumer will not support them profiting off destroying the ecosystem and endangering our food supply.
- COMMENTS
Anonymousabout 2 years agoThis essay is full of debunked claims and practically a case study in deployment or repetition if the most common logical fallacies.
The fact is that counties that now feed themselves, for example India and China, as well as the majority of Africa can only do so with GMO. Why? because GMO crops produce vastly more per acre, vastly more per gallon of water, and use LESS, not more, pesticides.
Anonymousabout 11 years agoBad food, air, electrical harmonics, medicine, and gun control are part of a bigger problem. Its time we used our 9th amendment rights to keep our 2nd amendment rights to protect our 1st amendment rights to preserve our 4th amendment rights. In 1933 the Constitution Republic of the United States was replaced with a CORPORATE DEMOCRACY as the nation was bankrupted and sold to the global bankers for 11 million in gold. (At that time only 8 million in gold was known to exist.) Anyway, people are starting to wakeup and it is scaring the global bankers. So, the UN has adopted Agenda 21 to control the global population as not to be removed from power. So, our food is designed to kill us slowly while robbing us financially. Chemicals and bio-hazards are sprayed from planes into our air. Our electrical grid, gas, and water are being upgraded to Smart Meters which are designed to attack our nervous systems with microwaves. Many wireless devices follow suite. Allopathic medicine was selected and funded to be our managed death-care system as it eats our checkbook. Our managed population reduction is in Agenda 21. And In Many More Ways! Please note that Obama doesn't even pretend to follow the Constitution any more because he is actually the king of America and CEO of the CORPORATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA under admiralty law. No wonder why politicians ignore the people as of late. The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction under admiralty law so they keep finding loops to hide in to avoid telling the people out right what happened. Food for thought
Anonymousabout 11 years agoYou do have valid points, but you seem to be only pointing to the finger at Monsanto and similar companies as the only parties responsible for all the problems when the issue isn't that simple at all.
Like what one poster had said, agriculture is a business. Companies like Monsanto would've gone out of business long ago if people stopped buying their products because of environmental concerns. You can't really blame them for seeking economical solutions. Many farming businesses are caught at an endless downward spiral of competition and would seek every advantage to stay afloat. And who are allowing these companies like Monsanto to continue doing what they're doing? It's the government, farmers, and the consumers!
It's funny you would even compare weeds in a lawn with weeds in a farm. It's easy to deal with weeds using safe, traditional methods (like pulling it up with your hands) if the area in concern is small, but try that in a farm! It's going to take forever.
Finally, you can't solve the problem without finding a solution first. Unless you can find a method that's safe, effective, and economical, people would continue using Monsanto's pesticides. If you're suggesting of going back to using neolithic technology, you're naive. Ancient farming practices would only be able support a small population, not to mention costs were much cheaper back then because society was smaller and simpler. Still, many ancient societies collapsed at the times when they were desperately trying to maximize their crop yields in order to support the population. In today's modern society, you have so many layers of administration and bureacracy regulating everything that doing everything is expensive.
Anonymousabout 11 years agoI didn't really expect to find such an article on this site. As a 40 plus year farmer who has followed organic practices since I was a teenager, I have to agree with most of what the author writes. Monsanto and the companies that have been licensed to use Big M's technology are driving family farms, as we know them, out of business. I believe there is an argument as to whether GM crops will really "save the world from hunger" or in the long run make it worse. It seems like about the same amount of pesticides are being used if not more then before RR (Roundup Ready) seeds came on the market. I believe the jury is still out on if gyphosphate (Roundup) is as safe as originally thought.
One note on the article, Monsanto has GM sugar BEET seed, not sugar cane.
Anonymousabout 11 years agoAll done for greed. Nobody cares if the food you eat kills, as long as they can line their pockets. High fructose replaced sugar. Greed. GMO replaced heritage. Greed. Chemicals replaced manure. Greed. Greed. Greed. People kill for the almighty dollar. That's just the way it is. Corporations are people my friend, haven't you heard. Politicians are the puppets of greed. greed. greed. It will never change, only get worse.
Anonymousabout 11 years agowMonsanto is helping provide plentiful cheap food. The people want plentiful cheap food. Is Monsanto's technique ideal? NO. But, without it, food would be neither cheap nor plentiful. Eventually Monsanto's cleverness will max out and there will be a severe shortage of food. Heirloom varieties CANNOT provide the quantity of food needed by the peoples of the world at a price they can afford. Every country should be required to raise their own food and support their people on that food, because eventually the US, Canada, etc will be unable to provide the necessary quantity of food to sustain endless growth of non-productive populations. Then, naturally, the left will blame capitalism or the "west" for the failure, when the cause is their own greedy socialist expectations.
Anonymousabout 11 years agoI am a US man past retirement age. Until two years ago, I never had ANY digestive problems. Then I developed a very serious illness that put me in hospital with diarrhea that could not be stopped. The docs tested me for everything known to man and monkey, with no diagnosis that seemed to work.
My system was deteriorating, finally I asked to talk with a dietician. She suggested a gluten free diet; I went home the next day, and have not had even one bout of Montezuma's revenge since then.
I think that all the GMO mods of the wheat crops have caused the recent increase in celiac disease (look up the stats on line...something like 1 in 13 USAns have this problem) Look at the number of "gluten free" foods in the market.
The only way, apparently, to be sure of a celiac disease diagnosis is to put the patient under anesthesia and go down the gullet to take a sample of the celia, which line the small intestine. I did not have this test done, simply have avoided anything containing wheat and a few other of its relatives.
Most celiac disease patients apparently develop this problem at an earlier age than I have done, which I think had to do with the bad diagnosis by the docs in hospital.
Anonymousabout 11 years agoThis essay is filled with inaccuracies and all the pseudo-science that anti GMO groups are using to scare consumers.
Before Rup came along farmers were spraying their crops with far more dangerous things to eliminate weed competition. Believe it or not (I know you won't) Rup is environmentally friendlier than almost any other herbicide. Farmers are driven by the same evil desire as Monsanto - MONEY. Stop romanticzing agriculture and realize it's a business. I think Monsanto has, their products are still affordable because unfortunately, the consumer REFUSES to pay what it would really cost to make agriculture profitable for small family farms. That's why they're disappearing, they can't afford to feed you because you won't pay to cover the costs of production.
I've done my research, and I've worked in the fields so I've seen the other side. Monsanto is helping farmers, you are not.
qhml1about 11 years agoAmong other things, I'm a farmer. I DO NOT[knowingly anyway, they keep buying competitors out you can't really keep up anymore]use any product Monsanto owns or produces. In fact, I do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. A personal choice. So I'm organic, right? Wrong. The paperwork is horrendous, the inspections intrusive, you have to sacrifice acreage for a buffer zone, it's just not worth it. So when I advertise, the legal term I can use is 'sustainably grown produce without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides'. If I say organic and get caught lacking certification, it's a $10,000 fine. One of the reasons that it's so hard to be certified is because Monsanto maintains a lobby in Washington that makes sure any threat by competitors and small farmers is squashed, the more public and expensive, the better.
I do not use hybrids, everything I grow is usually an heirloom, proven over generations. Many times I simply save the seeds from one season to the next. A lot of times I buy seed from Baker's Creek, Sustainable Seeds, or one of the other reputable sellers. Jere Gettle, the man who founded and owns Baker's Creek Seed Company, is one of the most outspoken critics of Monsanto on record. Go to his blog, read some of his essays on the subject.
My wife has spent nine years developing a solid black butter bean that is very hardy in drought and a great bearer. She wants to market it. When she went to register it, she was told it had to be genetically analyzed, and if a portion can be traced to Monsanto, they can take it away, or at the very least stop it from being mass marketed.. I'm planting half an acre this year, all for seed. She plans to offer it for free, to people in as many different parts of the country as she can. If you say Monsanto around her, you better spit on the ground in disgust.
While Monsanto may be the great Satan of pesticides, Bayer[yes, the same people who make aspirin] is a close second. One of their chemicals, I can't remember the brand name, has been closely linked to the severe decline in honeybee populations. Despite the evidence, they strongly deny it, hiding behind their experts and lawyers.
One last observation. Many sections of the corn belt are five feet or farther below sea level than they were a hundred years ago. Why? Overuse,and runoff. The farmers compensate the poor quality of the soil with large applications of fertilizer, which then leaches into the ground water table, or flow to the oceans in runoff. It's the reason we can produce cheep corn, but have to buy seafood and shellfish from foreign countries. Our is so contaminated the government bans the sale of it in many coastal areas.
So. if you're a small farmer or backyard gardener, express you displeasure with your wallet. Buy seeds from dealers like the ones I mentioned. Us compost and organic fertilizers. Your yield may not be quite as large, but you'll feel better, especially if you have kids.
One last note. Being organic is a myth. Chemicals are spread through the air, water movement, and animals, via their dung. I use composted horse manure as my main fertilizer. I get it from a friend that owns and boards horses. He sprays his pastures with fertilizers to build better grass coverage, and sprays herbicides to ensure nothing grows but grass. I heat treat it as much as possible and age it two years, but the residue is still there.
Thank you for your essay, I hope people will read it and understand the consequences of using these products.
QHML!
Loki_Darksongabout 11 years agoI have been keep up with that companies activities and it reads like a script from The Omen. Other countries are now beginning to ban their 'products'. And now there is evidence that the Monsanto foods are causing serious defects in the body.
Greed and control are a very dangerous combination.
And for all of those who like to squawk without a screen name, a bit of advice. If you don't like a topic, you can either ignore it or at least give a reasonable argument if you must comment.
